Ambrose Brothers

Thoughts on Power through Prayer

Power through Prayer

By E.M. Bounds

This week were going to d something a little different for a book review. As a matter of fact I’m not even going to call it a book review this week; instead well just call it thoughts on the Power through Prayer by E.M. Bounds. Id rather just discuss this book then review it, as I feel completely unworthy to review such a classic, and history has already spoken to its wisdom far better then I can in this short review.

I have spent the last week at Lake Ann camp with the youth at my church. It was a wonderful week, and I may go into more detail on the week at a later date, but for this time I’ll say one great thing about the week was I was able to read some books I had wanted to read for a while now. The Power through Prayer is a Moody Classic, and my Senior Pastor stuck it in my hands several months ago. I’ve wanted to get into it for a while now. And am better for having finally read it.

E.M. Bounds was born in Missouri in 1835. Bounds studied law early in life, and even took the bar at the age of 21, but he soon gave up that life to become a preacher and devotional writer. During the Civil War, Edward McKendree Bounds left the pulpit to become a Chaplin traveling with the army. After the war Bounds returned to the pulpit, pasturing churches in Tennessee, Alabama, and Missouri. E.M. Bounds spent the last 17 years of his life with his family writing his Spiritual Life Books, before passing away in 1913.

Well enough of the history lesson. Power through Prayer is a book written basically to Pastor’s, yet I believe it has lessons to offer us all on the importance of prayer. I will admit when I first started this book I had some doctrinal concerns with it. In my opinion early on Bounds over glorified the work of men, for example in chapter 1 he wrote "the gospel of Christ does not move in popular waves, it has no self propagating power. It moves as the men who have charge of it move." I just felt a number of comments like this gave to much importance to the work of men, and took from the all-powerful nature of God. It’s true God uses men to spread the Gospel But he doesn’t need men. Creation itself screams the truth of God.

Now I claimed I was concerned at first. This concern however soon left, by the truth I was confronted with truth of words Bound wrote. In chapter 4 he said "It is impossible for the preacher to keep his spirit in harmony with the divine nature of his high calling without much prayer." In chapter 6 Bounds speaks of the great men of prayer who have come before wrapping it up with the thought that says "God’s true preachers have been distinguished by one great feature: they were men of prayer."

Bounds continues chapter by chapter to build a complete argument for prayer in the pastor’s life that only a lawyer could. It was written about 100 years ago, and will sometimes take a little concentration to get through at times; but its well worth it. Do I agree 100% with everything he says, no, but I’ve yet to find anyone I do agree 100% with. I will say that bounds offers insight that has lasted the years, and I’m looking forward to reading more of his classic works.

If you’ve read this book as well, I’d love to hear what you thought of it. Please feel free to post comments about it.

The Lie of Having Enough

Ecclesiastes 5:8-12

Have you ever thought "If I just made a little more money, then I would be happy."  How about "if I only had a nicer home then I would be satisfied."  Sure you have we all have.  Myself included.  If I could only make this much, or drive this car, or have that house my life would just be so much better.

In this passage we learn that Solomon realized a great truth.  In verse 10 he states "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.  This too is meaningless." The quest for more possessions is one of Satan's most successful lies.  It consumes our thoughts, it controls our actions, and if we are not careful it will over take our life.

As I look through my wide variety of past jobs, with a wide variety of pay scales I have realized that the more I had the more I spent, and I was no more content in my life regardless of my surroundings.  When I was living on my own (away from God) I always had a constant drive for the next new thing.  The next job, the next move, my next promotion.  It was a never ending quest for satisfaction, the only problem was satisfaction and fulfillment was not found in any of those things.  All they did was place a temporary band-aide on a permanent problem.

We are to find our satisfaction in our walk with the Almighty Creator.  In the New Testament Paul writes that he had joy in his belief.  What was his belief in?  It was in his Salvation, which was provided by Jesus Christ.  Paul knew that regardless of how his physical life on earth was going, he had satisfaction in knowing that when he departed from this world he would stand in the presence of a perfect, just, and loving God!  Wow what a thought.

Action step for today.  What ever your next step is, the new house, job, or vehicle.  Just pick one, and stop focusing on it.  Each time you find yourself thinking, "when I finally get to..." or "if I only had..." stop and praise God for your salvation.  Trust me, once you do that, then you will find True satisfaction.

