Category: Life

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry, Newspaper

It’s All Greek To Me (Newspaper 7-23-16)

I was sitting in my office this past Sunday morning (7-17-16), preparing for our Sunday services to start, when news came across my computer screen of more police officers being attacked, this time in Baton Rouge, LA.  To say it effected me is a large understatement.  Before the news broke, I was in a great mood, looking forward to worshiping and spending time with those that would be joining us that morning.  After, the only way I can describe it was complete heartbreak. 

I posted the following on my personal Facebook page moments after reading the first reports:

“My heart is breaking for this world. Another attack on police officers, this time in Baton Rouge. And I think what is breaking my heart more than anything is that Christians are not rising up unified doing what we need to do. We are fighting amongst ourselves, over what differences we have in our doctrines, instead of trying to introduce a lost and dying world to Jesus. Jesus is the only thing that can make any of this better, but instead of trying to proclaim Him, those of us that profess to follow Him fight with each other and keep Him to ourselves. IT’S TIME TO STOP! Whether you’re liberal, conservative, or somewhere in-between in your political views, I think it’s time that we come together as Christ followers. There will always be things that we disagree with each other over, but one thing, and one thing only should unite us. Jesus is King, and those that don’t know Him as such need to be introduced to Him. There will always be pain and suffering in the world, but when are we going to rise up and do our part by living out our Christianity in such a way that others want what we have? Pray for this world, pray for Baton Rouge, but also pray for opportunities to share Jesus with someone today…and then do it.”

I have had even more time to digest what is going on in our world today, and want to take a few moments to address it.  It is not that I think I am any smarter than anyone else, but it seems obvious to me that whatever we are doing now is just simply not working.  And it is not just these shootings that seem to be popping up everywhere.  It is any time the subject of politics is brought up.  We are so determined to be “right” that we forget we have to find our common ground.  In doing some research for another project, I came across a ancient Greek word that we really do not have a good translation for, but when the idea is fleshed out a little, I believe it speaks to exactly the problems that we are facing today.  Bear in mind, I do not claim to be a Greek scholar by any means, but stick with me for a moment.

The Greek word in question is metriopatheia.  The ideas that follow come from William Barclay’s commentary The Letter to the Hebrews in the section on Hebrews 5:1-10.  He says that the Greeks used this word “as the mid-point between extravagant grief and utter indifference.”  Barclay quotes W. M. Macgregor, saying, “the mid-course between explosions of anger and lazy indulgence.”  Again, Barclay wrote that Macgregor spoke of it as “that sympathetic feeling which enabled people to lift up and to save, and to spare and to hear.”  Finally, Barclay describes it in his own words as, “It means the ability to put up with people without getting irritated; it means the ability not to lose one’s temper with people when they are foolish and will not learn and do the same thing over and over again.  It describes the attitude which does not get angry at the faults of others and which does not condone them, but which to the end of the day devotes itself to offering gentle yet powerful sympathy which by its very patience directs people back to the right way.”

I will leave you to draw your own conclusions, except for this question; Would the world not be a much better place if we all learned to live with more metriopatheia?

Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry, Newspaper

What Teenagers Taught Me (Newspaper 7-2-16)

I was very impressed this past week.  If you read the last article I submitted, you will remember that I was one of the dean’s for Youth Camp at Guadalupe Christian Camp this past week.  There is so much negativity going around about the younger generations these days, and I will admit that I have fallen in to this category at times as well.  There are many things that are blamed for the actions and sometimes total lack of respect shown by teenagers today, but I discovered something that opened my eyes to a possible solution.

This past week I was reminded that there is a lot of hope for our future generations, on multiple occasions.  The week started off a little on the rough side, with some of the campers not listening to directions and purposefully cheating at some of the group activities that we had planned as team building exercises.  I was not sure what was going to happen by the end of the week, especially if things kept going the way they were. 

On Wednesday morning, though, two of the adults, took a few minutes during breakfast just to remind the campers that they needed to listen and treat each other and the adults there with respect.  We reminded them that we were going to be serving at a nursing home on Thursday, and that they needed to act with the utmost respect while there.  It seems that the talk that morning had a great impact.  We really did not see any lack or respect or lack of listening the rest of the week.  In fact, the way the campers carried themselves the rest of the week gave me great hope for the future. 

