Communion Quotes to Ponder

Photo: Teri Lynne Underwood

“If any occupation or association is found to hinder our communion with God or our enjoyment of spiritual things, then it must be abandoned. Anything in my habits or ways which mars happy fellowship with the brethren or robs me of power in service, is to be unsparingly judged and made an end of – ‘burned.‘ Whatever I cannot do for God's glory must be avoided.” –A.W. Pink

“The Christian who walks with the Lord and keeps constant communion with Him will see many reason for rejoicing and thanksgiving all day long.” –Warren W. Wiersbe

“Ministry is the least important thing. You cannot not minister if you are in communion with God and live in community.” –Henri Nouwen

“Closet communion needs time for the revelation of God's presence. It is vain to say, ‘I have too much work to do to find time.’ You must find time or forfeit blessing. God knows how to save for you the time you sacredly keep for communion with Him.” –A.T. Pierson

“While others still slept, He went away to pray and to renew His strength in communion with His Father. He had need of this, otherwise He would not have been ready for the new day. The holy work of delivering souls demands constant renewal through fellowship with God.” –Andrew Murray

Stir Up One Another

Photo: SMBCollege

As men, when we gather, we tend to talk about sports, gadgets, work, and health (once we get past 30 and every body part begins to hurt). It satisfies a surface need for community, but that’s not enough. Not by a long shot.

One way to fix that is to stir up one another spiritually by talking about what we are learning during our devotional time. And in so doing, we can take our friend’s spiritual temperature. If he has little to offer, then offer to help him right where he is. Sometimes the smallest of actions can lead to big results.

I read the following story recently in The Bible ExpositionCommentary, New Testament, Vol. 2 by Warren Wiersbe: 

A young mother admitted, in a testimony meeting, that she never seemed to find time for her own personal devotions. She had several little children to care for, and the hours melted away.

Imagine her surprise when two of the ladies from the church appeared at her front door.

“We’ve come to take over,” they explained. “You go into the bedroom and get started on your devotions.” After several days of this kind of help, the young mother was able to develop her devotional life so that the daily demands on her time no longer upset her.

Her two friends were committed to helping her get back on track, and she did. How can we as men do that for one another?

A couple of days ago, a male friend from church whom I have been praying for about a work situation sent me a text to ask how he could pray for me. I gave him two specific items and he set about to pray.

Yesterday, he sent me a text telling me he was continuing to pray for me and then he told me he was meditating on a passage he read during his devotions that morning from Mark 8, about picking up his cross and following Christ. He asked me to pray for him with Mark 8 in mind. And I did. I also began to pray it in my own life.

Then I sent him a passage I read that morning from Jonah 4 about God appointing a plant that grew over Jonah’s head to be shade to deliver him from his discomfort, telling my friend that I was praying God would appoint such a plant next to his desk that very day.

“I’m feeling His shade now,” he responded.

Speaking the Word to one another made a tangible difference in our lives. Short of being in the Word, we would have been speaking our own thoughts to each other and it wouldn’t have had the same power.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

In what tangible ways have you been helped by another man as he took an interest in your devotional life? In what tangible ways have you helped another man as you took an interest in his devotional life?

Drink from the Only Pure Source

Photo: Beth Kingery

“Because [Christians] daily hunger and thirst for righteousness, they long for the redeeming Word again and again. It can only come from the outside. In themselves they are destitute and dead. Help must come from the outside; and it has come and comes daily and anew in the Word of Jesus Christ, bringing us redemption, righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Many of us are drinking from the wrong hose in an attempt to quench our thirst for righteousness.

Some of us drink from the performance hose, saying we teach Sunday school, help the poor, take short-term mission trips and visit the widow or imprisoned. But actions don’t quench the thirst. Some of us drink from our piety hose. We get up at 5:00 a.m. every day to spend time with God, spend 30 minutes in prayer and we raise our hands in worship. But piety doesn’t quench the thirst either. All our righteous deeds are but filthy rags, as the prophet calls them in Isaiah 64:6.

I like the way Matthew Henry describes our attempts at righteousness: “Our performances, though they be ever so plausible, if we depend upon them as our righteousness and think to merit by them at God’s hand, are as filthy rags ... Our best duties are so defective, and so far short of the rule, that they are as rags, and so full of sin and corruption cleaving to them that they are as filthy rags. When we would do good evil is present with us; and the iniquity of our holy things would be our ruin if we were under the law.”

Rather than drinking from the performance or piety hose, we should drink from the only pure water source – the Word. Only it can quench our thirst for righteousness.

Going Directly to God

Photo: Jamiesrabbits

Christian publishers are in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to publishing devotional books for men. The data tells them that, in general, men don’t read, but they still want to provide good quality material for those who do.