Stand In Awe of God

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Wow, well there is something we just don't hear much of.  Stand in awe of God. Through out today's passage we see Solomon warning about false worship,  he states "Go near to listen, rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know they are wrong."  He goes on to warn about the things we utter with our mouth and to let our words be few.  And he wraps it all up with "therefore stand in awe of God."  What he is saying is don't do all this pointless bla bla bla, and pointless sacrifice, just to do it.  Instead (therefore) Know who God really is!

In today's "Christian World"  we seldom stop to simply focus on the pure and total greatness of God.  Instead it seems we spend most of our time trying to bring God down to our level.  We sing "I am a friend of God" (which is a great song) we say "Jesus is my homeboy" (terrible saying).  We so casually say things like "the big man upstairs" what a disgrace, what a slap in the face of such a perfect creator, to be brought down by His own creation, to be on their shallow level.

Oh how we love to talk about the greatness of God.  We fill "worship" service after "worship" service offering up our half hearted attempt to focus a few short minutes Sunday morning so we can feel good the rest of the week.  We make our "sacrifice" by spending our hour with the Lord, while we think about the ball game or the race later that afternoon.

I may sound a bit irritated, and honestly I am.  Not that I am not guilty of doing the same things.  Speaking with many words, (in order to present a point well) I have planned worship where the focus of worship was on a specific event rather the the True God who deserved it.  But I have also sat by myself in a room full of people Sunday morning, just blown away at the thought of how great and awesome our God truly is.  I have been overtaken by his creation while in the woods hunting, or on the lake fishing, or even while I mow my lawn, and my heart sings His praises as I can't even put into words the greatness of who God really is.

We serve an incredible God.  Not" the man upstairs", or "my buddy Jesus."  Here is the action step for today.  Stand in awe of God!  Wow isn't that simple.  Find a place and be still, just you, and don't say anything, don't ask God to do anything for you.  Just stand in awe of God.  Once you start seeing God as He truly is, it will make a huge impact on you life.

We Love Them, We Hate Them.

Ecclesiastes 4:13-16

Back to Ecclesiastes.  Interesting topic for today as we are daily being bombarded with political ads, and as you drive down the street you see hundreds of signs in yard, as well as witty bumper stickers that you can read while you are stuck at an remarkably long traffic light.

Today we read where Solomon starts struggling with the painful circle of politics.  He points out in verse 13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning.  As we look at politicians we all get really excited about the idea of something new.  The idea of "Hope" and a "Brighter Future"  makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

However what quickly happens after our new found hero politician gets in office we find that the hope and brighter future that they promised is along way from the reality of their time in office.  So how do we respond?  We simply look for the next upcoming "Savior" to our political nightmare.

Solomon realized this as well, and in verse 16 he states "but those who came later were not pleased with the successor.  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."   As a people, we get behind our candidates, the next generation supports the new candidates, and so on and so on.  This has been true from the days of the Kings in the Old Testament and even now as we face the next presidential election.  And what does Solomon say about all this?  "Meaningless"

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that as Christians we should not have any involvement in politics.  I believe we should vote, it is o.k. to do some campaigning for our candidate.  But don't allow yourself to get so worked up that it controls your life.  It is easy to look at the next two presidential hopefuls and think "well it is all over, the country is going straight down the tubes" But don't fear, there will be another election in a few short years.

Action step for today, let's get behind the one King who has never changed.  The one who never wavers back and forth on positions.  Whose moral conduct is always perfect, and who has the ultimate plan for hope, and a brighter future.  The only King to fit this description of course is Jesus Christ.  So today, why don't you spend a little time researching Him, and then go and do some campaigning!

10 Years and Counting

Earlier this week I mentioned a verse I have found in Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 22 to be exact; this is the verse I’d like to look at today. "22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD." Now you may read this, and wonder where all the vanity and the grasping of the wind is at. Well, its not here today. Instead of taking time to continue our exploration through Ecclesiastes, I chose this morning to take a moment to talk about marriage, on my ten year anniversary.

