Happy St. Patrick’s Day

The post below is three years old, but has lots of good links about St. Patrick and is well worth checking out. At the very end of the post I have included a new video on St. Patrick from the Apostleship of Prayer. Enjoy.

Blessings,
Dale

As I write this I am wearing a green shirt. I began the day in a light blue shirt. But my kids steadfastly refused to stop pinching me until I yielded to the tradition of St. Patty’s Day.

I got to know a little about St. Patrick through two sermons/lectures. One was by Joe Morecraft and the other by T.M. Moore. Both men captured my imagination as they revealed to me more than I ever knew about this incredible Christian man. I’ve provided three short articles and/or devotionals below that will introduce St. Patrick to you. God used him mightily and celebrating his life every March 17 is probably a good thing insofar as it points us to Christ and what one person can do for the Kingdom of God.

St. Patrick: Why His Message Still Matters
Brother Colmán Ó Clabaigh, OSB
at CrossWalk.com

March 17 is upon us again, and all over the world everyone is an honorary Irishman or Irishwoman for 24 hours. St. Patrick’s popularity is a result of the wanderlust of the Irish, and there is no corner of the world in which his name is not honored.

Yet, if his name is known, his story is less familiar and his message often gets drowned out by the parades, the plastic shamrocks and the green-dyed beer.

The little knowledge we have of him comes from two letters he wrote in the course of his missionary work in fifth-century Ireland.

Click here to read the whole article. (also, make sure to check out the great links to more info on St. Patrick at the end of the article.)

In Honor of St. Patrick
by Mark D. Roberts
at The High Calling

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Most people think of this day as a time for wearing green and that’s about it (unless you’re Irish!). St. Patrick gets relatively little attention on his day, so I thought I might offer a few thoughts in his honor, including a prayer that is attributed to him.

Patrick’s story reads like an Indiana Jones-type adventure. Raised in Britain (yes, not Ireland), Patrick was captured by pirates in A.D. 405 when he was only sixteen years old. The kidnappers whisked him away to Ireland and sold Patrick into slavery. He spent eight years as a captive in this pagan land.

Click here to read the whole article.

Concealing the Gift
by T.M. Moore
at The Fellowship of St. Ailbe

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We are right to remember this great saint, who labored so diligently in the cause of the Gospel, against unimaginable odds, but with unprecedented fruit. Sechnall, Patrick’s contemporary, was correct in referring to him as the light of God to the Irish. That, indeed, is what he was.

And what about us? Patrick’s mission field was all of Ireland, and he lit up the house with his diligent and faithful work. Our mission field is wherever God has set us, in the places and among the people we see week-in and week-out. Are we shining the gift of the Gospel on the people around us or concealing the gift of God under the bushels of timidity, fear, or simple disobedience?

Click here to read the whole article.

The Lord Bless You,
Dale

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A Prayer for New Year’s Eve

Lord, make me to know thine end and the measure of my days that I may know how frail I am. Another year of my pilgrimage has passed. I am a year nearer to my death, nearer to Judgment, nearer to eternity to come. Whither shall I flee as the sins of the past year and the transgressions of the years rise to condemn me? Lord, to Thee I flee for refuge in these last hours of the waning year. For the sake of Thine own Son, whom Thou has sent to be the Savior of all men, be gracious to me, and pardon mine iniquity. 

Trusting in the merits of my Savior, I come boldly to Thy throne of grace, in full confidence that there I shall obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of  need. Oh, satisfy me early with Thy mercy that I may rejoice and be glad all my days. May the remaining years of my life be spent in Thy service that, when my last hour shall come, I may depart in peace to enter into Thy joy forever. Amen.

from The Lutheran Book of Prayer, 1951

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What Is Your Purpose? Part 3

This is the third and final part of this series on discovering your purpose. (Click here to read Part 1 and click here to read Part 2.)

Yesterday I introduced the idea that all Christians have a universal purpose… to become like Christ. (You could also say we have an ultimate purpose to glorify God in everything we say, do and think.) Today we’re going to focus on our unique purpose.

Our Unique Purpose

I think this is what folks really want to know about when they ask the question, “What is my purpose?” Our unique purpose has to do with our CALLING… and with that calling… God gives us gifts and desires… and equips us to serve him in that unique way.

Here’s a brief excerpt of what I shared this past Saturday with some high school graduates at their commencement ceremony on this subject of discovering their calling or purpose…

Ask yourself these questions…

1.)  What do you feel called to do?

2.)  What is your passion?

3.)  What is your gift or talent?

The FIRST question focuses on your calling: What is your inward desire… that “something” that is pulling you in a particular direction? Usually it’s something bigger than you are. It’s not a calling to watch as many football games as possible. It’s something big… something meaningful. It’s usually something that will add value in the lives of others. I believe that God gives us that calling and desires that we pursue it.

