Tag: Rev. Dr. Ken Crawford

By God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
— Romans 15:32

Our lives, our futures, and our plans are in God’s hands. This inescapable reality is the basis of our existence. It is also the foundation of our joy and refreshment when we are with each other. Think about it a second: our meetings with each other, and our ministry to each other, are not chance happenings. They are acts of God’s grace that gives us a chance to share in God’s blessing and joy.

Holy Father, thank you for your direct involvement in my life. Thank you for the leading of your Spirit, the guidance of your Word, and the wisdom of older Christians. These have all deepened the meaning of my life and empowered my service to your Kingdom. Please give me a more profound sense of grace and joy when I am able to be with Christians wherever that may be. I know these precious members of your family are not chance acquaintances I make along the way, but are the reminders of your desire to bless me and refresh your children with your presence. In Jesus’ name I thank you. Amen.

[Jesus said,] “So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.'”
— John 3:7 NLT

We sometimes fail to realize that Nicodemus is the ultimate good guy — he is the best of the best. He is a religious leader and teacher. He has come to Jesus out of darkness to find light. He has noticed what Jesus has said and done and believes the only way Jesus could do those things is that he has come from God. But knowing and saying the right things about Jesus are not what makes a person a true follower of Jesus, a disciple, a real Christian. If Nicodemus, the best of the best, has to be “born again,” then so do all the rest of us! Being born again is a great essential, a great “have to,” that we all must experience. So where are you? Have you been “born of water and the Spirit”? Have you been born of God? Have you been born again?

Father, thank you for my “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade”! Thank you for the cleansing power and the new life that comes from the Holy Spirit. I praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
— Matthew 7:12

Ah! The “Golden Rule” is so straightforward, isn’t it? Sometimes we make things, especially religious things, far too complicated and complex. I love the Bible because it is so often practical and plain when God deals with our behavior. You want to know how to treat someone? Then do for them what would be a blessing if it was done to you! If it wouldn’t bless, encourage, build up, support, comfort, or help you, then don’t do it to them. If it would hurt, wound, depress, spite, or discourage you, then don’t do it to them. Treat others with the same dignity, kindness, love, respect, and tenderness with which you would like to be treated. Simple to understand; revolutionary to do!

Almighty God, thank you for making some things so simple to understand. Please fill my heart with your love as I try to live the “Golden Rule” in my relationships. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.
— 1 Samuel 3:19

Samuel began his ministry at such a young age and was so important in bridging the generations between the period of the Judges and the period of the Kings. During that whole time, God was with him and empowered his ministry, making his words true and effective. Let’s pray that God does the same with his spokespeople today. May God use his servants effectively all their lives and not let any of their words fall to the ground.

Today, O God, I ask you to empower your faithful servants who proclaim your Word all over the world. Please bless them with a season of freedom from satanic attack. Bless them with health, vigor, and passion. Please give them a long life full of useful service empowered by your grace. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.
— Hebrews 9:15 MESSAGE

Jesus’ sacrifice, his offering of himself as an “unblemished sacrifice,” was not an accident. Yes, evil men put Jesus to death, but it was also part of God’s plan (Acts 2:23). The Holy Spirit guided, prophesied, directed, and led God’s redemptive story through history and brought Jesus to the time of his sacrifice and through his sacrifice to free us from all of our dead-end efforts trying to make our lives lasting and meaningful. This story, Jesus’ triumph, and our part in this story are no accidents! They are because of the work of God’s Spirit, who has been present every step of the journey.

Righteous Father, thank you for your plan and for the Holy Spirit who helped proclaim it and carry it out. Thank you for Jesus who accepted it and won my freedom from sin, death, and uselessness. I praise you from the bottom of my heart. In Jesus’ name, I praise you. Amen.

“The blessed and inviting truth is that God
is the most winsome of all beings
and in our worship of Him
we should find unspeakable pleasure.”
— A. W. Tozer

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.
— Ecclesiastes 7:10

The only thing we get by spending our time looking in the rear view mirror is a big disaster in our front windshield! Our best days as Christians are always ahead. Jesus has promised to return and take us home to God — what better future could there be. So let’s not get distracted with nostalgic cynicism. We can thank God for his past blessings, but let’s not waste the present with pessimism. Let’s make a commitment to redeem our time and trust that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead also holds our future in his hands.

Holy God, give me a sense of purpose in each day that you give me life and give me an optimistic outlook on the future and on my Lord who will meet me there. Please help me have a sense of genuine joy knowing that no matter where the road leads me today, I will journey with you. In Jesus’ name I thank you for being my loving God and eternal Father. Amen.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
— Hebrews 4:12 NIV

The Holy Spirit guides and strengthens Christians in multiple ways (e.g., Romans 8:13-14, Galatians 5:16-26), including through Scripture. The Holy Spirit inspired Scripture and uses Scripture to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us so we can be useful to God and equipped to do good things in the world (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This influence of the Spirit means that the Spirit penetrates into the areas of our being using Scripture to remake us more and more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). The real question for me, and I think for you, is whether we are intentionally asking the Spirit to remake us as we open the word of God. Are we hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of our Lord, and are we longing for the compassion of Jesus that only Spirit-led people can live?

O God, you are my God, and I hunger to be like you in righteous character and gracious compassion. May the Holy Spirit have your way in my heart and remodel my life to be a living echo of the life of your Son, Jesus, my Savior. In his name, I pray. Amen.

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear [God’s] voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness …”
— Hebrews 3:7-8 NIV

God has spoken to the hearts of his children over the centuries inviting them back into relationship with him. These Spirit-inspired messages came in many and various forms, but the clearest came through Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-3). Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us and to those around us, inviting us to come home to him. We must respond, or our hearts harden, and we lose any possible sensitivity to the message of grace. The message from the Holy Spirit, uttered over and over through the centuries, now comes to you and me in today’s verses: “Hear God’s voice! Do not harden your hearts!” How will we respond today?

Father in Heaven, I want to have a tender heart that responds to the Holy Spirit’s invitation to hear your voice and respond to your grace. I ask that the Holy Spirit convict me of my sins, help me take notice of and avoid my vulnerabilities, overcome my weaknesses, and empower me to be like Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
— 1 Peter 5:5

The word “submissive” is often positive or negative based on its relationship to us personally. It’s nice having someone serve us submissively, but serving someone else submissively is hard work. Unfortunately, we are selfish way too much of the time. But God is at work in direct opposition to anyone who is full of pride and unwilling to serve others, especially if those “others” are older believers! Whether it’s easy to wear the clothes our Father demands or not, we are to intentionally clothe ourselves with humility!

Father, thank you so much for the great heroes of faith listed in Scripture. Thank you for those other heroes of faith who have shared their examples and lives with me. Bless them with strength and health. And Father, please use me to bless and to serve all of your children, especially those who have lived many years in faithful service to you and your Kingdom. Because of the grace of Jesus, and in his name I pray. Amen.