How to Pray for Help with Your Heart Idols

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Practical Ministry, PrayerPosted on No Comments

The Apostle Paul says that we have “exchanged” what we should hallow, or worship, in our hearts with things we shouldn’t. He says, “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Rom. 1:25).

Notice that Paul doesn’t say that we “quit” or “stopped” worshiping (worshiping is simply another way of describing “hallowing”). He says that we “exchanged.” Your heart is designed by God to hallow the true God. But, because of sin, we “hallow” other things.

I saw the inescapable hallowing function of the human heart most clearly in my kids when they were going through the “Night-Night” stage. The “Night-Night” is what they called a specific blanket that they loved most. It’s the blanket that helped them to transform from terrified to tranquil, from unstable to stable, from loud to quiet and content.

We called it the “secret weapon.” When we dropped the kids off in the Children’s Ministry on Sunday mornings. We told the workers, “if they won’t stop crying, break this blanket out, and they’ll be fine in a minute or so.” The “Night-Night” was undefeated.

And there’s the thing about the “Night-Night.” There was nothing special about the blanket. We didn’t put anything on the blanket, like special oils or fragrances or anything illegal, to get them to like those blankets. All of the kids were given multiple blankets and all of the kids would choose just one of those blankets that would “work.”

It wasn’t about the blanket, it was about their hearts. Their hearts ascribed a certain value on those blankets that wasn’t true about those blankets. It was the kiddy version of what Paul was talking about.

As we get older, we leave our blankets behind, but our hearts are still making the same silly exchange—hallowing the creation over the Creator. We base our inner sense of well-being on people’s opinions, how much money we have in the bank, how “in control” we feel, and the like.

Do you know what your “Night-Night’s” are?

The Bible calls these “Night-Night’s” idols. And everyone struggles with them. Tim Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, describes these idols as “anything more important to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God.”

What might these be? Not usually bad things. They are typically good things.

Some people’s hearts and, therefore, days, are controlled by the idol of approval. If they are affirmed like they want, then they feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on. If they’re not affirmed, then they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

The Bible affirms the goodness of approval in others eyes in passages like Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” But sinful hearts have to be careful that this good thing, a “good name,” doesn’t get turned into a God thing that we have to have, that we base our heart’s contentment on. Jesus’ name was slandered by almost everyone, but his satisfaction was taken away by no one. If people’s opinions controlled his purpose, and not his heavenly Father’s opinion, he never would have did what was necessary on the cross to bring salvation to the world.

Do you tend to make an idol out of people’s opinions?

Other people don’t worry about what people think that much. Instead, their hearts and, therefore, their days, are controlled by the idol of productivity. If they are performing like they want to be performing, then they feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on. If they feel unproductive, behind, or anything like this, they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

God is “pro-productivity.” He works, designed humanity to work, created the standards for productivity, and provided tons of instruction on how to work in the Bible. Jesus did the greatest work ever imaginable by purchasing salvation for sinners. But God didn’t create any work, or work process, that he wants you to replace him with. In fact, he commanded us to “rest” from our work so that we’d be reminded that it’s his work that makes the kingdom advance.

Do you tend to make an idol out of working?

But there are other people who don’t care if they are productive or if people have a high view of them, they struggle, instead, with the idol of comfort. If they are resting like they want to be resting, then they feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on. They’re more patient and loving towards people when they are in this place. But if they feel uncomfortable, overbooked, or anything like this, they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

God is “pro-comfort.” He knows that rest is a good thing, which is why he commanded that we “rest” each week. But he wants us to know that our “rest” has limits. He wants us to be productive (Col. 3:23).

Do you tend to make an idol out of rest?

Another major way that people take good things in our lives and replace God with them is with possessions. People that struggle with the idol of stuff, feel good about life, where it’s headed, and the journey they’re on, if they have a certain level of “stuff.” There bank account needs to be at a certain level. Their car, apartment, house, or whatever, needs to look a certain way. If they aren’t at their “level” of stuff, then they feel frustrated, angry, scared, embarrassed, worthless, or some other life-taking emotion.

God loves “stuff.” After all, he created it! But he doesn’t want us to value “stuff” more than we value him.

Do you tend to make an idol out of stuff?

Everybody struggles at the heart level with some or all of these realities.