Throw in the fact that we, as men, seem to be busier than ever, and we end up with book titles such as, One-Minute Devotions for Dads, 5-Minute Bible Workouts for Men, 5 Minutes a Day: 365 Daily Devotions for Men, Five Minutes in the Bible for Men and One-Minute Pocket Bible for Men.

Devotional material, short or otherwise, is fine. It can be an appetizer that prepares us for the main course. But devotional material makes a poor substitute for the main course.

In his book, Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups [Revised], Richard Foster tells the following story:

I know two brilliant Christians who come to the daily morning devotions without their Bibles. They can meditate, they say. They are both shallow. For they mediate God to themselves through their own thinking – they become the medium. They do not go to God direct as they imagine – they go through their own thinking; they become the mediator. That is why we have to have the revelation of God through the Word. It is God interpreting himself to us. His interpretation of himself is Jesus. When you expose your thinking to him, you expose yourself to God.

I say this as someone who has written a number of devotional books – if you are pressed for time on any particular morning (or evening, or whenever you do your devotions) and have to skip something, skip the devotional book you are using and spend your time in the Word.

George Washington: On His Knees

In our age of comfort, in which most of us – present company included – sip coffee and sit in a nice comfy chair while we do our morning devotions, I’m drawn to stories about the posture of saints of old during their devotions.

I came across this story about George Washington recently from a book called Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow:

His early biographer Jared Sparks recorded this comment from Washington’s nephew George W. Lewis: “Mr. Lewis said he had accidentally witnessed [Washington’s] private devotions in his library both morning and evening; that on those occasions he had seen him in a kneeling position with a Bible open before him and that he believed such to have been his daily practice.” General Robert Porterfield recalled that when he delivered an urgent message to Washington during the Revolutionary War, he “found him on his knees, engaged in his morning’s devotions.” When he mentioned this to Washington’s aide Alexander Hamilton, the latter “replied that such was a constant habit.”

That caused me to do a search for the word “knee” in the Bible and here are a few of the verses I found:

And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. (1 Kings 18:41-42)

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart … (2 Chronicles 6:12-14)

Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, saying: 

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. (Ezra 9:4-6) 

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. (Daniel 6:10) 

And being found in human form, he (Christ) humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)

If the name of Jesus should make those who are in heaven, on earth and under the earth, bow in reverence to the glory of God the Father, then morning devotions is a great time to do so.

Quotes to Ponder About the Bible

Photo: Brett Jordan

“Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.” –Dwight L. Moody

“I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a methodology, in a technique, in anything and everything but that in which God has placed it – His Word. He alone has the power to change lives for eternity, and that power is focused on the Scriptures.” –RC Sproul

“It shall greatly help ye to understand the Scriptures if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what followeth after.” –Miles Coverdale

“The Bible will always be full of things you cannot understand, as long as you will not live according to those you can understand.” –Billy Sunday

“There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them ... Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord ...” –Charles H. Spurgeon

Using Classic Theological Works for Devotions

One of the items on my bucket list is to read The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. Given that it’s more than 1,000 pages, the chances of that happening weren’t all the likely until I decided to begin using it during my morning devotions a year or so ago.

His work is divided into small sections and I can easily read two sections each morning in under ten minutes. Even though he wrote his treatise some 500 years ago, his understanding of the human condition still causes my thoughts to turn toward Christ and his mercy.

Here is one such nugget from the book early on, in a section called “The Knowledge of God and of Ourselves Connected”:

Our feeling of ignorance, vanity, want, weakness, in short, depravity and corruption, reminds us, that in the Lord, and none but he, dwell the true light of wisdom, solid virtue, exuberant goodness. We are accordingly urged by our own evil things to consider the good things of God; and, indeed, we cannot aspire to him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves.

Such thoughts prompt me to dig deeper into my own ignorance, vanity, want and weakness – in short, depravity and corruption.

Another classic theological work I plan to work my way through during my morning devotions is Table Talk by Martin Luther. It too is broken down into small sections that will work perfectly for devotions.

Have you ever considered, or are you currently using a classic theological work during your devotional time? You can receive many of them free, or at nominal cost, if you own a Kindle. Just jump over to the Amazon.com Kindle page and search for your favorite classic author. I just did a search for Martin Luther and these titles are free for the Kindle:

Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther
Works of Martin Luther with Introductions and Notes
Concerning Christian Liberty
A Treatise on Good Works

The Importance of Personal Bible Study

R.C. Sproul wrote a book a while back called 5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow and he cut videos to promote the book. I love the simple way he explains the importance of reading the Bible in Part 1. Hope you enjoy (if you subscribe to this blog via email, you will need to click through to the blog to see the video):

Meditating on Scripture

Photo: George Bannister

If we aren’t careful, our daily devotions can become a formulaic routine in which we check a box and move on without ever interacting with God or facing our own sin.