The SECOND question focuses on your passion. What excites you? What do you think about? What gets you up in the morning? What do you look forward to? This is important because you don’t want to end up doing something that you’re good at… but that you hate. You don’t want to get to a place in life where you dread getting out of the bed in the morning because you can’t stand the direction your life is heading. You want to live with passion because that passion will fuel you to reach incredible heights.

The THIRD question focuses on talent or giftedness. In other words… what are you good at? You don’t want to end up doing something that you’re really passionate about… but that you’re terrible at doing.

Now, ideally… your calling in life… will combine all three. You will feel this inward desire for a particular direction in life… you’ll love doing it… and you’ll be really great at it. However, it’s important to remind you that you’re not going to discover this overnight. It takes time. It takes careful observation. Talk to your family members about what they’ve seen in your life. Talk with those who know you best. Talk to career counselors. Read books. Pay attention to yourself.

The Apostle Paul was called to life in Christ, just as we all are. However, he also was called with a unique purpose… and that was to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

Now, a call in your life doesn’t mean you have to become a pastor or missionary… though it might be for some of you. Instead, here’s another way to think of your call or purpose. I like this definition of purpose from Ken Boa

“A biblical purpose is always an unchanging reason for being. It holds true for you regardless of your circumstances or season of life. When a Christ-centered purpose becomes the focus of your life, it harmonizes all other areas, such as family, work, finances, and ministry.”

You see, God called me to ordained ministry… however, my unique purpose is to help folks become all that God created, redeemed, and called them to be. So, I can live out that purpose in the context of my family at home, with my church family, and lots of other ways. It’s not bound to my “circumstances or season of life.” (I can live out my purpose at 46 years of age… or 86)

The problem of tying your purpose too closely with your circumstances, is that those too easily and quickly change. For example, if your purpose is your work… then what happens when you don’t have that job any longer? Do you still have purpose? If your only purpose is raising your family… then what happens when they leave the house? Do you still have purpose?

Now, certainly, our purpose can be connected closely to our jobs, parenting, etc., but they’re not the same things… or at least shouldn’t be.

So… Do you know your true calling… your unique purpose for your life? Part of my calling and purpose is to help you discover yours and it would be an honor for me to work with you to help you discover it. You may be closer to knowing it than you think. It may be right under your nose.

“Tony Campolo tells the story of a friend who discovered his true calling in life. He had been a college English teacher, but suddenly quit his position – to become a mailman.

After hearing the man’s reasons for resigning from teaching to become a mailman, Campolo tried to encourage him with the old Protestant work ethic: “Charlie, if you’re going to be a mailman, then be the best mailman in the world!” To which his friend replied, “I’m a lousy mailman, Tony. I’m the last one to get back to the post office every day, and besides, I can’t sleep at night.”

When he asked for an explanation, here’s what Campolo heard: “There are so many lonely people on my route who never had anyone visit them until I became their mailman. Have you ever tried to sleep after drinking fifteen cups of coffee in one day?”

Campolo reached an important conclusion about his friend Charlie: “He was alive with the excitement that comes to a person doing something meaningful with his life.”

Beloved, there’s nothing as thrilling as knowing what you’re called to do… and then living out that calling each day.

Your universal purpose is to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior… and then spend the rest of your life growing in your faith… and loving and serving others. But do you know your unique purpose… how God is calling you to live out that universal purpose?

Pray about it. Come talk to me about it. And then, like Paul, get busy living.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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What Is Your Purpose? Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this series.

The Apostle Paul wasn’t always our beloved Apostle and servant of our Lord. At one time he was a fierce persecutor of the Church. But then something extraordinary happened. Here’s how Luke describes Paul’s conversion…

Acts 9:1-18 - Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision,“Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

That very day, Paul’s purpose for existence was radically and utterly altered. His values, perspective, worldview, identity, meaning… all of it… was turned upside down (or better right-side up) on that trip down the Damascus Road.

Here’s how Paul would later interpret the results of his conversion…

Philippians 3:4b-9 - If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal,persecuting the church;as for legalistic righteousness,faultless.

⁷ But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousnessthat comes from God and is by faith.

 In light of those two texts… of that experience and that interpretation of it… Paul’s words to us in Romans 1:1, become all that much more powerful and helpful, don’t they?

In this one verse we learn about Paul’s Universal Purpose as well as his Unique Purpose. You see, we each have a Universal Purpose and a Unique Purpose.

1.)  We all have a Universal Purpose

This purpose is God’s intention for us that is shared by all Christians.

Here are some examples:

• God wants us to know Christ
• God wants us to grow in our faith
• God wants us to pray
• God wants us to read the Bible
• God wants us to make new disciples
• God wants us to love and serve other people
• God wants us to obey God

Basically… this Universal Purpose for God’s people… is to become more like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). This was the primary focus of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, that our church studied together about eight years ago.

Paul would point back to that day when God changed his life on the Damascus Road and say that it all started with God. Paul was no longer a Pharisee of Pharisees, no longer seeking to imprison Christians. He was now a SERVANT or SLAVE of Jesus Christ.