When you pray for God’s name to be hallowed, his kingdom to come, and his will to be done, you are praying for help in these areas of struggle in our hearts.

Do you ask God to help you overcome your heart idols?

For people who are prone to worship and hallow the god of people’s opinions, ask God to make your heart hallow his name so much that when others’ opinions change, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t; or if everyone is happy with you, that you don’t start caring about their opinions more than his.

For people who make an idol out of work, ask God to make your heart hallow his name so much that when you don’t feel productive, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t disappear, and your since of well-being isn’t gone; or if you feel super productive or refreshed that you don’t replace him by finding more joy in accomplishment than in him.

For people who make an idol out of comfort, ask God to make your heart hallow his name so much that when you feel overbooked or maxed out, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t disappear, and your since of well-being isn’t gone; or if you feel super refreshed that you don’t replace him by finding more joy in your circumstantial comfort than in him.

For people who make an idol out of possessions, ask God to make your heart hallow God’s name so much that when you have less than you want, your joy and hope and expectancy doesn’t disappear; or if you have more than you want, you’re your heart doesn’t replace God with the stuff he is providing you.

When you pray for God’s name to be hallowed, you are praying that our hearts would be free. You’re praying that you would be like Jonathan Edwards was when he was fired and it was said of him, “his happiness was out of reach from his enemies.” In that moment, his heart hallowed the right God.

This post includes content from my book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time.

The Vague Prayer Syndrome: What It Is and What To Do About It

by Jed Coppenger21 Days to Childlike Prayer, Bible, Christian living, Church, Ministry, PrayerPosted on No Comments

The older I get, the harder it is for me to come up with a Christmas list, birthday list, and a Father’s Day list. I’m not sure why it’s so hard. Maybe it’s because I buy what I want? Could be that I know that it hurts the budget? Maybe it’s because I don’t want to make sure I ask for the best possible thing and I don’t feel like I have time to really think it through? I’m not sure. But it’s a challenge for me. And from talking with others, it’s a challenge for them.

You know who this isn’t a challenge for? Kids. When it is time for them to come up with a “gift list,” they have no problem at all. They know exactly what they want. They have no regard for the budget. None! They don’t think about whether or not it is “wise” for them to use their limited number of “presents” on that circled option in the magazine they keep showing you. Children know how to ask for stuff and they know how to ask with specificity.

Part of embracing a childlike identity involves embracing specificity. It means that we learn to get specific with prayer requests. And as easy as that sounds, I’ve found in my life and the lives of those I’ve helped learn to pray, that it is difficult. It takes a good deal of work to help people pray with specificity.

Why? Because most people suffer from what I call, the “Vague Prayer Syndrome.” The “Vague Prayer Syndrome” is where you only pray vague prayers. Those vague prayers are so vague that you would never really know if they were answered by God in any meaningful way. These prayers are general prayers that don’t create any expectancy for an answer or any excitement when they are answered.

As someone who still battles the “Vague Prayer Syndrome,” I know what it sounds like—“God be with us today…” Or, “Bless this food…” The great news is that God answered those requests with a “yes!” How do I know? Because he promised us in Scripture that he would “be with us” and “bless us.”

Do you ever pray prayers like this? Do you only pray like this?

It’s perfectly fine, of course, to pray these prayers. But when you learn to get specific with your prayer requests, God becomes real in your heart and life in a way that he never would without that specificity. And when he becomes real in your life, when you get a glimpse of him working specifically in your life, it changes you. Fearful people experience peace. Bored people find purpose. Frustrated people find patience. Empty people get filled. People reach goals that are beyond their abilities to bring about.

I’ve seen it over and over in my life and in the lives of the people around me. That’s why we say, “Specificity leads to visibility.” When we get specific, the invisible God becomes visible in our lives in a way that he wouldn’t without that specific request. How do you see the invisible God? Get specific with your requests.

Instead of just saying, “Make today go great,” say, “Cause someone to encourage me by the end of the day.” Or, in regards to that staffing effort at work, say, “provide a new employee this week that we know is the one.” Here are some other examples:

God, will you send someone to encourage me today?

God, will you make my encounter with ___________ encouraging tonight?

God, will you cause my parents speak to me more kindly in the mornings this week?

God, will you make my boss affirm my work on this project this week?

God, will you make this physical ailment go away by Thursday?