Over the years, I have used Bible reading plans, but I’m growing less fond of them because they emphasize reading a certain amount of Scripture without any regard for interacting with it.

Maybe we place such a high emphasis on reading plans because so many Christians aren’t in the Word on a regular basis and therefore we are just hoping to get them started by providing structure.

That makes sense, but a quick read of a passage will never have as much impact as meditating on it will.

If a believer only reads Scripture and never meditates on it, he may have a large amount of head knowledge along with a puffed up sense of self. But when a believer routinely meditates on what he reads, he tends to have a spirit of humility because he has wrestled with God and has been humbled.

Let’s look at a few passages that convey this concept of meditation on Scripture better than I can:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

According to Strong’s Bible dictionary, the Hebrew word for “meditate” used in this passage means “to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication to ponder: - imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, utter.”

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law[b] of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)

The same Hebrew word for meditate is used in this passage as in Joshua 1:8.

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” (Psalm 119:15)

The Hebrew word for “meditate” in this passage is different, but it means much the same: “A primitive root; to ponder, that is, (by implication) converse (with oneself, and hence aloud) or (transitively) utter: - commune, complain, declare, meditate, muse, pray, speak, talk (with).”

“Until I [Paul] come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” (1 Timothy 4:13-15)

The word for “practice” here in the ESV is translated as “meditate” in the KJV. The Greek word from which they are translated means “to take care of, that is, (by implication) revolve in the mind: - imagine, (pre-) meditate.”

So if we are to murmur, ponder, imagine, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, utter, converse (with oneself, and hence aloud), commune, complain, declare, muse, pray, speak, talk (with), take care of, revolve in the mind and/or meditate on God’s Word, then a cursory reading of the Word isn’t enough.

What does meditating on the Word look like, practically speaking?

Everybody meditates on Scripture, and ultimately wrestles with God, in a different way. When I am meditating on the Word, which admittedly isn’t often enough, I am reading Scripture in small(er) chunks, reading a passage multiple times, underlining words or phrases that speak to me, using commentaries and concordances to gain a better understanding, journaling about the passage – asking myself hard questions, praying over the passage to confess a sin or ask for guidance, and writing down passages on index cards and carrying them around with me to meditate on throughout the day and week.

I would love to hear how you meditate on God’s Word. What does it look like, practically speaking?

Daily Quiet Time Tips for New Believers

I asked this question on social media last week: What one tip would you offer a new believer about starting a daily quiet time? [If you are not following The Spiritual Man Cave on social media, here’s your chance: Twitter / Facebook.]

Here are a couple of the answers I received – both had a similar theme:

“Get a book of short devotionals that has scripture readings with each daily devotion – something like Our Daily Bread,” said Pat Mingarelli with the Creation Speaks Project.

Our Daily Bread (ODB) was the first devotional book(let) I used when I became a Christian. ODB provides an audio version of each devotion that Christian radio stations run. That’s how I first learned about it. Now, you can go to the ODB website and either read or listen to the devotion whenever you want to.

One of the reasons it’s a great resource for new believers is because it starts with a real life anecdote that most of us can relate to. And then it makes a spiritual application. Those little life lessons tend to stick with you the rest of the day, and beyond.

Pastor and author Ron Benson also suggested starting small, but he expanded upon that by saying to tie the small start to an already established habit.

“A small start would be a read-through of the gospel of John, or an epistle like Ephesians. I wouldn’t, for instance, recommend a full-on read-through of the whole Bible. I’ve found that when I tie a new habit with an old habit, the new one falls into place much quicker. For instance, if you have a half-cup of coffee every morning before anything else, tie that coffee into a talk with God. Or if you shower every day, start having a quiet time ten minutes before your shower every day.”

Let’s keep this going in the comments. What one tip would you offer a new believer about starting a daily quiet time? Or maybe the better question is, what one tip have you offered a new believer about starting a daily quiet time that helped him or her?

Q & A with Author Doug Gilmer, Part 2

Today we continue with Part 2 of the Q & A with Doug Gilmer, author of the devotional book, Backcountry Devotions (available in both print and e-book format: Kindle / Nook).

If you missed Part 1, here is a link so you can catch up.

Your devotional also includes beautiful photos that go along with your messages. Did you do that because men are so visual? 

A picture is worth a thousand words someone once said. The idea behind the pictures wasn’t for more visually inclined men but for everyone, women included. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or woman to appreciate the beauty and majesty of God’s creation.

As a matter of fact, in the Adventure Leadership and Outdoor Ministry academic program I direct at Liberty University, nearly half of my students are women. Along with this is the fact I have been writing for magazines for several years and I know the power the photographs contain in helping to illustrate or otherwise tell a story.