I saw teens step out of their comfort zones and spend time with the residents of one of Carlsbad’s nursing homes.  We even did a service project there, and some of the teens came back to me asking if they could go tell some of the residents good-bye before we left to hang out at the beach area.  There was a camper that even brought a verse from Leviticus 19:32 to my attention, so that we could share that with all the campers before leaving for the nursing home.  The verse reads, “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.”  There was also a group that got a flat tire on the way home, and was stranded at the McDonald’s in Artesia for around 3 hours.  My wife and I were able to go back and help take kids from the side of the road to McDonalds so they were out of the heat while their van got fixed.  Not once did I hear anyone complain about the circumstances.  In fact, they sat and played games the whole time, just going with the flow until the tire was replaced and they were able to get back on the road. 

I realized one big thing this past week through all of this; teenagers have the potential to surprise us, they just need a little guidance.  If we hold them to a higher standard, and ask them to act with composure and respect, they will.  But if we expect them to act disrespectful and to not listen, then they will live up to those expectations as well.  We need to treat them with respect and expect them to do the same, and guess what, you just might be surprised at the end results.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry, Newspaper

The Faith of a Child (Newspaper 6-18-16)

June is the month that the church camp that we work with, Guadalupe Christian Camp, hosts their weeks of camp for the summer.  There is a Beginner week for K-2nd grade, Elementary week for 3rd-6th grade, and Youth week for Jr. and Sr. High this year.  Beginner is already completed, but as I write this on Wednesday, Elementary camp is going strong.  My wife and I went to visit the kids on Tuesday that we sent from Carlsbad (we had 16), and then we will be spending the week next week at Youth camp, as I’m one of the deans for that week.  So, we spent about seven hours at the camp yesterday, just hanging out and spending time with the kids and adults that are there this week.  And I was revitalized and reminded of something great while we were there, and as I prepare for spending the whole week there next week.  What was I reminded of?  Why I love being in ministry and how important it is to have the faith of a child. 

While we were there, we got to see kids excited about learning God’s word through the Bible, and having fun while doing it.  We got to see an adult that was there for the week talking to his own son about what being saved is all about.  I’m not sure where the full conversation went, but the idea that some of the kids there are interested enough to start asking questions about giving their lives to Jesus is amazing.  Also, we got to spend some time talking to the camp manager and his wife, and seeing their excitement about getting to invest in the lives of these kids is energizing.  And I get to spend all week there next week with a bunch of teenagers.  How can you not like this job!?

I was reminded of something a little greater than just all of this, however, and that is what I want to share with you today.  These kids actually are a model of what we are supposed to be like in our faith.  That is not saying that we should not mature and therefore have a weak faith.  Actually it means just the opposite.  The faith of a child is actually very strong.  It holds excitement and commitment.  It holds a longing for learning more and more.  In fact, Jesus tells us that we all need to have the faith of a child.  Matthew 18:1-5 reads, ‘At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’

In a world where we tend to over-analyze everything, we need to be reminded to have child-like faith.  That does not mean that we should not study and try to learn more.  Just the opposite, because the kids that I know want to learn.  They are on fire in their faith and cannot get enough about what it means to be a Christian.  Seeing this in action again reminds me of why I love doing what I do.  If you are reading this, and you do not have a relationship with Jesus, I would love to talk to you.  Just name the time and the place and I will be there.  Your life will never be the same!

Christian Living, God, Life

Harambe (June 2016 Newsletter)

I was really hesitant to write about this topic, but it has become such a hot button issue in the last week that I felt I needed to address it.  The truth is, some of you may not even be aware of the situation as it stands right now.  That is because it is taking place in Cincinnati, OH, and I am not sure if it has made the Current-Argus or the local news.  Because I have so many friends and family members in the Ohio and Tennessee regions, however, this situations has been hotly debated and talked about on social media.  In fact, I cannot tell you the last time I scrolled through Facebook and did not see something regarding the incident at the Cincinnati Zoo.  If you do not know what happened, let me briefly explain.

On Saturday, May 28, a four year old boy got away from his parents for a split second and climbed into the Gorilla enclosure at the zoo.  It was no easy feat, as he had to crawl down a 15-foot drop designed to keep the gorillas in and people out, but none the less, he got in.  It is the only time in the history of the zoo in Cincinnati that someone has gotten into an enclosure.  A 400-pound male silverback Gorilla named Harambe came toward the boy.  To make a long story short, in an effort to save the boy (the gorilla more than likely would have killed or seriously injured him, intentionally or unintentionally) the zookeepers decided that the best course of action was to shoot and kill Harambe.  Tranquilizers might not take work quick enough, and Harambe and the boy were both in a moat of water.  If tranquilizers did work, Harambe could drown, but he could have also fallen on the boy and drowned him as well.  So, Harambe was shot, the boy saved, but the events of that day have started a firestorm on the internet. 