When God answers those requests, you see God working in your life in ways that lift your heart out of the mess of the world. You start to really believe you have a Father in heaven that cares about you and your problems and plans. You start to awaken the childlike faith your heart was made for.

This is exactly what you see throughout the Bible. When you read the Psalms, you see them specifically praying that God would deliver them from specific fears, help them overcome a specific enemy, revive their soul, and more. The Israelites prayed for a specific deliverance from Egyptian oppression when they were slaves in Egypt. They prayed specifically for God to save them when they had their backs up against the Red Sea and an Egyptian military coming after them. Daniel specifically asked for deliverance from the Lion’s Den. Jonah prayed specifically for God to get him out of that fish’s stomach. Nehemiah prayed that God would help him build a specific wall. And the list could certainly go on. In all of these situations, they knew if God answered those prayers. And because they were specific with their prayers, when the invisible God answered their prayers, they “saw” him in a way that they wouldn’t have without that specificity. Their specificity led to visibility.

The same is true for us. When you are bold enough to pray specific prayers, you give God an opportunity to become visible—real—in your life, in a way he wouldn’t without that specificity.

Ask God to work in specific ways, by specific times, and watch him work. Will he always give you a yes? Of course, not. But many times he will. And when he does, you’ll find that your sense of his presence in your life is greater than any prayer request he grants.

This post includes content from my forthcoming book, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time (pub. Jan. 18, 2022).

Answers to Specific Prayers: God Miraculously Changes The Heart Of The Owner Of The Building That Redemption City Church Meets In

by Jed CoppengerUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

I couldn’t believe what I heard. The owner of the building that our church, Redemption City Church, was leasing, said that he wanted to sell the building he was leasing to us. Not only that, our conversation happened to be just a few days before I was going away with my family for a month long sabbatical, that was gifted to us by our church. I was supposed to “totally disengage,” but it was going to be hard to do that with the possibility of a move on the horizon.

Having been given an 8 day notice and a 23 day notice from previous location owners, I’d learned to handle these with some level of faith and prayer. I prayed my problems with specificity and trusted God to do what’s best with my request, as I wrote in, 21 Days to Childlike Prayer. But I sure wish I didn’t get that phone call.

Thankfully, the owner said he wasn’t in a rush. He promised that he wouldn’t kick us out. We planned to talk when I got back in town a month later.

Fast forward a month. When I returned from the trip, I had a couple of scenarios that I was going to pitch to him. I felt pretty good about both of them. Neither were accepted.

The owner told me that he was talking to a potential buyer, but that they wanted to work with us. Although it was kind of him to think of us in this way, and it really was, we explored contingencies. We got really close on a place, but it strangely fell through.

We kept doing our best to be a “preview of the future Redemption City” at Redemption City Church, and kept praying about our location situation.

I’ll never forget where I was when I got the phone call from the owner. I can see it all playing out in my head as I write this post. I didn’t answer the call. I didn’t think it would be wise to talk to him in a place of fear. So I started praying throughout the day, that God might allow us to stay in our place.

With fear and trepidation, I called the owner. He wanted to give the church the 2 year lease I asked him for back in August! He had never given a 2 year lease in all his years of renting the building to churches. Amazing!

Not only that, but the week I received this great news, I happened to be preaching on “Persistent Prayer” from the Sermon on the Mount! You better believe all of this story made its way into the sermon and was met with applause.

Specificity leads to visibility. By getting specific, the invisible God became visible, he became unmistakably present (of course he is always present, but our awareness of his presence isn’t always great).

What specific prayers do you need to start praying? What specific prayers do you need to be encouraged to continue to start praying?

Answers to Specific Prayer: When God Provided Cigarettes in a Soviet Jail

by Jed CoppengerUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

As I was reading Rod Dreher’s, Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents, I came across a story about a specific answer to prayer that I had to pass along to you. It’s the story about how Alexander Ogorodnikov, who was unjustly thrown into prison by an oppressive Soviet government, saw God work in an unusual way. He was one of the most famous dissidents of the late Soviet period (195). Although he was a rising start amongst the communists, even catching the attention of the KGB, he converted to Christianity in his 20’s and ended up in prison.

Dreher quotes Ogorodnikov, telling one of his stories from prison:

When they put me in the cell with the other inmates, I said, ‘Peace be with you!’ One of the prisoners asked if I was a Christian. I said yes. He told me to prove it. Another inmate said, ‘We are the scum of the earth. We don’t even have cigarettes. If your God will give us cigarettes, we’ll all believe in him.