And in full disclosure, while some of the photos are mine, some came from the publisher. The cover photo was shot by James Overstreet, a photographer for ESPN Outdoors and all around great guy. More of his work can be viewed at OutdoorShooter.com.

What does your current devotional life look like? Do you use devotional material, are you studying a certain theme, something else?

My mind rarely slows down and I am constantly researching or thinking of new ideas to explore in Scripture. I keep them written down in a journal and I work down the list. I don’t use too many devotional books myself except for some of the classics as I don’t want to rely on them.

Being in academia I have to read a great deal of faith-based research or other material regularly. Forcing myself to do self study keeps me sharp. One book I have enjoyed recently, however, is called “The Thrive Journal” by Linda Freeman. Instead of being just an inspirational devotional, it is very introspective and forces you to think.

I also spend a great deal of time journaling what it is I am studying so I can go back and review it later. It’s amazing to me to go back and see where God has taken me spiritually over the years just by going back and reading what I have journaled.

Do you have any practical tips for us regarding our devotional time – anything that has worked well for you? 

As I mentioned previously, journaling is a key element for me and should be a part of anyone’s devotional time. Keeping a journal documents what God is teaching us, reminds us of where we’ve been, and helps to chart a course of where we are headed.

I also have my quiet time in the morning, however, that doesn’t mean mornings are the right time for everyone. Whether you have your devotional time in the morning, noon, or night; seven, five, or three days a week, the key is consistency. Make it a habit.

Also, make it interesting and relevant to where you are in life. Your devotions should not be a drudgery. You should look forward to them and to what God is going to teach you.

I am so committed to journaling that I require all of my college students in my program to keep a journal. Each week they are required to spend time outside and they have to journal about the experience. Not only that, but they have to make a spiritual application, from the Bible, to their journal entry. They have to turn them in every week. I don’t call attendance – my teaching assistant and I review journals instead. At least once in the semester, all of my students will have to give a 10 minute devotion to the class based on one of those journal entries. I call it outdoor exegesis.

One study for me which never gets old is the Psalms and Proverbs. I don’t care who you are, they are always relevant. There are 150 Psalms and 31 Proverbs. Read five Psalms each day and one Proverb and you will work your way through them in a month (just leave yourself extra time when you reach the day on which you read Psalms 119!).

Anything you want to add?

Being outdoors is not only fun and relaxing, but it can also be an incredible time of renewal, comfort and counsel. When we are outside. we see just how big God is, just how small we are, and how insignificant our problems seem when compared to a God who created all that we see.

In Mark 9, the disciples didn’t fully witness Jesus as God over six days of hanging out with him. It wasn’t until he intentionally took them, led them up on a high mountain, away from everyone else and free from all distraction, that they saw his divine presence.

In Genesis 15, God appeared to Abraham and made him a promise. Abraham could not understand what God was telling him until God brought him outside (verse 5). Once he left the security of his tent, he saw the stars above and God’s promise became real.

When Job was destitute, defeated, and beginning to question God over all that happened to him, he is given this advice in chapter 37:14, “Listen to this O Job, Stand and consider the wonders of God.” This is good advice for all of us, “Stand and consider the wonders of God.” When we do, we can’t help but be amazed and we can’t help but see God for who he truly is.

You can read more of Doug's insights on his blog: Backcountry Chaplain. And you can follow him on Twitter: @DouglasGilmer.

Q & A with Author Doug Gilmer

We are joined today by author and outdoor enthusiast Doug Gilmer, also known as the Backcountry Chaplain. He has a blog by the same name.

Gilmer has a written a devotional book called “Backcountry Devotions” that is available in both print and e-book (Kindle / Nook) that I think you’ll find interesting, so I invited him here to speak about the connection between God and man in the outdoors.

Gilmer has been a licensed hunter since he was 12 years old. His first introduction to archery and big game hunting came from the legendary Fred Bear himself. Today, Gilmer is a freelance outdoor writer and operates Gilmer Outdoors, an outdoor communications, public relations, and consulting company.

He is also involved in Wildlife Interactive, LLC, Kicking Bear Foundation, and several other efforts to teach and inspire people to love and respect the outdoors. And he is a professor and the program director for the Adventure Leadership & Outdoor Ministry academic program at Liberty University. The program prepares students who not only have a passion for the outdoors but also a calling to use that passion in full-time ministry.

Thanks for joining us here at the Spiritual Man Cave, Doug. We appreciate your time.

It’s my pleasure and honor Lee! I love talking about the things I love, so you caught me hook, line, and sinker with your invitation.

What was your inspiration for writing your recently released devotional book, Backcountry Devotions?

In 2011 I decided I wanted to try and write a daily devotion (at least five days a week) where the scripture reference for the devotion corresponded to the date, month, and day. For instance, January 1 corresponds to Genesis 1:1, August 2 to Deuteronomy 8:2, March 6 to Proverbs 3:6.

