Nearly two years had passed since Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem. Jesus was born in a manager and was adored by shepherds, but time had passed and things had settled down to a kind of normalcy. The young couple got to know each other as husband and wife. The baby wrapped in swaddling clothes was now a toddler playing at the feet of his momma while Joseph was growing his carpentry business.

Bethlehem is only about eight miles outside of Jerusalem, but it must have seemed a world apart. It was mostly a pastoral village with the rich heritage of being the “City of David,” the most famous king of Israel. Joseph and Mary were related to the former king, but so were a lot of people. Still, they knew a secret. That little toddler was destined to follow in David’s footsteps!

His parents must have followed the rumors about “King” Herod. The old despot was nearly 70, but in addition to the marvelous architectural wonders he was responsible for like the remodeled temple in Jerusalem and the fine port town of Caesarea on the coast, he had also left a wide swath of blood behind him. King Herod had killed his wife, his mother and three of his sons. In Greek the Emperor Augustus punned, “It’s better to be Herod’s pig (hys) than Herod’s son (hyios).”

Herod did not hesitate to butcher anyone who threatened his throne so when some “Magi” (astrologer/priests) arrived in Jerusalem asking about the newborn king, the old despot slyly encouraged them to find the child so he too “might worship him.”

Can you imagine the stir their arrival in the little village of Bethlehem must have caused? Can you imagine the surprise Mary must have felt when they stopped at her house with gifts for the boy? Gold, incense and myrrh – gifts for a king delivered to the home of a humble carpenter.

Now comes the point of our story. In the night the Magi are warned Herod intends to kill the child. In the night Joseph is told to get up and flee in the dark with the baby and his mother. There was no time to sell their possessions. There was no time to properly pack for the move, but God provides! The gifts of the Magi – the gold, incense and myrrh – provided the means for their escape. Joseph was able to flee before dawn with his family before the evil king could destroy the child and that is how God rescues us: just in time.

“Just in time” is the way of faith. God provided a ram to replace Isaac “just in time.” God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace “just in time” and God will save us “just in time.” It’s the way of faith.

Carlyle wrote in a letter to a friend, “Prayer is and remains the native and deepest impulse of the sould of man.”

William James wrote, “The reason why we do pray is simply that we cannot help praying.”

William Barclay wrote: “Prayer is not an acquired art; it is an instinct. In the times when life is too much for us, when we are strained beyond breaking-point, when we are tempted beyond the power to resist, when our minds are troubled, and our hearts are broken, then we pray.” And yet, the disciples felt the need for the Lord to teach them how to pray. Just as running is a natural activity that can be disciplined and developed, so we can learn how to pray.

Here are five “Laws of Prayer” that I have found helpful:

1. God knows best. The purpose of prayer is not to change God but to change ourselves – to align our wills with the will of God. Do you remember the first part of Jesus’ model prayer? “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9, 10)
2. God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. Don’t pray for enlightenment in order to skip the hard work of study. Rather, as you study ask God for understanding (James 1:5).
3. Prayer moves within the natural laws that govern life. Bad things do happen to good people. Prayer gives us the power to thrive in the midst of adversity (Romans 5:3 ff.).
4. We must be definite in prayer. Jesus warned us to avoid meaningless phrases and endless repetition (Matthew 6:7, 8). Prayer is not a mantra!
5. We must be honest in prayer. We can’t lie to God and we shouldn’t lie to ourselves. That’s why confession is such a critical part of prayer.

Recently the American secretary of state was traveling in the Mediterranean and stopped for a private consultation with the pope in the Vatican. The Secretary of State noticed a solid gold phone on the pontiff’s desk and remarked, “That must be a pretty important phone!”

The pope replied, “Why yes it is. That’s my hotline to God.”

“Wow!” the secretary observed. “That must be a very expensive service.”

“Of course. It’s $1,000 per call.”

Later in the week the American secretary was in the prime minister of Israel’s private office and noticed an identical golden telephone. He whistled and said, “I’ll bet that’s a hotline to God.”

“Why yes it is,” the prime minister answered.

The American asked, “So how much does the phone company charge you for long distance service like that?”

The prime minister just laughed. “Oh not much. It’s a local call.”

Of course that’s a silly joke. For all Christians at all times in all places, prayer is our hotline to God and it’s free. You don’t need a golden telephone or a Wi-Fi connection. God wants to hear from you so what are you waiting for?

Hugh Shira was a big man with an even deeper voice. His was such a deep bass, you would swear he was speaking from the basement. His was a voice for radio and Hugh was an avid ham radio operator. More importantly, Hugh Shira was a great Christian preacher and one of my beloved teachers.