Dreher continues,

Ogorodnikov told his fellow prisoners that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and smoking fouls it. But, he continued, God loves you so much that I believe he would even give you cigarettes as a sign of his mercy. Ogorodnikov asked them all to stand and pray together for this. Everybody laughed, but they stood respectfully as he led them in prayer.

Ogorodnikov continues,

That cell was very crowded, but it became very quiet. We prayed for fifteen minutes, then I told them the prayer was over and they could sit down. At just that moment, the guards opened the cell door and threw a bunch of cigarettes into the cell.

It was incredible. There was the sign I had prayed for. The prisoners shouted, ‘God exists! He exists! And that is when I knew that God was speaking to me too. He was telling me that he had a mission for me here in this prison.

As I read this story I couldn’t help but think about what the psalmist said in Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens and does whatever he pleases.” God is often more eager to answer our prayers than we are to offer them. I pray this story encourages you to pray for the specific things on your heart today, whatever situation you find yourself in.

Answers to Specific Prayers: God Solves A Difficult Staffing Issue

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Practical Ministry, Prayer, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Specificity leads to visibility. When we get specific with our prayers we give the invisible God an opportunity to become visible to us in a way he wouldn’t without our specific prayers. And when God becomes visible to the eyes of our hearts and minds, hope, peace, and so many other life giving realities increase.

One of the ways God often helps his children pray with greater confidence and specificity is by hearing about how other people prayed specifically and saw God work. To this end, I’d like to tell you about how God answered an employers work, prayer request about 5 or 6 years ago.

The employer found himself in a situation that many employers find themselves, with an employee that wasn’t a good fit. He was wrestling with how best to handle that situation. With the company being a small business, relationships were deeper. Deep relationships brought great joys, but the challenges were great too. He knew, for the sake of the business, he had to remove this person from their role. But how could the employer have this difficult professional conversation without ruining the personal friendship?

While there are certainly different approaches that someone can use in this kind of situation, this particular employer started praying that the employee would find another job on her own that she was excited about, and that it would happen within 30 days. He wrote the prayer down and prayed it daily, during his normal devotion time. About a week and a half later, the employee came to him and told him about a new opportunity that she would be taking!

The employer was so grateful that God answered his specific prayer in a way that helped him both professionally and personally. But even more importantly, when you hear him talk about what happened, you understand that the experience of God’s love and control was even greater than the specific answer. The day that his prayer was answered was a day he sensed the powerful, “I’m-working-at-your-work-too” presence of God. And as he walked in this awareness of God’s presence and power, it ignited more hope in his heart. God’s greatness was more recognized in his heart which caused the size of his other problems to decrease there too. He walked home in hope that day. That hope drove him to ask specifically for God to do more with other problems and plans on his heart.

I know what some of you are thinking. Maybe that employee would have moved on anyways? Perhaps. It’s possible God would have done that without the employer’s specific prayer. But that’s not what happened. The employer prayed specifically. And because he prayed specifically, he, in a very real sense, saw the invisible God at work. Specificity leads to visibility. Of course, God doesn’t always answer our prayers with a “yes,” but he always does what’s best. That’s why we offer our specific requests with childlike trust.

What specific problems and plans are on your heart and mind today that you can turn into specific prayers?

Feeding The Hungry: Redemption City Church, Cul2vate, & Jesus

by Jed CoppengerUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Around 1 out of 6 Tennesseans are hungry. 1 out of 6! That means over 1 million of our fellow Tennesseans have stomachs that are growling each week and can’t make it stop the way many of us can. And hunger, of course, doesn’t just impact your stomach, it impacts your ability to focus, listen, relate, your inner sense of well-being, and more. These problems are particularly felt developmentally by the 1 out of 4 children that make up Tennessee’s hungry population. If we reduce hunger, we reduce so many other problems that plague our neighbors.

That’s why, starting this year, Redemption City Church will be using a portion of our 30.9 acres to grow thousands of pounds of food that we’re going to give away in the name of Jesus. No, we’re not growing food because we want to be farmers. We’re farming because we want to be like Jesus who both SHARED God’s love verbally and SHOWED God’s love practically.