Unbeknownst to me, Darin Letzring who owns Montana based Backcountry Adventure Press was subscribing to my devotions and he contacted me about putting them in a book. I had considered a book previously and had a number of people ask me to put them in a book, but I already had another writing project I was working. With Darin’s company on board I had resources available to make it happen much easier than if I did it myself.

As for the devotions, I managed to write five days a week for a year with only a few exceptions. I got to know the first 12 chapters and 31 verses of each book of the Bible very well.

When I was growing up, my parents divorced at an early age, but my grandfather took me fishing a couple of times a year. And while we were there, he was always teaching me about something. But now, as a society, we are a couple of generations deep into smart phones, video games, tablets, and various other forms of technology that threaten to be a time drain on men’s lives, pulling us away from the outdoors. Is your devotional a response to this – hoping to call us back to nature, and ultimately to nature’s God?

It is largely. The sad fact is that the average young person today spends seven hours a day in front of a TV or computer screen and, in contrast, only four to seven minutes outside playing. This is totally reversed from when I grew up. Granted, the only video games we had were the original Pong, and later Atari in the mid- to late-‘80s, but still our parents wouldn’t let us sit inside and play them all day.

As people continue to distance themselves from creation they are distancing themselves from the Creator as well. Creation is the greatest witness to God’s attributes (Romans 1:20) and to ignore it means we are choosing to ignore what God can teach us through it.

We must not forget the Bible begins and ends with creation. There are over 1,000 mentions of creation in the Bible (more than love and heaven); the word “wilderness” is mentioned over 260 times. There are about 150 references to archery in the Bible. Fishing illustrations are used throughout the Gospels. The first land and wildlife conservation practices were recorded first in the Bible.

If you look through the Bible you also see nearly every time God called someone to do greatness, he did it in an outdoor, wilderness environment. God obviously placed an important emphasis on the outdoors throughout the Bible, so why wouldn’t we follow that example?

Your devotional has a unique layout: fifteen devotions, four guided Bible Study discussions, a list of Bible verses applicable to the outdoors, and six hymns. I envision a man, or a father and son, or a group of men gathered around a campfire reading one of your devotions, talking about a couple of outdoor-related Bible verses, and singing a hymn afterward. Is that why you chose this type of layout or was there some other reason?

The layout was suggested by the publisher. Backcountry Adventure Press publishes books for those seeking backcountry hiking, camping, and fishing destinations in the western states. They envisioned a book one could throw in his or her backpack and take on a two to three week backcountry expedition.

There is enough flexibility in the book so it can be used on solo treks, as a small group devotional, or even as a Bible study in your home. The list of verses is important as we tend to forget sometimes just how relevant the Bible is to outdoor enthusiasts; whether they enjoy hiking, camping, backpacking, hunting, or fishing.

Including the hymns is also intentional. Man is the only creature God created with the ability to outwardly express worship. And while we do not worship the creation, we do worship the Creator.

*****

Stop by tomorrow for Part 2 of our Q & A with Doug Gilmer

Finding the Right Devotional Book

I have a confession to make.

I unfollowed someone on Twitter last week because he was tweeting nonstop about Duck Dynasty. I thought he might be an overzealous Oregon Ducks college basketball fan and all of the #duckdynasty #duckdynastycall #duckcommander hashtags were giving me a headache.

The moment I walked into a Books-a-Million with a friend on Saturday night, a clerk informed us that the Duck Dynasty display table was the most popular one in the store at the moment. That didn’t mean anything to me until I glanced at it and discovered that Duck Dynasty is a reality TV show on A&E about a family that runs a duck call fabrication business. Who knew?

Apparently a lot of people.

While I browsed the table, I found a nice devotional book called A Look at Life from a Deer Stand by Steve Chapman. It reminded me about how many niche devotional books are available right now. No matter what you are into, you can probably find a devotional book.

Here are more niche devotionals that may be of interest to men:

• The Cheesehead Devotional: Daily Meditations for Green Bay Packers, Their Fans, and NFL Football Fanatics by Judy DuCharme
• The Heart of an Athlete: Daily Devotions for Peak Performance by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• The Runner's Devotional: Inspiration and Motivation for Life's Journey . . . On and Off the Road by David R. Veerman and Dana Niesluchowski
• Devotions From a Hunting, Fishing, and Sports Father to His Son by Gary Miller
• Daily Devotions for Die-Hard Fans by Ed McMinn (He has an entire series of these books featured one college football team after another, including Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, etc.)
• Go for the Green by Jeff Hopper
• 30 Devotions for Boaters by Vic Perry
• Devotional Ventures: 60 Inspiring Devotions by Business Professionals for Business Professionals by Corey Cleek
• Monday Memos: A daily devotional for those in the workplace by Mark Bilton
• A Career Devotional by Tom Jones

Missionary on a Baseball Field

John Wasdin in action.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Cake6)

Sometimes, one comment can change everything.