His ultimate purpose was now defined by his relationship with Jesus Christ… and ours should be too.

But there’s also a Unique Purpose. And we’ll take a look at that tomorrow.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Are You A Practical Atheist?

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)

Much has been made over the last few years about the emergence of militant atheism’s evangelistic crusade to rid the world of ignorance. Specifically, these crusaders want to enlighten the minds of the masses who still believe that God exists. For these spokesmen for atheism, belief in God is intellectually unsustainable and should by all means be abandoned. Not only that, these atheistic evangelists believe that a person’s commitment to belief in God is actually harmful to children as well as to civilization as a whole.

Thankfully, their charges have been more than sufficiently answered at every turn by faithful Christian apologists. The atheists are getting all the press, but their arguments are unable to stand up to the Light of Truth.

Yet there is a more prevalent form of atheism that lurks in our land. Indeed, it can even be found in the church. It is what Cornelius Van Til called, “practical atheism.” A practical atheist is a person who professes to believe in God, and yet the God whose existence is professed does not seem to make any meaningful difference in that person’s daily life. His beliefs, values, morals, etc., are not prioritized by his supposed belief in the existence of God. Put another way: If this person was to wake up one day and decide that he no longer believed in the existence of God, his life would change very little. This is practical atheism.

In Romans 1:21, Paul describes the person who has suppressed the truth he knows about God. Paul says that in truth, all people know God exists. In fact, they even know things about his power and majesty. Yet, in order to maintain a certain way of living, they alter their belief system to accommodate their lifestyle. Like the hard atheist who formally declares that there is no God, the practical atheist denies God by the way in which he leads his life. Paul teaches us that “although they know God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him…”

We glorify God when we seek to live purposefully and intentionally for him each day. We glorify God when we live to please him, honor him, obey him, love him, seek to be like him, and tell others about him. That’s what a God-glorifying life looks like. It’s also a life that is grateful to God for his goodness. However, this is more than tossing out a “thank you” every now and then at the beginning of a meal. Instead, it’s more of an all-encompassing attitude of gratitude. It becomes pervasive in one’s personality. This attitude glorifies God because it exalts God as the One who is worthy of such affection and appreciation.

How are you doing with this? Are you seeking to glorify God and be thankful to him in all things? Of course, none of us is perfect at this. We can all get fairly self-absorbed and self-centered in the goings on of our lives. We all, from time to time, become too preoccupied with lesser interests.

Yet the One who should be our greatest interest has told us that we are to have no other gods before him. We are called to seek him first and foremost. We are instructed and encouraged to be holy because God is holy. His existence, in other words, should play a profound role in the lives of those who profess to believe in and follow him. He should be our ultimate Influence and his influence should saturate every sphere of our lives…for his glory and for our good.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Dying Well

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God Will Provide

by Dale Tedder
Selected verses from Genesis 22

Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son – the son of promise – the dear child that Abraham and Sarah had waited a century to have. It was this very son, Isaac, whom Abraham was to take to the mountaintop and sacrifice – to kill.

Abraham obeyed.

As Abraham and Isaac approached the fateful place, Isaac looked around, saw the fire and wood, but no animal for the offering. “…Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Isaac asked his father.

“Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide…’” And he did. We know this story well. As Abraham prepared to offer his son, the Lord stopped him, and provided a ram to take Isaac’s spot. God provided.

The Lord tested Abraham (verse 1). A test from God is designed to move you forward in faith. The purpose of Satan’s temptations is to trip you up so that you might fall backwards. This was a test. And Abraham passed. He was blessed accordingly (verses 15-18). Why the blessing? Because Abraham obeyed God (verse 18).

This is the nature of covenantal living. If you obey God and the conditions of his covenant, God promises blessings (because he graciously sets the terms of the covenant… not because he has to). If you disobey, he promises curses. What either of those  may look like is not so clear. That God promises to work this way is very clear.

I wonder what blessings God desires to pour out upon us for our obedience today…and for tomorrow. Deeper faith maybe? More influence for the Kingdom perhaps? Greater responsibility? God specifically said that Abraham’s descendents would be blessed through his faithfulness. Might our obedience now impact our children and our children’s children after them (for a thousand generations)? I believe the answer is yes to all of those questions.

If God chooses to bless us in material ways, that’s fine. (And we really ought to point out that he already has and then some.) But shouldn’t the blessings we desire be things like, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is heaven”? And shouldn’t the provisions that we hope God will bestow upon us be along the lines of an ever-increasing knowledge of him (John 17:3), a growing conformity to him, an ever-expanding influence for his Kingdom, a radical extension of his Kingdom into every sphere of life – that everyone in our “territory” would bow before our King in willing and joyful submission?

Abraham was obedient and God blessed him. Will you be obedient too? How? How is God calling you to faithfully follow him today? Abraham was asked to sacrifice the whole world to him – his beloved son. What form of sacrificial living is God calling you to? Will you obey?

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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