We know this is true because Matthew summarized Jesus’ ministry by saying, “23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matt. 4:23).

Jesus drove this point home when he said that at the end of time we will answer for how we treated the most vulnerable around us. He said, “35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me’ (Matt. 25:35-40).

Later, Jesus’ brother, James, emphasized that saving faith is a working faith or it’s a dead faith. He wrote, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).

There are, of course, many other passages in the Bible that tell us that Christians who have a saving belief in the gospel should make a practical difference in the lives of those around them. Christianity is compassionate or it’s counterfeit.

From the very beginning of Redemption City Church in 2013, we have sought to be a people that SHARE God’s love verbally and SHOW God’s love practically. We’ve seen God do amazing things as we’ve built houses for people in need, fed the hungry, provided clothing and education to those who desperately needed it, and supported missionaries who do the same.

But we feel like God is calling us to something more, something unusual.

That sense of leading started in 2018, when God gave Redemption City Church over 23 acres of Williamson County farmland through the generosity of Frank and Francis Ingraham. Immediately, we started asking God to make clear how we could best use this gift—farmland that I grew up working on—to advance his kingdom purposes. About 8 months later God led us into conversations with a local non-profit doing amazing work called Cul2vate.

Over the past 5 years, Cul2vate has been growing food to feed the hungry and using the chronically employed to do it, helping equip them to get back to the life God created them for. Cul2vate was founded by and is led by a childhood friend of mine, Joey Lankford, who also worked on the Ingraham farm with me.

Just when we were praying for a partner that could help provide the needed expertise to grow food on this kind of scale and help people along the way, Cul2vate was looking for an opportunity to multiply what they’re doing somewhere else. The timing was perfect!

After agreeing to work together, this past December we launched our “Hope for the Hungry” initiative, asking you to give $15,000 to get it started. This money would cover costs like putting in a small gravel parking pad, purchasing needed tools, seeds, and more. And you responded by giving over $27,000!!! Yes!

Then, this past Sunday, I spent half of my normal preaching time to interviewing Joey at Redemption City Church. I thought it was so important for everyone to hear his powerful story of walking away from everything the world could offer to give his life away through this ministry. You can listen to it here.

This past Sunday we also began asking for 250 people to commit to work 1 hour a month for 7 months, starting mid-March, to provide hope for the hungry. You don’t, of course, have to be a farmer, just willing to provide hope for the hungry in practical ways. You’ll plant seeds, pull weeds, harvest food, and deliver food, just to name a few of the key jobs. Families, groups, and anyone else, can do this together. It’s going to be something you’ll never forget.

Will you pray that God would use our efforts to provide physical and spiritual hope to the hungry this year? We believe that we need God’s help to advance God’s purposes, so we pray.

Will you be one of the 250 people who sign up to help 1 hour a month for 7 months? If so, let us know here. Signing up in this way will enable us to get the needed information to you as easy as possible.

God is going to do amazing things through this new ministry effort. I’d love for you to be a part of it. Check out the Cul2vate’s video below to learn more about this awesome ministry (btw, Dr. Coffey, who you will meet in this video, will be volunteering full-time at RCC’s property!).

5 Simple Steps Christians Take To Experience God’s Power In His Word

by Jed CoppengerBible, Christian living, Redemption City ChurchPosted on No Comments

God’s words are powerful. Whether creating all things with his words (Gen 1), bringing a dead man to life with his words (John 11:38-44), or calling Abram to himself with his words (Gen 12:1-3), just to name a few examples that show the power of God’s words, God wants us to know that his words are unlike any other words in the world. The words recorded in the Bible are “breathed out,” authored by, him (2 Tim 3:16). That’s why, when the writer of Psalm 119 was struggling and felt like his life was “in the dust,” he prayed that God would “give him life through his word” (Ps 119:25).

Unfortunately, most Christians are missing out on the power available to them in God’s word. Last year, a study conducted by Lifeway Research found that, “A third of Americans who attend a Protestant church regularly (32%) say they read the Bible personally every day. Around a quarter (27%) say they read it a few times a week.” The numbers go even further down when less frequent church attendance.

I’m not sure how many of the 62.2 million “Protestant Christians” (that is, non-Catholic Christians) would be considered “regular attenders,” but let’s just say for the sake of this post that all of them are. That would mean that about 43.54 million of them are walking through the day without the amazing power (not to mention wisdom, grace, love, etc.) that is uniquely found in God’s word.