John Wasdin was originally drafted by the New York Yankees and he went on to pitch for seven other teams in the major leagues from 1995-2007, plus a stint in Japan. He went 39-39 with a 5.28 ERA in the majors as a middle reliever. He bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the majors his entire career (which ended in 2009). He was 77-42 with a 3.84 ERA in his minor league career.

I interviewed him in 2006 (he was 34 at the time) while he was with the Texas Rangers and during that interview he admitted to wondering at times why he had to bounce around with so many teams, and ultimately why it had been so difficult for him to stay in the big leagues. Someone made a comment to him while he was pitching in Japan and it changed his perspective.

“Someone said, “Man, you’re a missionary on the baseball field.’”

It gave him new purpose.

“For 14 years, I’ve got to share who I am, be who I am in Christ, and they’ve got to see that,” he said, referring to his many teammates. “Instead of witnessing to one team for 14 years, I’ve got to witness to many, many teams in the major leagues and in the minor leagues.”

This looked different depending on the team he was on.

He recalled being in the minor leagues with Texas the prior season (2005) and meeting with fellow Oklahoma City teammates to discuss the book Every Man’s Battle, which allowed them to be open and honest about their struggles.

One of his Oklahoma City teammates was a new believer and they decided to work their way through the book of Acts together and they kept at it, even after Wasdin got called up to the big league club. They called each other every day and discussed what they had read in Acts during their devotions.

The Rangers released Wasdin seven weeks after our interview. But he took his missionary outlook with him and I am sure he continued the work of the kingdom in the places he played after that.

I’m wondering if you might feel the way Wasdin did. Maybe your career hasn’t turned out the way you planned. Maybe you’ve been laid off multiple times, or downsized when the economy turned south and you wonder why you can’t seem to get your feet under you. What if God is moving you around because he wants you to be a missionary in the banking or real estate industry or some other field?

If that’s the case, then don’t miss your chance to walk a new believer in your current place of employment through a book in the Bible. You don’t have to be highly trained. You’ve been reading your Bible for some time now. Start where you are. If you are working your way through the book of Ephesians, then invite a receptive male co-worker to read through the same passages so you can discuss what you’ve read over lunch.

Even if you move on to another company for one reason or another, you will have left a lasting spiritual legacy that will bear fruit long after you are gone.

Praying for the World, One Country at a Time

John Knox prayed, “Lord, give me Scotland lest I die.”

Paul wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:2-3).

Jesus prayed, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word ... I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17).

All three ached to reach the lost, but notice how specific their concerns were – for Scotland, for kinsmen and for those whom God had given to Jesus. Their burdens were tangible. I think there’s something to that.

Years ago, I came across a book called Operation World by Operation Mobilization. It’s formatted for daily use, giving readers specific demographics and prayer points for every country in the world. It’s the best resource I’ve seen when it comes to praying for the nations.

I have an old edition (5th edition) of the book, so I need to purchase an update (the most current is the 7th edition), but I just opened my copy to March 11 and the country to pray for today is Botswana (in Africa). Again, this is old information so I won’t list particulars, but it lists the country’s economic condition, political positions, social problems, religious breakdown, church problems, and it provides seven specifics to pray about.

Over the years, I’ve worked my way through this book twice. It’s been a while, so I need to make it a priority again soon. But if you are looking for something specific to pray about during your devotional time, how about praying for the nations – one by one for a year? (No, there aren’t enough countries to pray for one all 365 days, but the book includes various islands and territories, and it also includes days to pray for items such as Christian literature, relief and development, medical mission work, etc.).

Doing so will give you a view of the world from a kingdom perspective.

Giveaway: Racin' Flat Out for Christ

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas recently released my NASCAR devotional book, Racin’ Flat Out for Christ, which takes you behind the scenes in the sport to show you what God is doing.

You’ll hear from 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne as he talks about the importance of getting his priorities straight before he won that race. You’ll see how God used the outreach of the NASCAR community after a tornado in Texas to reach a soul for Christ. You’ll learn about how close a group of drivers have become since getting involved in a Bible study together. And you will read stories about what God is doing in the garage to change lives. But most of all, you’ll be challenged to race flat out for Christ in your own life.

I will be holding a drawing to give away one copy of the book each week over the next few weeks. To be eligible to win a copy this week (the promotion runs through Sunday):

1. Include this blurb on Twitter or Facebook: Win a free copy of the 30-day devo “Racin Flat Out for Christ” by Lee Warren (@SpiritManCave). For details visit: http://bit.ly/ZlVrA8


2. Subscribe to this blog via email (use the subscription box at the top right hand side of the page).


3. Leave a comment below to let me know you left the blurb on social media and to say anything else you would like to say.