Mike Edmisten, a ministry friend of mine that I have quoted before, wrote this on his Facebook page the day after the incident; “The internet in Cincinnati is about to melt down about the situation at the zoo yesterday.  As an animal lover and zoo member, the whole thing makes me sad. Very sad.  But let’s be clear about one thing…a child is worth more than a gorilla.”  That statement was the first I had heard of the incident, and that is when I started looking into it a little bit.  There are so many people that are furious that a gorilla had to die in order to protect a human child.  There are so many people that are coming out screaming that the parents of the child be held completely responsible for the death of Harambe.  There are animal rights activists that are completely up in arms about the whole incident.  Remember, this was a four-year old child, and there are people calling him a brat and holding him responsible for the gorilla’s death.

Here is the thing.  I am saddened by the fact that Harambe was killed.  It gives me no joy to know that a very rare and beautiful animal lost his life.  But given the choice of the animal dying or the child being harmed, there is no choice to me.  A child’s life is more important than any animal.  In the creation account  in Genesis 1, it tells us that God created the animals.  Then in Genesis 1:26-28 it tells us about the creation of mankind.  It records; ‘“26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”’(italics mine for emphasis)

From the beginning, we were put in charge of the animals.  Not to abuse them, but we are created in God’s image, while animals are not.  Human life is more important.  As for those that are basically wanting the parents crucified for this, just remember that accidents happen.  Should the child have been able to get into the enclosure, no.  Kids get away from parents all the time.  This just all goes back to the mentality that we have to blame someone for everything that happens.  Accidents happen, and that’s all this was.  A tragic accident.  From Mike again, and I’ll end with this, “I’m all for personal responsibility, but when did we lose sight of the fact that accidents really do happen?”

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Influence (July 2016 Newsletter)

This past week, I have woken to the news that two very honorable and beloved people have passed away.  My guess, however, is that for most of you that are reading this, only one of these deaths has crossed your newsfeed or information pipeline.  Honestly, if it was not for my connection to Cincinnati Christian University, I probably would have only heard of one of them as well.  Pat Summitt, former head basketball coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols passed during the night between Monday and Tuesday, due to complications from her battle with Alzheimers.  Then, this morning (Wednesday as I write this article) I woke to the news that Wayne B. Smith of Lexington, KY had passed away.

Summitt is a TN and basketball legend, winning 1,098 games in her career as the head basketball coach of the Lady Vols.  It’s the most wins in NCAA basketball history.  She also lead the Lady Vols to eight National Championships over the years.  She retired from coaching in 2012, after being diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2011.  Summitt was known for her work ethic, and instilling that work ethic in her players as well.  I think the most impressive thing about Summitt’s career is the fact that every single player that played their full four years of eligibility under Summitt actually completed their degree.  Every Single One.  That is unheard of in the realm of collegiate athletics.  The sports world, and just about everyone in Tennessee is mourning her death, myself included.

But then I come to the fact that Wayne B. Smith has died.  I never met the man, but I know plenty of people that have.  In fact, I had a class or two during my time at Cincinnati Christian University in a classroom that was named in his honor.  The preaching classroom, where I delivered my first sermon ever, is named after Mr. Smith.  One of my professors during my time at CCU recently told me a short little quip about Smith.  Jon Weatherly told me that Smith used to say, “If you want to put up a plaque to honor me for my preaching, hang it over the copier.”  When I saw the news this morning, the name sounded familiar, and I clicked on the first article I came across describing his death.  What I learned reading that article brought me almost to tears, because I know the reward that he is receiving right now.  Wayne took Southland Christian Church in Lexington, KY from 152 attendees at its first service in 1956, to averaging more than 3,700 by the time he retired in 1995.  Today, Southland is the largest church in Lexington, averaging more than 12,000 on a weekend between their three campuses. 