First let me say, that in my wife, I have found a good thing, I have found favor in the Lord. Jen is truly an amazing person. She is smart, and beautiful, she works a full time job, Raises my children, keeps the household up and running, and still finds time to be a part of my ministry both here and in the church. For those of you who have been enjoying our thoughts here, you have in part my wife to thank. She bought the site, found the tool, connected them, and wrote code. If all that had been up to me, we’d be printing our thought on to fliers and handing them out in front of the 7-11, because I have no idea how this all works.

Now for those of you who know my wife or have even seen our pictures, you may be thinking we don’t look old enough to have been married ten years. (Or at least I hope you are) Well, we were married young by American Standards or at least Christian standards. And yes sometimes things were rough early, yet I wouldn’t change a thing; even if I could. So often times people want to wait, until there in a better situation, wait until they have the perfect job, wait until they can afford it. I’m not saying it’s wrong to wait; I am saying it’s not always right to wait. Remember He who finds a wife, finds a good thing.

So what’s my secret you ask? In today’s day and age many marriages don’t last ten years. Especially those among to head strong firstborns like my wife and I. Well there’s great news out there, there is no secret. The key’s to a solid marriage are found right in the Word of God, and free for the taking.

It kills me that the divorce rate among Christians is the same as non-Christians, as a matter of face, a recent study by the Barna Research Group, shows that divorce rates among Christians is higher then those outside the church. How can that me. My wife and I are together today, because we have both made a decision to be. We’ve read the Word of God, seen his displeasure in divorce and both mad a decision that divorce was never an option, and will never be an option. We both wake up daily and make the decision to love each other. Sure love is a feeling, but it’s also an act of will. And when you make it about more then feelings I believe it will last. Are there days my wife doesn’t like me, sure. Are there days I’m not as happy with her, sure. But that doesn’t matter, because through all of that we both know we still love each other. And even beyond that, we both know were with each other for life. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s also important to remember the flip side of that statement. If love in a controlled act of will. Then I can make the decision not to fall in love with another woman. You see love is not uncontrollable, love is not overwhelming, and love is not random. All of these are lies that have been pushed upon you my Hollywood, by the media, by the humanist movement. What is love you ask? Love is an act of will, love is accompanied by emotion (but it’s not only emotion) and love leads to an action on its behalf. What action you ask. Well Christian, I’ll tell you. As much it’s become taboo lets look to Ephesians 5:22-25, 28, and 33:

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Although I don’t have time to go into great detail this morning, let me just say this, husbands, the action of love calls you to treat your wife right, to sacrifice of yourself for her, whether or not she deserves it. And wives, the action of love calls for you to respect your husband. Respect his God given position in the family. Even if he doesn’t deserve that respect; respect him.

Let me say this in closing, if all Christians followed these commands in Ephesians, we would not see a divorce rate higher then the world. We may not see one at all.

And on a personal note, Jen… Happy Anniversary

All in the Family of God

Yesterday we spoke of a lonely man today we continue along that train of thought, with the importance of a friend. Solomon shows in his wisdom today the need for a friend, and the sadness of a man with no friend. Why you ask; if you have no friend, there will be no one to lift you up when you fall. Let’s look for a moment at today’s scripture Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

  9 Two are better than one,
      Because they have a good reward for their labor.
       10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
      But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
      For he has no one to help him up.
       11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
      But how can one be warm alone?
       12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
      And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Today’s passage may be one of the more popular ones from the book of Ecclesiastes, perhaps not as well known as Chapter 3 verses 1-8, but well known never the less. And for good reason in these 4 short verses, Solomon lays down simple truths about friendship. If someone falls a friend can lift them up. If someone is cold, a friend can add warmth. It is difficult to overpower a man if his friend is with him. Truths today just as they were over three thousand years ago.

Whenever I hear the word friends, I think of an old Petra song, from one of the first Christian albums I ever owned (Petra Praise The Rock Cries Out). The song went something like this:

Friends (All in the family of God) Words and music by John Wierick

Friends, love one another
Friends, sisters and brothers
Friends, all in the family of God

Friends are a gift from above
Friends are devoted and true
Then when the goin' gets tough
They're lovin', carin' and prayin' for you

Although far from thousands of years old, this song also offers truth’s about real friendship. We throw the term friend around freely sometimes, yet real friendship is something deeper. Will your friend lift you up when you fall, are they devoted and true. When tough times come, are your friends loving, caring, and praying for you.

