Author: Ken Crawford

Church Transitions and Conflict Solutions

God Has Not Gone Missing…

Then [the Lord’s people] remembered the old days, the days of Moses, God’s servant: “Where is he who brought the shepherds of his flock up and out of the sea? And what happened to the One who set his Holy Spirit within them?” — Isaiah 63:11 MESSAGE

In their rebellion against God, the Lord’s people forgot that they were the ones who had left him rather than him abandoning them. They wondered why the power and influence of the Holy Spirit weren’t present in the life of their community and in their nation when they, in fact, had grieved and opposed the Spirit of the Living God. God’s Spirit will not abandon us, but we can grieve the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30), quench his influence and presence (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20), and resist his influence and teaching (Acts 7:51). The yearning we feel for God’s presence in us through the Holy Spirit is a good thing. That longing reminds us of our need to return to God!

Loving Father, the holy and Almighty God, my soul yearns for your presence. I need your guidance. And I recognize that when I have been unwilling to listen for your voice, I have separated myself from the influence of your presence and have only caused myself grief. Please forgive me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Spirit Driven Ministry

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. — Isaiah 61:1 NIV

God’s servants in every era, including now, are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit produces holy fruit in their lives (Galatians 5:22-23), shapes their hearts, and guides their efforts toward ministry that conforms to the heart of God: He sends them to bind up the broken, bring freedom to those in captivity, and proclaim release from darkness for those imprisoned. We can get an idea of the way we are yielding to the Spirit’s leading when we see what resonates in our hearts and what our hands find to do as ministry!

Almighty God, make my heart yearn for what you long to happen. Guide my hands to do the work that you want to be done. Open my eyes to see those who need to receive your mercy. Move in me powerfully with your Spirit to conform me — heart, soul, mind, and strength — to your holy and compassionate will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Decline of Nations

“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.” — Isaiah 30:1 NLT

In the time of Isaiah, God’s people were in a very difficult predicament politically and militarily. They saw making alliances with foreign governments their only hope for survival. Why is it that we, the people of God, so easily forget that God is our only hope for survival — not military might, not financial strength, not alliances with other people or other governments. The problem is that we don’t live directed by the Spirit. Galatians 5 reminds us that we are to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), to be “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18), and to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Eight centuries before Galatians was written, Isaiah was challenging God’s people to live this way, and they ignored him — and even more importantly, they ignored God — bringing disaster upon themselves. I wonder if we are listening to him today?

Father God, King of Glory, I surrender my heart to be influenced, led, and directed by the Spirit so that I can produce the fruit of the Spirit in my life as I walk in step with the Spirit’s will in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Listen to God’s Word

[After the return of the people of Judah from Babylon, this is what the Lord said about them,] “They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.” — Zechariah 7:12 NLT

God had told his people to “show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other” (Zechariah 7:9-10). But they wanted a quick and easy religion that made sense to their chosen values, their selfish behaviors, and their disregard for others. They ignored God. They refused to pay attention to the parts of God’s will they didn’t want to obey. They chose to harden their hearts to God’s message, the message the Holy Spirit had inspired the prophets to speak. We must not be like them. We must heed God’s warning: The words of the prophets, the message of Scripture, are not human words. They come from God and reveal what is important to him (2 Peter 1:19-21). We ignore them at our spiritual peril.

Lord of Heaven’s Armies, forgive me for not valuing what you value, not doing what you command, and not loving people, especially the vulnerable, as you do. Conform my heart to your will through the power of the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

What Will You Choose?

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. — Galatians 6:8 NLT

We have to make a choice. There are only two possibilities: Either we will choose to live out of our sinful nature, or we will choose to live to honor and please the Spirit of God within us. To do the first, we need no real commitment — we will live out of our sinful nature by default; no surrender to a higher calling is required. To do the latter (to live to honor and please the Spirit), we must intentionally yield to the Spirit’s influence in our lives. In the dance of life, we want to yield daily to the leading of the Holy Spirit! The results of this daily choice are starkly opposite: a self-centered, sinful life leading to decay and death on the one hand versus abundant life leading to everlasting life!