It is not just how many attend Southland, though.  It is about the influence that Smith had on this world.  The ministers that he influenced that are now on the front lines of ministry today.  Or those that were influenced by those that were influenced by him.  I am in that category.  I never met the man, but many of the mentors and professors that I have studied under in the past were influenced greatly by Smith.  While again, I have never met him, I join in those mourning his loss, but also celebrate because we know the reward that was awaiting him.  Those close to him say that he often said he wanted to die in the pulpit, a sentiment that I have expressed as well.  And he came really close to doing that.  He spoke briefly Tuesday evening to a group of ministers, went home, and passed away peacefully in his sleep. 

There is a comparison to be made here between Summitt and Smith.  The news of Summitt’s passing shut down the sports world.  It even brought a statement from the POTUS about her influence.  And she had great influence.  When it comes down to it, however, Smith probably had a more far reaching and more eternally consequential influence, yet, you will not hear about his passing, or his life on national news.  In some ways that is a sad thing, but then again, if Smith is the kind of person that everyone makes him out to be, then I think it is fitting as well.  He would not want the attention.  I am not saying it is wrong to honor and mourn Pat Summitt; I just wanted to take a moment of your time and honor a man that has had a great deal of “Kingdom” influence.  May you rest in peace, Wayne B. Smith.  And I wish I could have been there to hear you receive those words we all long for at the end; “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

For more info on the life of Wayne B. Smith, please visit http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/counties/fayette-county/article86596192.html

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

TobyMac and Discipleship Followup

I wrote recently about the way that TobyMac has discipled other music artists, bringing them along in the ways of the Christian Music scene, as well as helping stay true to their roots of being Christians first, and musicians second.  This past Sunday evening, there were 16 of us that came together to see TobyMac and the Hits Deep Tour in El Paso, TX.  It was a great concert, one of the best (that’s saying a lot) shows I’ve seen Toby do, but more than that, you could feel the worship attitude in almost all the acts on the tour as well.  You could really tell that they were there to worship God first, and put on a great show second. 

There was a very telling moment, during one of the set changes, where I found out even more the discipleship atmosphere that Toby and his band, Diverse City, carry with them.  It’s not just other artists trying to make a career as a solo artist or group that Toby and the band have taken under their wing.  It’s not just fellow Christians that they show the love of Christ to.  During one of the changeovers, Diverse City’s drummer Brian Haley came out to talk about a Bible study/movement that he is a part of.  He was really passionate about it, because it was something that he has experienced in his own life.  The “We are One” movement is what he was talking about, but I don’t have a lot of information on what it is.

What struck me the most was that he was talking about discipleship and loving someone to the cross, instead of judging them away from the love of Jesus.  I related really well to that, but then he just kept talking.  He said that when he joined TobyMac and the Diverse City band, he got to see first hand what this looks like.  He told a story of seeing Toby and the band find someone that had been hurt time and again by the church.  Someone that really didn’t know who God was.  Someone that was addicted to drugs and alcohol.  Someone that had no relationship with Jesus.  And instead of turning away from him, they embraced him.  They brought this lost man into their group, and loved him to the cross.  They introduced him to God and a true relationship with Jesus.  Then he dropped the big bombshell.  He said, “and that man was…Me”.  He had firsthand knowledge of what true discipleship can do.  He lived it on the side of someone that was loved and discipled in such a way that he left a life of hopelessness and is now a child of God.  He’s been with the band for 15 years, and his life is totally different than what it used to be.

That’s what discipleship is all about, and that’s why we all need to find someone to disciple.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry, Newspaper

‘Jesus Wept’ Moments Help in a Broken World (Newspaper 4-2-16)

Coming off of a great weekend celebrating the resurrection of Jesus through Easter, I was quickly reminded that we live in a broken world.  Really, it’s easy to see that when we look around.  There is pain, anger, despair, and a longing for something better that most of us see on a regular basis.  We see news reports of attacks in this country and around the world, but sometimes it doesn’t sink in that this truly is a broken world. 

My reminder came with a phone call that most people in ministry dread.  A young mom had just lost her baby in the womb.  I won’t go into detail about the situation, but it quickly reminded me that I long for something better.  No one should have to deal with an innocent death like this.

Jesus understands our pain, however, because he lived in this world as well.  A fellow minister gave me a great example of this when offering support this week.  He called it a “Jesus wept” moment.  The shortest but one of the most meaningful verses in the Bible is John 11:35, which simply states, “Jesus wept”.  This was because one of his friends had just died, but he also knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus weeping was more because of the pain that the other people involved were feeling, and he took the time to weep with them.