I will announce the first winner on Monday.

Starting before the Face of the King

The inside cover of the copy of “Words of
Wisdom” Coach Moore sent me.

The world will remember Appalachian State head football coach Jerry Moore for his impressive career statistics. Heaven will remember him for a different set of numbers.

I interviewed Moore six years ago for Baptist Press Sports. They had just won their second straight NCAA Division I FCS national championship. They went on to win the championship the next year as well.

Over his 24-year career at Appalachian State, Moore compiled a 215-87 record, making him the winningest coach in Southern Conference history. His team won ten conference titles, including six straight from 2005-10.

He illustrious career came to an end after last season. Some say he retired, some say he was pushed out. But either way, I have a feeling the 73-year-old won’t be thinking about his career statistics. Instead he’ll be thinking about the players he has coached over the years.

But let me back up a little.

When I talked to him, he came to life when I asked him about his devotional habits. He told me he uses a 31-day devotional guide called “Words of Wisdom” that a friend gave him while he was an assistant coach at Arkansas in 1989. The book only includes the words of the Psalms and Proverbs – broken down into daily readings of five psalms and one proverb.

“When I get up in the morning, I’ll pour myself a cup of coffee and I won’t read a newspaper,” Moore told me. “I won’t watch the news. I won’t read a flyer that may be laying there. I won’t read anything until I’ve read my five psalms and one proverb. I haven’t been a hundred percent, but I’ve started nearly every day that way since 1989.”

He tapes pictures of his relatives and friends throughout the book so he can remember to pray for them. And he has given hundreds of his players a copy of the book as well. Before he hands them a copy, he inscribes a quote from F.B. Meyer on the inside cover: “Let the first moments of the day, when your heart is fresh, be given to God. Do not see the face of man till you have seen the King.”

He once brought in a speaker who presented the gospel and 57 players and one coach either placed their faith in Christ for the first time or made a recommitment. He wrote down all 58 names in his “Words of Wisdom” book and he told me he prays for them regularly. It’s a beautiful legacy of one man who starts each morning before the face of the King of Kings.

A few days after our interview, a package arrived at my house. I opened it and found my own leather bound copy of “Words of Wisdom” from Coach Moore. He had my name engraved on the cover and inside he wrote the F.B. Meyer quote.

I think the book has gone through several editions and they are hard to come by, but I found one edition still available through Amazon.com (they have 19 used copies as of this writing). Of course, you don’t need to buy a copy. You can read five psalms and one proverb every day out of your own Bible. But the edition Moore sent me has is compact and has room for notes, prayers, and photos, so that’s nice too.

Either way, if you are struggling with something and need wisdom from on high, what better place to turn for the next month than the Psalms and Proverbs?

T.S. Mooney: It was Time to Pray

If you have ever fallen for the lie that your prayers are ineffectual, then you need to hear about a man named T.S. Mooney.

Alistair Begg told a story on his radio broadcast Truth for Life this week about Mooney, a man who never married, but made an enormous impact for the kingdom through prayer. Mooney, who was a banker by trade, taught a boys’ Bible class for fifty years in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Fifty years. Let that sort of commitment sink in.

Begg asked him one day about his plan and purpose for the boys.

“My plan for the Bible class has always been to give every boy a Bible in his hand, a Savior in his heart and a purpose in his life,” Mooney said.

Mooney prayed for each boy routinely, keeping up with them as they grew up. Begg said that when he visited Mooney in his apartment one day, Mooney had photos of men who went through his class as boys hung all over his apartment. Sprinkled all over his walls were photos of judges, surgeons, teachers, mechanics, plumbers and all sorts of other people – all of whom were influenced by Mooney’s teaching and prayers.

Mooney died in 1986. But he left quite a legacy, even in his death. Begg described Mooney’s posture on the day he died and entered heaven.

“The housekeeper found him in the morning – fully dressed and kneeling over his bed,” Begg said. “He had gone into the presence of Jesus on his knees.”

His housekeeper called for help and the headmaster and one of the men who had gone through his Bible class years prior showed up. As they pulled Mooney back from the bed, they found a little black book alongside his Bible. “They looked down to find their names amongst the list of many names,” Begg said. “It was morning. It was time to pray. And he was praying.”

Can you imagine a better way to die?

And can you imagine how those two men felt when they looked into Mooney’s little black book and realized he had been praying for them?

Sort of makes you want to start your own little black prayer book, doesn’t it?

Being Changed by Prayer

Photo: Milan

Are you struggling with a situation at work or maybe with a personal decision? Is sin weighing heavy on your soul? Do you feel distant from God? Maybe the following insights will help you draw near to God once again.

“Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” –Charles H. Spurgeon

“I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.” –Ravi Zacharias, “Has Christianity Failed You?”