There are a few people out there I call true friends. One lives out in New York, and I haven’t seen him in at least 5 years. Yet about a year ago, when I was laid off, with a broken car, this friend was there for me, praying, and offering me money he barely had. If I had an emergency in my life, I believe he would come if I needed him. And I would do the same for him. Truly two are better then one and friends are a gift from above.

As an action point today, let me ask you if you have close friends in your life. Someone who holds you accountable, someone who you could discuss anything with. Is there someone who would lift you up if you fall, someone who will stand with you so you cannot be overcome? Christian, we are not meant to walk this life alone. Perhaps you don’t have earthly friends to walk with you in this way. Remember the words of the hymnist: We have a friend in Jesus.

The Minister’s Cat

The last couple days we’ve been discussing things passed on to us by our father, as we enter back into thoughts from the book of Ecclesiastes I’d like to mention one more thing my dad did for me, he helped establish my love of Albert Finney’s Scrooge. Now if you’re unfamiliar with the film, it’s the classical Christmas Carol, put in a slight musical form. (By the way if you think I’m crazy this film was nominated for 4 Oscars, and won a Golden Globe). Any way, by now your all wondering what the film Scrooge has to do with Ecclesiastes? Well let’s take a look at today’s scripture then you can tell me. Today we’ll be taking a look at a short passage Ecclesiastes 4:7-8:

7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:    
    8 There is one alone, without companion:
      He has neither son nor brother.
      Yet there is no end to all his labors,
      Nor is his eye satisfied with riches.
      But he never asks,

      " For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?"
      This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.

As I read these verses, I wonder if Charles Dickens was reading these exact verses as he came up with the idea for A Christmas Carol. As we enter today’s verses we again see Solomon viewing the futility of things in this world. He looks out and see’s the lonely man, the man with no family. This lonely man is wealthy, he works hard for his money, yet he never enjoys his money. He never asks himself why he does it all. Is this not an exact rundown of the fictional character Scrooge? Solomon describes this life not only as vanity, but a life that’s a grave misfortune.

So what, you may ask, well like Dickens, Solomon is offering a word of warning. And Solomon’s warning isn’t fiction. For this single solitary man we see no reason for great earthly gain. He cant even make the excuse he is doing if for his family, as he has none. All he has will pass away. It reminds of us the teaching’s of Christ that we’ve spoken about often during our look at Ecclesiastes. Matthew 6:19-20 says:

19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Instead of an action point today, I’d like to look at the opposite side of Solomon’s "Scrooge". At a church I used to work at there was a man, lets call him Mike. Mike was in his 50’s and never married. Mike was a engineer, who did quite well for himself. Yet to look at him you would never know it. He lived in a small humble house, and did not overwork, as he kept his commitments to the church. He drove a church van Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday nights, sometimes multiple trips. He would bring those kids with mental and physical handicaps to youth events, helping them in all things they needed. He helped financially to those who needed it, and he was always full of joy. Mike’s work was not vanity. His life was no grave misfortune.

In a final thought today, several of you may still be thinking about the title "The Ministers Cat". Well, all I can say is it’s a delightful party game that always comes to mind when I think of Scrooge. I thought about relating it to Solomon, who refers to himself as the "Preacher", in 1:1. But I can’t think of any way to relate a cat. So, let’s just say a favorite memory of mine from the movie Scrooge, and if you want to know more, rent the movie.

A Father's Day Follow Up

I know that we are two days past Father's Day, but I would like to postpone our study on Ecclesiastes for one more day.  As I have reflected the last two days about my father, and examining myself as a father my mind has been flooded with things my dad taught me, and what things do I want to teach my son.

Now my brother already focused on probably the most important thing I learned from my dad.  The importance of spending time fellowshipping with other believers, and hearing the Word of God!  Church was always a priority.  It came before Little league Baseball.  It came before spending the night at a friends house.  It came before getting things done around the house, and even before deer hunting.   What a valuable lesson that I have carried with me for all these years, and am making a priority in my family as well.