While this is a broken world, with all that pain and suffering that we see, as Christians we have the hope of a better world.  That’s what this past weekend of Easter was all about.  It was celebrating Jesus conquering death and the grave.  Jesus going to the cross to pay the price for our sins, and then raising back to life gives us the hope that death is not final.  Take heart, because our savior has conquered death.  I Corinthians 15:55-57 puts it this way; “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

What God Taught Me About Prayer

About three weeks ago, I challenged our church to partner with the leadership and me to pray for our church and the impact we can have on our community for a full 24 hour period.  We broke the 24 hours into 15-minute time slots and asked people to sign up for slots that they would commit to praying for the whole time they signed up for.  I committed to take any of the time slots that were still left, so that we were assured of covering the full 24 hours.

As I write this now, we completed our 24-Hours of Prayer about three and a half hours ago, and as I’ve reflected on the time spent in prayer, focused on our church, I realized that God has taught me a lot through this process.  I’m still processing everything (and exhausted because I was up most of the night), but I feel that there is value for you to hear what I learned as well.

Prayer is one of those disciplines that I always feel like I can and need to improve in, and having a commitment to praying for a specific amount of time caused me to set up a plan for how to follow through and keep my commitment.  My wife graciously helped me cover some of the open slots, but in the end I had three hours and forty-five minutes that I had committed to praying during.  A big chunk of that time (two hours and 15 minutes) was in one block, from 1:15-3:30 AM.  I’m not saying this because I’m trying to brag about praying this much.  In fact, I was really concerned at the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate and pray constantly through that entire time.

There were others that had committed to large chunks of time in one sitting like that as well, so to help them out, and myself, I put together a prayer packet, with a suggested order of prayer, Psalms that they could read and pray through, different prayers of Jesus they could read and pray as well, and also a selected reading from Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline about prayer.  It was through this process that I discovered something that helped me so much.  Prayer is more about setting aside time to communicate with God than it is about the words that we say.  It should be a conversation between you and God, instead of just a one-sided listing of things you want from Him.

So, what did I specifically learn?

1. Start your prayer time with Confession

Starting prayer with time of confession to lay all of your sins at God’s feet really sets the time apart.  The time I spent in confession last night means more than I ever thought it would.  A prayer partner of mine taught me to do this a few years ago, but I never really understood the benefit of it until last night.  I started my prayer time confessing those things that I just can seem to shake in my life, and it was the usual reaction on my part.  That is until I realized just how broken I really am.  That was a hard realization, and it led me to literally weeping for a few minutes in my brokeness.  And it caused me to cry out to God like I hadn’t done in a long time.

Crying out to God like that helped me connect with Him again.  It led to the rest of what I learned throughout the rest of the night.  I got into the flow of a conversation like I was literally speaking to a friend in the same room.  That was something that I hadn’t felt in a long time either.  My two hour and 15 minute time block of prayer seemed to fly by after I was able to settle in to that conversation like I had.  If you are having a hard time connecting with God, make a point of spending time in confession to Him on a regular basis.  It may just be that the sin in your life is keeping you from that connection, and that confession and crying out for His help is all you need to reconnect.

2. There is value in praying for individuals

My prayer time actually started with a simple 15 minute session at 7:30 PM.  Since I just had 15 minutes, and was just finishing up dinner as well, I decided that that 15 minutes would be best spent praying for each individual that had agreed to pray during our prayer event.

Later on in the evening, after my time of confession during my long block, I wrote out a list of all the people that attend our church (we’re a small congregation, so it wasn’t too hard to name each person), and then spent some time praying for each individual and family.  It made me appreciate each person, even if there are things that I don’t agree with them on.  How can you hold a grudge with someone if you are committed to praying for them on a consistent basis?

3. Find your own style

For me, I concentrate best with music on in the background.  Complete silence allows my mind to wander, or I just flat out fall asleep (especially at 1:30 in the morning).  So I put headphones on, turned on my Pandora shuffle, and listened to Christian music while I was spending time with God.  In fact, when certain songs came on that really connect with me and are like prayers from my heart, I treated them just like that.  I stopped talking, and just worshipped along with the song that was playing.  They became my own prayers, and I even literally hit my knees a couple of times during the songs, because I was drawn to throw myself down before God.

The point I’m trying to make here is simple.  Find your own way to remain focused, especially if you are undertaking a long prayer time.  If it wasn’t for music playing in my ears, no matter how committed I was to praying, I would have either fallen asleep or I would have been just daydreaming.  But knowing that about myself, I was able to correct it and spend that time focused on God.