Think about how different the flavor of American Christianity would be if that many people were being empowered by God’s word? How different would our relationships be? How much more hopeful do you think we would be? More loving? More at peace? The list could go on and on. When we leave our Bibles on the shelves we leave a lot of power on the table.

That’s why I LOVE helping people get into God’s word on a daily basis. I want to see more people experiencing God’s power on a daily basis. And listen, while reading through the Bible in a year is an awesome goal to pursue, I’d encourage you to prioritize daily Bible reading. If you are in God’s word each day, but don’t make it through in a year, that’s a WIN!

If you want to experience God’s powerful presence in his word, I’ve found that the following 5 steps help Christians experience God’s power in his word.

Find The Right Bible – When I worked for a Bible publisher, we saw a study that said that Christians choose their Bibles for about 4 different reasons. Some Christians chose their Bible because of it’s cover, some the type of translation, and others chose the translation their pastor preached from. Whatever your reasons are, look on Amazon and find what you like best. If you’re new to Bible reading, I highly recommend you use a study Bible (ESV or CSB). These study bibles enable you to understand God’s powerful word with greater confidence and ease.

Use A Bible Reading Plan – Most people engage with God’s word consistently when they have some kind of plan. I’d encourage you to start in the NT and read a Psalm a day. But for a wide range of plans, check out this help list from our friends at the Gospel Coalition. As you start a plan, if you are connecting with a particular passage, please feel the freedom to “get behind.” I’ve spent weeks coming back to a passage of Scripture plenty of times. When I was tempted to try to “catch up” by reading a large portion of Scripture quickly, I had to remind myself that it’s not about “keeping up,” it’s about a daily encounter with God in his word.

Observe, Interpret, And Apply – When you read the Bible with a few key questions in the back of your mind, it increases the impact of the Bible reading in your life. That’s why so many Bible readers have been helped by observing, interpreting, and applying the passage that they are reading. When they observe the passage, they ask “what does it say?” When they interpret the passage, they ask “what does it mean?” When they apply the passage, they ask “how should I respond?” For a little more information about how to think about this, read this helpful post.

Find And Prioritize A Regular Devotion Time – Identify and prioritize the best time for you to spend 15-30 minutes in reading God’s word. I’ve found that going to bed a little earlier so that I can get up a little fresher, pays off big time with my Bible reading. Maybe you’re more of a night owl. However you are wired, find a time to get into God’s word. Whatever it is, understand that the Enemy wants to do anything he can to stop you from taking these simple, but significant steps (Eph 6:10-20).

Ask God To Help You Do What He Says – Once you understand what God is telling you to do, ask him to help you do it. Don’t just read your Bible, pray your Bible. Ask your heavenly Father to help his “kingdom come” in whatever specific way you happen to be reading about that day.

God has fresh, unlimited power available for you each day in his word. Ask him to help you experience it as you experience him each day in 2020.

4 Ways Every Christian Can Join Jesus’ Evangelistic Mission

by Jed CoppengerChristian living, Church, Evangelism, PrayerPosted on No Comments

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I know a lot of Christians who wish they were more evangelistic. They long for the day when they’ll experience the great joy of leading someone to Christ. They hunger to be like the Apostles and the early church who saw unbelievers from all walks of life give their lives to Christ.

The desire to be evangelistic isn’t near as rare as actually being evangelistic. I don’t know a lot of Christians who share the gospel regularly. Fewer are those who have actually led someone to Christ. And every study that I’m aware of says that my experience isn’t unique. Most Christians never share the gospel with lost people.

So what’s at the heart of our evangelism problem? Why don’t we share the gospel? Most Christians know that Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10). Most know that we’re called to make disciples of all nations, a command that requires evangelism (Matt. 28-18-20). So if we don’t have a problem understanding that we should be evangelistic, what is our problem?

The reasons, no doubt, are many. Some people are probably scared of the responses they’ll get, whether that’s a fear of being made fun of, having tough questions thrown at them, or something else. Perhaps others find that they just forget to make it a priority because they’re so busy. I’ve come across a lot of Christians that simply don’t know where to start. For this last group, I’d like to offer 4 ways that every Christian can join Jesus’ mission to save the world.