There is a rich heritage of Christian devotional writings. Many Christians use these daily devotionals as a way to stir up their souls as they begin each new day along with Bible reading, prayer and meditation. I have found these books to be an inspiring and enriching part of my spiritual growth. This past week I was pleased to learn that one of my classmates and good friends, David Ryal, has updated and reprinted Hugh Shira’s little devotional book, My Master’s Moments. Hugh was a charter member of the faculty at the Southern California School of Evangelism in 1969 and served as the director of the school for many years.

This week I’ve chosen to reprint the first of the 60 daily devotionals Hugh and David included in this wonderful little booklet. You’ll want to read the entire set.

Taste and See

“O, taste and see that the Lord is good,” Psalm 34:8.

That God is good should be too obvious to deny, yet we are so little affected by His goodness. And that is why David wrote what he did.

What is the best way to learn if God is indeed good? David did not say, hear and know; or believe and know, but taste and know.

Whether a food is good to your taste or not is determined, not by testimony of others, but by your tasting it. Likewise, do not rely on the experience of others or the authority of others concerning God. Learn of Him for yourself.

Experience is knowledge derived from experiment. Someone can talk to you about the peace of God, the joy of service or the consolation of the Holy Spirit. You may even be moved by their passion and your confidence in the speaker. However, until you experience the goodness of God for yourself, you can not be convinced to the fullest.

To taste and to see that God is good, experience the faith and obedience of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Place your soul in the hands of God and see the truth of the gospel. “Blessed is the man who trusts in Him,” as David wrote.

If you would like a copy of the whole series of devotionals, please contact:

David Ryal
P.O. Box 210
Morro Bay, CA 93443

Recently I was with a group of preachers and one of them said, “I’ll tell you why there is so much division in the church today. It’s because there are so many versions of the Bible out there. I think we need to go back to one version of the Bible” and he implied it should be the King James Version. “After all it’s the ‘Authorized Version’” referring to the words on the title page of the KJV. Of course all that means is the king of England authorized it for use in the Church of England of which he was the head in 1611.

I still use the KJV in my own study and preparation, along with a dozen other translations, but the fact is they are translations and no translation can ever convey the complete meaning of the original text. There are shades of nuance and often there are alternative definitions that just can’t be expressed in a single translation. Since our English Bible is a translation of Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) originals, I think it is essential for serious Bible students to compare versions or learn some of the original language.

Of course that reminds me of my college days. Dr. Furman Kearley took me aside one day and told me, “Now John you need to remember that you don’t need to know Greek to get to heaven.” Chastised, I humbly nodded my head in agreement. Then, with a twinkle in his eye Dr. Kearley continued, “You don’t need to know Greek to get to heaven but you sure are going to be bored when you can’t talk to anybody!”

“So if I don’t know the original languages, which translation should I use?”

I don’t recommend any one particular translation for everyone to use. In the auditorium at Canyon View we typically use the New International Version because it is conservative yet easy to understand for most readers. However it is becoming a bit dated and often reflects the “male bias” common to the English language. (English speakers typically say “men” or “brothers” when we are referring to a group of people – men and women – or to Christians in general.) Some of the newer translations like the English Standard Version are more aware of that and might say “Brothers and sisters” which is actually closer to the original.

For serious Bible study, I recommend comparing several translations. I typically use the King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version and the English Standard Version along with my Greek Bible. The new electronic Bibles for your computer, smart phones, and other devices make it very easy to compare translations and even discover the dictionary meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew words. What a great age we live in!

And, yes I know a little Greek. He owns a restaurant down on the corner…

My first book, Changing Tacks: Lessons I’ve Learned from an Old Wooden Boat, is available for purchase directly from the publisher, Crosslink Publishing,  Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

The story is about my journey to forgiveness — something we all need but find very hard to accept. After 25 years of preaching and teaching, my life fell apart and I fell from grace. Like Jonah, I tried to run away from God, but inside there was a deep ache for the Lord. The gift of an old wooden boat, Santa Teresa taught me about grace and caused me to “change tacks.”

The book is a fun read. You’ll learn about the time I inadvertently went skinny-dipping and nearly lost the boat. The famous story about our shipwreck in the Sea of Cortez and how we were able to finally repair the boat and get home. Then there is the tale of my grand-misadventure down the coast of Baja California on a sinking boat. They are all in there and spaced between the adventure stories are “Sermons from Sailing” that outline some of the lessons I’ve learned and can now share with you.

Who is John McKeel?

After serving in Military Intelligence in Berlin during the Cold War and working as a professional mountain guide in Bavaria, I returned home to study ministry at the Southern California School of Evangelism. I then studied New Testament Greek at Abilene Christian University in Texas and graduated from Columbia Christian College in Portland. This was followed with a MA in Religion from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.