“Not being changed by prayer is sort of life standing in the middle of a spring rain without getting wet. It’s hard to stand in the center of God’s acceptance and love without getting it all over you.” –Steve Brown, “Approaching God: Accepting the Invitation to Stand in the Presence of God”

“We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.” –Oswald Chambers

“He who kneels the most, stands the best.” –Dwight Lyman Moody

William Wilberforce on Private Devotions

This statue of Wilberforce is located in
Hull, England in the garden of the
house he was born in in 1759.
Photo: summonedbyfells

William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the man who fought so valiantly against slavery in Parliament, knew he could not do battle in the political trenches without pulling away to spend time with God every day.

Here is what he is quoted as saying about private devotions in John Piper’s book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry.

This perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body. More solitude and earlier hours! I suspect I have been allotting habitually too little time to religious exercises, as private devotion and religious meditation, Scripture-reading, etc. Hence I am lean and cold and hard. I had better allot two hours or an hour and a half daily. I have been keeping too late hours, and hence have had but a hurried half hour in a morning to myself. Surely the experience of all good men confirms the proposition that without a due measure of private devotions the soul will grow lean. But all may be done through prayer ... almighty prayer, I am ready to say ... and why not? For that it is almighty is only through the gracious ordination of the God of love and truth. O then, pray, pray, pray!

I don’t think Wilberforce was saying everyone should allot two hours every day for private devotions. Instead, he was saying he needed to allot that much time because if he didn’t he felt ruined in soul and body.

That made me think about how long I need to spend every day with the Maker. I don’t have an answer yet, but I’m working on one. How about you? How long do you need to spend with him?

Q & A with Author Nick Harrison, Part 2

If you missed Part 1 of the Q & A with Nick Harrison, senior editor at Harvest House Publishers and author of five devotional books, you missed a lot. Go back and read it, and then enjoy Part 2.

And if you are looking for some new devotional material, I hope you will stop by Nick’s website and pick up one or two of his books.

You became a Christian through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ during the Jesus Movement of the 1970s. How long did it take you to establish a devotional life and what did it look like initially?

Early on, I used the popular devotionals such as “My Utmost for His Highest” and “Streams in the Desert.” Every Christian should go through those books several times in their lifetime.

As you matured in the faith, how did that change?

I became a bit less rigid in my desire to read a daily devotional and changed more to books that were simply devotional in nature. These would include some of those writers I quote often: Andrew Murray, Hannah Whitall Smith, Watchman Nee, and others.

What types of devotional material do you use today? Are you working through a certain devotional book right now?

I’m still reading the old writers. I find that they take me to a place many contemporary writers don’t. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the contemporary writers – I do. But for growth and for the devotional life, I really prefer the classic authors.

Do you have any practical tips for us regarding our devotional time – anything that has worked well for you (like keeping a spiritual journal, or meeting with God at the same time every day, etc.)?

I often hear people saying that devotions are best done in the morning. Maybe that’s true for some, but I don’t think that’s true of everyone. I’m more of a night person and I can enjoy time with the Lord more in the evening than in the morning.

I would say that everyone should find the time, the place, and the reading matter that’s right for them and forget about rules – with one possible exception, and that’s that some of us have to set aside a specific time to be alone with God or it won’t happen. We get so easily distracted. Choose a time that works for you and consider it as if it’s an appointment. We wouldn’t easily skip a doctor’s appointment or a lunch date with a friend; neither should we want to skip a set time we meet with the Lord.

Above all, our time with God should be natural, not forced. If it’s forced, try to find ways to make it more natural. Change locations, the time, or the format. Or if you’re just starting, don’t try to make it a long appointment. Start with five or ten minutes and see if it grows over time.

Everybody is busy these days. But let’s talk specifically about men right now. Few of us work eight hours a day without being accessible to the office via our smart phones. We want to spend time with our family and attend our children’s extracurricular activities. We also need downtime. And usually, one of the first things to go when life gets busy is our daily devotional time. Why is it so important for us to make time to spend with God every day?

I think the simplest reason is that we become like those we spend the most time with. If we spend a lot of time in front of TV, we’ll begin to adopt the attitudes and persona of those we watch on the tube. If we spend more time with the Lord, we will become more like Him.

Another benefit is that being still with the Lord (and being still should be part of our time with Him) helps us quiet our souls. I have a problem with quieting my soul. My soul is very easily stimulated and can jump from one thing to the next without thinking. Being quiet helps me learn stillness. For me, that’s important.

Being busy is no excuse. Martin Luther reportedly said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” I’m not there yet (praying three hours on busy days) and never will be, but then I’m not called to be Martin Luther. That’s really an important lesson: we all need to find our identity in Christ and our calling in this life and then live it out as faithfully as we can. I’m convinced if a person does that, he or she will have a happy productive life.