Pray For The Lost Regularly – Only God is powerful enough to change our hearts. He alone is able to give life to dead hearts. That’s why evangelism starts with prayer. Ask God to save the lost people you encounter throughout your day. Ask him to show you a few lost people whose lives you should invest in. Evangelism starts with prayer because our confidence is in God not our evangelistic efforts.

Invest In The Lost Consistently – Most people need to belong in some way before they believe. They often need to get to know who you are before they’ll follow the God you worship. While it’s true that many people become Christians as a result of a gospel presentation from a stranger, most conversion stories I’m aware of include a part where a Christian has invested relationally in their lives. Together they hung out, worked out, shared meals, coached, or something else like this. Invest in the lost people in your life so that there’s a relational bridge strong enough to invite them to take a step towards Christ.

Invite The Lost Repeatedly – Christians are called by God to be an inviting people. No, that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to be “nice” when unbelievers come. It means we are called actually to invite people to come toward or to Christ. When you invite an unbeliever to a meal, a worship gathering, a group, or something like this, you’re inviting them toward Christ. You’re inviting them to take a step toward Christ that isn’t exactly the same as inviting them to Christ. When you share the gospel with someone and invite him or her to trust Christ, you’re inviting him or her to Christ. Both types of invitations are significant kingdom advancement actions. The Enemy hates both types of invitations and will try to discourage every believer that attempts them. Satan wants to take one of the greatest kingdom advancing actions, a believer inviting an unbeliever towards or to Christ, and use it to discourage you. Negative responses to your invitations don’t change the fact that God loves you and celebrates every imperfect invitation you extend in his name. Keep praying, investing, and inviting.

Connect The Lost Strategically – Christians are called to be connectors. We’re called to be a part of connecting unbelievers to the family of God, the body of Christ, and the temple for the Spirit. When unbelievers respond to your invitation, whether that’s towards or to Christ, do your best to connect them relationally. If they respond to an invitation to come towards Christ and show up at your house, worship gathering, or group, connect them with those they’ll have the most in common. If they come to Christ and surrender their lives to him, connect them to potential disciplers. Every born-again Christian needs to be parented again. Don’t just worry about how you’re connecting, help others connect to Christ, his body, and his mission too.

I’ve had the privilege of leading people toward and to Christ. Without question, these moments have been some of the most exhilarating moments of my life. Even as I write this, many of their faces are running through my mind, causing tears of joy and gratitude to run down my face. I’m praying that every believer would experience the unique joy that is available to those who follow Jesus as he “seeks and saves” the lost in their city, country, and world.

Prestonwood, The ERLC, And The Cooperative Program

by Jed CoppengerPrayer, Southern Baptist ConventionPosted on 2 Comments

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Last week Southern Baptists learned that one of their largest churches, Prestonwood Baptist Church, is going to push pause on Cooperative Program (CP) giving. For those who know the role CP giving plays in SBC life, this announcement is a big deal. CP giving is often a key standard by which leaders and churches are judged. The CP is significant in SBC life because it is the funding mechanism for almost all of its cooperative ministries—a list that includes the largest missionary force in world history, several of the world’s largest seminaries, colleges, universities, mercy ministries, and more.

But the CP isn’t perfect. When over 50,000 Southern Baptist churches cooperate for the advancement of the Great Commission, it’s reasonable to expect consistent frustrations and disagreements. That’s why Southern Baptists have always and will always have discussions about how best to handle the monies given to the CP. Disagreements are the norm. But the action taken by Prestonwood isn’t. Whether you think Prestonwood’s actions are justified or not, I think we can all agree it’s unusual.

How should Southern Baptists respond to this action? Should they follow suit? Should they speak out against it? Based on my conversations over the past few days, the plans for how best to deal with the current Southern Baptist problems and divisions are just about as varied as I’ve ever seen. If you’re not new to these types of disagreements, you know it’s simplistic to act like the problems are only on one side of a divide. They’re almost always more complex than is immediately obvious. That’s why, in the midst of all of the problems, I’d like to ask you to consider praying the following 5 prayers with me.