Father in Heaven, I choose to live to please your Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is at work in me to bring life in me. I want that life, your everlasting life. So please influence me in every aspect of my life through the work of your Holy Spirit within me. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Nation Needs Jesus

My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way,
and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Isaiah 51:5 (NIV)

God’s promises stand through the ages. He has fulfilled them in many different ways. He has punished evil nations, he has redeemed Israel according to his promises, and he has sent Jesus as Savior and redeemer. But most importantly of all, Jesus stands at the edge of history waiting to return and bring full redemption for God’s people and salvation for those everywhere who long for his return.

Father in Heaven,
I see so much injustice in the world and I long for truth, righteousness,
and justice to triumph. While I long for the return of Jesus,
my heart also breaks for the many that do not know Jesus
and for those who are in rebellion to your will.
I don’t know what to ask other than that your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven and may the triumph of your will begin with me.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.

Choose Wisely

[Paul and his traveling companions] looked up the local disciples [in Tyre] and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given by the Spirit, was “Don’t go to Jerusalem.” –  Acts 21:4 MSG

Okay, I admit this is confusing. Paul is convicted that he must go to Jerusalem. At the same time, he knows hardship awaits him. Now this warning from the Spirit: “Don’t go to Jerusalem!” I don’t know any way to understand this situation other than one of two ways. One, Paul is disobeying the Spirit when he goes to Jerusalem. Two, this message is more of the Spirit alerting him that grief and hardship await him if he goes to Jerusalem than it is the Spirit instructing him not to go. Here’s the bottom line: Either way, God uses this trip to Jerusalem to deliver the collection from the Gentile churches and to get Paul to Rome, where the good news of Jesus needed to be heard and where Paul was determined to go. Somewhere in the confusion we all face in trying to follow the Spirit’s lead, we have to trust that God will get us where we need to be and doing what we need to do to honor him fully (Romans 8:28, 38-39). The question is whether we are willing to invest ourselves fully and trust in the Spirit leading us no matter what the short-term consequences of our commitment may be.

Gracious Father in heaven, I trust that you will use the Holy Spirit to lead me where I need to be to do the work you want me to do. I ask, dear Father, that my life glorifies you no matter where your leading takes me or what your leading entails. My deepest prayer, Lord, is that I never, ever, outlive my love for you and my trust in you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

All Nations Need God

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
– Matthew 12:18 NIV

Matthew is quoting a prophecy from Isaiah 42, applying it to Jesus in a time of rising conflict. In spite of the conflict, Jesus refuses to stop ministering even though he is under intense scrutiny and faced fierce opposition. Instead, he takes his closest followers and teaches them his will and shares his healing grace with those who are in need. With God’s approval and the power of the Holy Spirit upon him, he cares for the broken in the face of hostility and shares grace in the face of criticism. Through kindness, compassion, integrity, and passion, Jesus accomplishes what only Immanuel can do — he brings God’s grace and social justice to all nations — and he does it even under unfair scrutiny because the Father has empowered him through the Holy Spirit!

Father, we confess that we sometimes give in to fear. We fear aging and illness. We fear the crazy swings in the economy. We fear the legal opposition to practicing our faith openly in our schools, at work, or online. We confess that when we fear these things, we forget that you are still at work in our world and in us. Give us courage and tenderness through the work of your Spirit within us so that we will minister as Jesus did, including in times of opposition and hardship. In Jesus’ name, we request this grace. Amen.

Accomplished Task

Inspirational Words

“Well done is better than well said” – Benjamin Franklin

Today’s Word

Well done, good and faithful servant! … Come and share your master’s happiness!  – Matthew 25:21

Thoughts on the Word

As a child some of the sweetest words you ever heard were words of praise. A little girl’s self-esteem grows by leaps and bounds when she knows that her parents are proud of her. “You did well with your recital.” “You did well when you took care of your little brother.” “We are very proud of the way you handled yourself.” “We know you’ve worked hard, and you did well.”

Husbands love to hear it from their wives and wives long to hear it from their husbands. Friends love to hear, “Well done” from the lips of a friend. These two words can give so much encouragement. These two words provide so much strength. These two words can keep a person going when they are weary and weak. These two words can lift our spirits. These two words can change a day and can change a life.

No matter how much we love to hear “Well done!” from another human being, and no matter how many times we hear them in this world, there will be no comparison to how it will sound when we hear the Lord say it when we finish this journey.

Prayer for Today

Precious Lord Jesus, all our efforts and labors have been done for your glory and the expansion of your kingdom. Accept our humble efforts and be pleased with our joyful sacrifice. May all our days be a blessing to your name.  Amen