4. There is value in praying others’ prayers

I knew there I was going to have a hard time praying my own words for that long, no matter how committed I was to it.  So I took my own advice, and spent time praying through prayers from Psalms and Jesus’ own prayers.  I did this during my 6:00-6:30 time slot.  After my 3:30 session ended, I caught a little bit of a nap, setting an alarm for 5:50, so I would be awake for this short 30 minute session.

I was out of it, but awake enough to be able to follow through with my commitment.  This seemed like a good time to pray some already written prayers, instead of having to come up with my own words.  But at the same time, I wanted these to become my own prayers as well.  So I read through them, concentrating on the words, and placing them in my own life.

5. Journaling is great

Writing is something that I find great joy in.  I process things through my writing, whether someone else will ever read those words or not.  Journaling during my prayer time, however, is not something that I have been very consistent with over the years.  One of the journals that I have is a combination of Bible study notes, thoughts, and even a few prayers, although not many.  I had that laid out, not really sure what I was going to do with it, but at one point, when I had run out of words, I flipped through that journal, reading every prayer that I had written there.  It was a great experience, but it was also a little terrifying, because I realized some of the things that I was struggling with now, and had confessed earlier, were the same things I was confessing throughout this prayer journal, dating back several years.

I also spent over an hour total writing down some of my prayers.  That was a great experience, because I was able to really concentrate on my words, and communicate exactly what I wanted to say to God at that moment.  It is also great because now I have a record of my prayer time.  I prayed some pretty big prayers, and now I have a record of that, so I can look back at later and see how God has chosen to answer those prayers.  One of the prayers is actually going to be worked into my sermon this week, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I didn’t have them recorded.

6. Silence is part of prayer

Prayer cannot just be one sided.  If you are doing all of the talking the whole time, there is really no value in it.  It’s almost as if you are just dictating to God.  There is value in “Being still, and knowing that He is God”.  Sitting in silence, and just listening for what God may be trying to tell you is one of the best parts of prayer.  This world is full of noise, yet when we can shut out the outside world (even if that means listening to music) and just patiently waiting for God really helps our connection with Him.

This 24-Hours of Prayer that we did with our church has been an eye-opening experience for my.  In a lot of ways, I was actually disappointed when my time was over.  That is until I realized that I can spend time with God in these same ways anytime I want.  I just have to be committed to setting aside the time to spend with Him, and I am going to try to make this a daily thing for me from here on out (maybe not almost four hours a day).

What do you need to do to improve your prayer life?  Is there anything I can do to help?  Trust me when I say that spending committed time with God in prayer can truly change things!

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Praying Audaciously…Now What (February 2016 Newsletter)

Last month, I wrote about praying audaciously, looking at Jesus’ prayers from John 17.  It ended with a challenge to prayer big, tough, audacious prayers throughout the month of January.  If you want a refresher of that article, you can click here to read it again.  This month, I want to follow up on that article.  We’ve talked a lot this past month about prayer, and have even partnered together to pray over all aspects of Central Christian Church for 24-Hours straight.  Prayer is an important part of our relationship with Christ, but we can’t treat it like prayer is the only thing that we should be doing.  One of the things that I have noticed in my own life, and in the lives of those that I am close to, we are either really good at praying, but not following that up with action, or we don’t take time to pray, but we’re really good at jumping to action right away.  Neither of those are the best that we should be doing.

Take for example the prayers of Jesus in John 17(click here for a refresher).  Jesus prayed and prayed hard at that time.  He was hours away from going to the cross.  Actually, all four gospels record some version of His prayer that night(Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22).  He not only took time to pray for His disciples and for all of us that would eventually come to know and follow Him, He was praying that God’s will be done.  He didn’t want to go to the cross.  In fact, Luke’s account of His time in the garden praying says that Jesus was so stressed over what He knew was coming, He was literally sweating blood.  It would have been easy for Jesus to pray, and just think that was enough.  To walk away because He did what He thought was enough, and prayed about something that was bothering Him.  We do that a lot.  But He didn’t do that.

He prayed and then He went out and did what He had to do.  He didn’t just leave it at prayer.  He put the physical effort in and He went to the cross.  And we should all be so glad that He did.  That was God’s will, and Jesus put in the work to complete the task that God had given Him.  If He had just left it at prayer, and then walked away because He didn’t think He needed to do anything else, the sacrifice for our sins would not have been completed. 