I Pray That Southern Baptists Pray More For Unity – Jesus prayed that his followers would be united (Jn 17). The Apostles prayed that their followers would be united (Eph. 1; Phil 1). They prayed for unity amongst God’s people because unity amongst God’s people won’t happen without God’s help. Division is what happens when we’re left to ourselves. It feels more natural to us. We need God’s help to be unified. I love the way the SBC president Steve Gaines and the SBC president before him, Ronnie Floyd, have led our convention to be a people of prayer. The church I lead, Redemption City Church, is currently going through a #30DaysOfPrayer, not because we’re disciplined, but because we’re desperate. We’re desperate for God to bring about the outcomes we want to see, that we know we’re unable to control. Let it be said of Southern Baptists, that through all of the conflicts, we became more of a people of prayer than we were before. Let’s be like Jesus and the Apostles and pray for unity.

I Pray That Southern Baptists Pursue Unity Where It Is Most Difficult – Unity isn’t just difficult, it’s impossible. Because we all will be wronged enough to have “good” reasons to avoid pursuing unity, while feeling like the victim. Thankfully, the Spirit of God loves to use the gospel to unite people that are “impossible” to unite. No doubt people thought it was “impossible” to unite Jews and Gentiles in the Ephesian churches. But the Apostle Paul wanted them to understand that the gospel isn’t just meant to unite people that have small disagreements. It’s meant to unite the most deeply divided peoples. Ken Sande was right when he observed that peace doesn’t just happen, it’s made. A gospel that is glorious enough to reconcile a holy God to unholy men and women, is certainly able to reconcile unholy men and women to each other. I’m praying that Southern Baptists will pursue unity where it is most difficult. I pray we see more moments in SBC life like we saw last year at the SBC when Steve Gaines and J.D. Greear came together in unity. While it will mean different things for different people, but it will mean something for all sides of all debates. The gospel is powerful enough to bring unity about for all sides of all disagreements and divisions.

I Pray That A Spirit Of Humility Characterizes Southern Baptists – One of the greatest threats to unity is pride. It divided humankind from God in the Garden of Eden, and it’s been dividing us ever since. Pride doesn’t just want to be right, it wants to be recognized as right. Often times, pride wants to be recognized as right at the expense of someone else. But most of the time, frankly, it’s hard to know exactly where pride is present in these disagreements—even though we know it’s there. But God sees it. That’s why we need to pray that he’d help us all see it and turn from it. Unity grows in the soil of humility. I think we can all agree that pride is present on every side of every debate, although it’s tough to say where exactly. That’s why I’m praying that the Spirit helps us see it in our own hearts and turn from it. I’m praying that we humble ourselves enough to own 100% of our part of the problems we’re in. I’m praying that we might even be willing in some situations to be wronged, like Jesus, and still work for the good of those who are doing us wrong. Unity depends on humility.

I Pray That A Spirit Of Love Characterizes Southern Baptists – Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). He didn’t say that we’d always be lovable, but that he wants us to always love. The Apostle Paul called the Corinthian church to a love that is defined like this: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” This kind of love, strangely, requires us to be in circumstances where other brothers and sisters in Christ have wronged us to the point that we would naturally get irritated and resentful. This kind of love requires the kind of situation that Southern Baptists have been and are in right now. That’s why I’m praying that we use our deep disagreements and divisions to display the undeserved love of Christ to each other.

I Pray That Southern Baptists Avoid The Payback Mentality – Jesus called his disciples to love their enemies (Matt. 5:44). The Apostle Paul had to remind the Ephesian Christians that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but are to have “gospel of peace” shoes that enable us to run to any relational conflict requiring supernatural reconciliation (Eph 6:10-20). One of the reasons they had to tell Christians those kinds of things is because 1st century Christians didn’t naturally respond graciously to relational conflict anymore than 21st century Christians do. Regardless of where all of the current discussions lead, I’m praying that we can avoid the payback mentality that says whatever you do to me, I’ll do worse to you. I don’t want to see pro-ERLC Southern Baptists use this action to justify pulling away from SBC life, which, inevitably, will lead to an endless series of “back and forths,” until SBC life reeks with the smoke of burned relational bridges. Let’s expect to be sinned against. Let’s be ready to accept apologies. Regardless of your “side” on whatever particular “issue,” let’s avoid the payback mentality.

Thankfully, Jesus is on his throne and he loves all of us. Nothing will stop his perfect purposes for you, me, or anyone else in his family. That means no one can take away anything he thinks is best for you. Rest in his care (1 Pet 5:7). Follow his lead (Jn 1:43). And let’s stumble forward together.