I don’t know geology, but I know generally what they’re talking about when they use the word, “fault.” Somewhere deep in the foundations of the earth are places where cracks produce shifts at times in the earth’s foundation. We experience them as earthquakes. Destructive and deadly, they leave scars on lives and landscapes that time alone doesn’t fix. All the result of faults that, may have seemed nonexistent a day earlier.
Faults show up in the Bible, too. “Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other,” James says, “so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results” (James 5:16, LB). First thing I notice is that even “righteous men” have faults. And who better to pray for our faults than someone who is painfully aware of their own?
Of course, we have other names for faults… character flaws, weaknesses, besetting sins, vices. [click to continue…]
Job sites can be noisy places. The clanging of tools, the heaving groans of loud masculine voices, and the hacking or high-pitched grinding of cutting instruments all suggest that something is being built with earnest.
There is another kind of construction, however, that makes precious little noise. But the effects are powerful and completely necessary. In the Day of the Second House, none of us can move forward without it. I’m talking about the inner construction – the molding and shaping of character and spiritual power.
It does no good to rebuild the outward structures without taking a tough look at the inner priorities and attitudes of the heart. That’s what’s so ridiculous about somebody facing a crisis (remember the Sunday after September 11, 2001?) by scurrying off to a church building they haven’t darkened in months. The building or setting is meaningless unless it’s occupied by a transformed heart.
So while our friend Zerubbabel was busy governing and building a temple, his partner, Joshua, was facing some building of his own. But this high priest was facing down his own broken walls, burned gates, and impossible mission. Joshua was engaged in a battle for his heart, and for the soul of his nation. Here’s how the prophet Zechariah described this internal battle:
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “ The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, ” Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by. (Zechariah 3:1-5)
Every man or woman who is serious about spiritual life and victory faces similar battles. Our destinies, as well as the destinies of others, hang in the balance. Here are five inner battle zones: [click to continue…]
I want to share with you 10 things I pray for my children, all of whom are married adults now, living elsewhere. They are listed in order, but not necessarily order of importance or chronological order. More on that later.
I didn’t make the list up – somebody already beat me to it. But as soon as I found it, I decided that this was a good “handle” for interceding for anyone I love. But I’m particularly drawn to praying this for my children, and their children as they come along. Here goes…
1. Deep personal fulfillment. I want them to be happy! Not in that shallow, vain use of the word, but for them to find life satisfaction – true joy – in their lives, their relationships, and their work.
2. The success and strength of their descendants. To use a biblical term, I pray that my grandchildren and beyond would be “mighty on the earth” because of the things my children taught them and demonstrated to them.
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