One of the other life changing lessons I have learned from my father is "If your going to do it, your going to do it right."  You have probably heard this saying before, I would hardly say it is a new thought.  However it is a thought that has had a great impact in many areas of my life.  From my first Job when I was thirteen working on a farm, to my four years of service in the Marine Corps. Things just are not worth doing if your not going to do them right.

I have found in my Christian walk this same principle applies.  In todays society where commitment is like a dirty word, and people are more dedicated to turning their children into Major league athletes than into a generation of young people that are passionate about the things of God.  It seems a lot of people decide to give their life to Jesus Christ, but once they start the journey of spiritual growth they are unwilling to do it right.

What do I mean?  What does in mean to follow Christ right.  Matthew 22:37 Jesus puts it plain and simple for us. "Jesus replied:" ' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  It doesn't get much more clear than that.

Let me challenge you today with from wisdom from my earthly father and my Heavenly Father both.  If you have decided to follow Jesus Christ then do it.  Don't do it half way.  Jump in with both feet.  Don't look back.  Don't just love God part way, do it right with all heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  Because anything worth doing is worth doing right!

A Thought for Fathers

First let me apologize at the lateness of this post. My intentions had been to have it posted Sunday night, but a number of things got in the way of that happening, and I experienced a full day today as well.

Yesterday as we probably all know was Father’s day, and the day was truly an amazing day. From the breakfast of toast and yogurt my 5 year old son made me, to a time of family worship at church, and an afternoon of ribs, and video games, the day was a blessing from start to finish. And I had thought of writing this post on the blessings of family’s I was even going to throw out Proverbs 18:22 and speak to that topic as well (I’ll still let you look up that one). But as I sat at home Sunday night a single thought disturbed me. There were a lot of people not in church on Sunday. I’m not speaking of personally to my church, but in churches around the country, men chose to sleep in on fathers day instead of taking there family’s to worship the Lord. On Sunday night men around the country found it more important to catch a ball game, or barbecue in the back yard then to sit under the teachings of our God.

As I thought of this, a passage my Pastor used Sunday morning came to mind. Its found in Psalms 1:1-3:

1 Blessed is the man
         Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
         Nor stands in the path of sinners,
         Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
         And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
         Planted by the rivers of water,
         That brings forth its fruit in its season,
         Whose leaf also shall not wither;
         And whatever he does shall prosper.

Blessed is the man who delight’s in the law of the Lord, blessed is the man who meditates upon it day and night. And I read this and think to myself, dads what are we doing. Maybe you do think on the law daily, but are we passing that along to our children. What do are children see when they look at us? And for those of us who may not have children or have children in the homes, what do our grandchildren think, what do are nieces and nephews think, what is the message we are sending to our neighbors when they drive by our house Sunday morning and see our car parked there.

Attending church will not get you to heaven, so don’t think I’m saying that. But we are called to fellowship, study, and worship with other believers. Not to mention our children are watching. They are watching what are priorities are, and those priorities will be passed on to them. We live in a day and age where at least 80 percent of teens are leaving the church, there falling to agnosticism, or false religions. Why? I believe in part because they haven’t seen a passion for the Lord in the home. That’s not the only reason, and there are cases where we do everything right and they will still fall, but we must look at what we can do. And what were doing now isn’t working.

Growing up, my parents did a number of things wrong, I do things wrong, and all parents probably do, but one thing my parents did right was have me in church. I would go so far as to say I was in church every time the doors were open. It didn’t matter what was going on at the church we were there. When we went on vacation we were in church, when we visited family we were in church. And when we were home we didn’t miss. Sure there were the rare occasions where something came up, and we just had to miss something, but it was made known this was unacceptable and it didn’t happen often. I saw even at a younger age, that being in church that fellowship with other Christians, and hearing the word taught were important.

Dads, I ask again what are we doing when we teach our kids that it’s ok to stay home Sunday nights because of a ball game on TV. Or when we teach our kids Sunday school isn’t as important as sleeping in. Around the country fathers taught there kids that church was not something they enjoyed as they got to pick what they did and it wasn’t church. Father’s let’s take our responsibility for our children’s spiritual walk seriously. Let’s show them that we delight in the law, let’s show them that we meditate upon it day and by night.

And on a personal note, thanks Dad for having me in church all those years. Even when I did not want to be.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved." 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the fathers of this website.  You guys are awesome!