Other scriptures speak to this, but the first one that comes to mind when I was thinking through this was James 2:14-26.  James is talking about faith vs. deeds, but I think it can easily be seen as prayer vs. work as well.  So in other words, what is prayer without putting some work in at the same time.  Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to pray, and He is more than capable of handling the situations that we pray about.  Sometimes, however, by allowing us to work at the things we are praying for, He uses that to help us grow in those areas and in our faith. 

In the article last month, I mentioned an author and preacher by the name of Mark Batterson, and his book The Circle Maker, all about praying big prayers.  One of my favorite Batterson quotes, and I can’t remember which of his books it’s int (probably in multiple), is this; “Pray like it depends on God, but work at it like it depends on you.”  That’s my challenge to you this month, and it will be a main focus of our teaching times over the next few weeks as well.  Put the time in praying, but don’t be afraid to put the work in either.  God doesn’t want us to just sit idly by after we’ve prayed.  He wants us to do the work as well.

So, think about that big prayer or prayers that you’ve been praying over the last month (if you haven’t been praying those big prayers yet, it’s not too late).  Keep praying those prayers.  Pray bolder prayers.  Then ask yourself, “What can I do to help bring about the results of the prayers that I have been praying?”  And then do it.  Figure out what needs to happen on your end, keep praying, and then do the work!  Let’s all get out there and put in the work to reach this community for Christ.

God, Life

Family

I am more convinced than ever that this life that we live is better lived in community, and that community being with fellow Christians.  We call our congregation here in NM a faith family, and that’s because we try to treat each other as family.  That means that we take care of each other.  Do we always get along?  No.  But what family does?

We are a family simply because of our relationship with Jesus.  We, as Christians, are Christ followers, and therefore we are brothers and sisters in Christ.  And because of that bond, we need to help take care of each other, in the good times and the bad.  But our faith family should be more than just the church that we choose to attend.  Our faith family, in all reality, should be anyone who follow Jesus.  Anyone who is a disciple is your brother or sister, and that means we should be trying to help take care of each other even more.

And the events of today that took place in TN around my mom have proven that this is how the Church or  Christ followers should interact with each other.  My mom lives alone, and when you get a phone call from one of her neighbors asking if she is ok, it’s a little unnerving.  But at the same time, that neighbor was helping to take care of and look out for my mom.  I’m 1,400 miles away, and had no idea that something was wrong, but a neighbor, and fellow Christian called because there was an ambulance in my mom’s driveway.

Turns out, my mom had gotten her feet tangled in a heater cord and fallen.  She landed on her left arm and snapped her humerus, but was able to get to her phone and call 911.  She was taken to the hospital and got the treatment that she needed, but the family aspect of being taken care of doesn’t end at my mom’s neighbor calling me.

Some how, a man from her church found out what was going on, and showed up at her house to check on her.  A lady from a Wednesday morning Bible study that she attends was there, along with my aunt making sure the dogs were taken care of and anything else that my mom needed taken care of.

As a minister, I understand the role of checking in on and praying for someone in the hospital.  Well, it turns out the staff of mom’s church is on a staff retreat this week, but the church has stepped in to take care of her.  One of the elder’s almost immediately called me to make sure I knew what was going on.  I don’t even know how he knew.  He told me to keep him updated when I found out what hospital she was being taken to.  I did, and then found out from my aunt that another elder and his wife showed up at the hospital almost at the same time that they arrived.  They stayed with them the whole time, and ended up taking mom home after she was discharged, so that my aunt could go home and pack a bag to stay with my mom.

There have been countless comments and prayers being offered through social media.  The same neighbor that called me initially has already offered to take mom supper at some point this week, and promised to help take care of her since we are so far away.  I tell you all of this to say the following:  That is what being a Christ follower is all about.  Taking care of each other.  We are family.  Yes, there are times we don’t agree, but our bond of being brothers and sisters in Christ should trump those disagreements.  We have other things that we are called to as being Christians, but one thing we have got to remember is that we’ve got each other’s backs; NO MATTER WHAT!  Seeing it in action over the last several hours, even from 1,400 miles away, gives me hope that we can all remember to treat each other with love and respect.  Not being able to be there for my own mom is hard, but knowing that she has a family bigger than just blood makes me so thankful that I get to be a part of this bond of brothers and sisters in Christ.