Busted....again.

Yesterday, a lady at work was commenting on how her daughter had moved back in with her over the weekend.  She had been living with her boyfriend and had bought a house with him and so we were hearing about some of the complications of the situation.

I didn't say anything, but of course being the self-righteous Christian I sometimes am, was thinking to myself; "Well, that's what happens when you live together.  Don't you know the statistics....blah, blah, blah."

Well, later that night as I was going to bed that doggone "still, quiet voice" speaks to me...again.  Psalm 139:24 says, "see if there is any offensive way in me".  God said there was.  Rather than being judgmental and condemning (even though only in my mind), God suggested I pray for this young woman and her mother.

You’ve maybe heard the phrase/prayer that says: “God, break my heart for the things that break Yours.”  That needs to be my prayer…again!

Faithful?

I appreciate our Worship Team and the spirit in which they help start off the service.  Before the song, Your Grace Is Enough, Dave Kurschner made mention of the Apostle Paul and the thorn in the flesh he dealt with.  Dave went on to illustrate how we as parents give "just enough" to our kids (i.e. money, freedom etc.) as they learn to mature and grow. So it is with God and us.

As Dave was speaking, the Lord brought to mind a friend of mine that I had exchanged emails with earlier in the week.  I had sent him the link to the sermon I gave in July about life being a roller coaster.  Since he left the company where we worked together, his life -- both professionally and personally -- has imploded.  He appreciated the message and said there was just one set of foot prints in his life right now (referring the footprints poem I read).

What God hit and convicted me with, was that while my friend was going through a long and difficult time -- a thorn in the flesh so-to-speak -- I had not been very faithful in lifting him up in prayer.  The passage God placed on my mind (and heart) was from Matthew 5, The Sermon On The Mount.  The Message version phrases it this way starting at verse 33:

And don't say anything you don't mean.  This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions.  You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it.  You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace.

I'm not only guilty in this instance, but countless others.  Thank You Dave and the rest of your team for leading us and setting us up to hear from Him who is enough. Sometimes we hear what He's laid on your heart -- and then there are times when He adds a little more.

While driving home from work earlier this week I was listening to a podcast of Mark Batterson who was finishing his series on The Circle Maker (highly recommended book by the way).   He mentioned a guy named Frank Laubach, who was a missionary in the Philippines.  Occasionally, Laubach would ride the bus, sitting in the back where he had a good view of every one on board.  Then, he would begin a "work of prayer".   He would focus on each individual, sometimes choosing certain ones in which he would pour as much love into as possible thru prayer.  Other times, Laubach pictured Jesus walking thru the bus, pausing by the person he was praying for and putting His hand on their shoulder to encourage and bless them.

Many times, life on the bus continued as normal.   But sometimes, He would notice the person kind of jump or look around to explain a feeling they just had.  Some relaxed and smiled. Still others, would turn and face him and begin a spiritual discussion with no prompting.  He cultivated a habit of continual prayer.  That just seems fascinating to me.

It caused me to think about our 100 in 2012 initiative (or whatever you call it).  Prayer really needs to be a key component of that.  There are some in our church who are passionatley praying for this.  Others, who may not have prayed for this at all.  Being perfectly honest - I'm somewhere in between.   Quoting Batterson from his book: "We're willing to pray right up to the point of discomfort, but no further. We're willing to pray up to the point of inconvenience, but no further."  Ouch!  Looking in the mirror is not always pleasant.

Pastor Brett has shown a video in church a number of times called Give Me Your Eyes.  This isn't the same video, but it is the same song.  It's a song; and it is word; and more importantly it is action I need in my own life.


(PS.  Regarding Frank Laubach.  He didn't just sit around praying either.  He was known as "the Apostle to the Illiterates", developing the "Each One Teach One" literacy program in the Philippines.)

Lenten Prayer

"If you underestimate your sinfulness, you will under appreciate God's mercy."  

Oh Heavenly Father, how easy it often is for someone like me - who has been in the church ever since I can remember - to underestimate my sinfulness.  I committed my life to you as a very young boy.  I've lived the proverbial  "good life" and been very involved in church as a child, youth and adult.  How easy it is to wear the Christian veneer and absorb that into my way of thinking.  Jesus tells us that he who has been forgiven little loves little. (Luke 7:47)  I need to realize how much you have forgiven me.

God, the Apostle Paul said that all he did -- even as your servant -- was worth nothing but rubbish.  As I understand it, "rubbish" is a very kind and gentle word compared to what Paul was really saying.  Today, I want to realize how much you have forgiven me so that I can love you more.  Do not let me think, for one moment, that I bring anything to the table.

Then Lord, as you promise in 1 John 1:9, forgive me and let me celebrate your immeasurable grace.

SYATP

This past Wednesday was the 21^st annual See You At The Pole (syatp) Day.  I have had the privilege of dropping my kids off at the flagpole at Kennedy High School for the last I-don’t-know-how-many years. I am proud of my kids, their friends and the other kids who show up each year for this event.  It is not easy for a teenager to stand around a circle, singing and praying while other students and teachers file past them, going into the school.

After dropping off my kids, I have made it a habit/tradition to prayer walk in my car (OK – so it’s really more of a prayer-drive) around the campus as the group of kids grows.  And, for whatever reason, I always pray out loud – even though I’m the only one in the car.

If you think about it, pray for the Student Ministries group here at CrossPoint.  They’re great kids!  They have had a lot of transition the last few years, but they have been stead fast.  Pray for the leaders who work with them.  This is the next generation of The Church.  If SYATP is an indication, the future is bright.  But it’s our responsibility as an older generation to support them in many ways – and most certainly in prayer.

I want to be a hedonist.

While running the other day, I was listening to a Catalyst podcast on my iPod.  Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson, the authors of "Rumors of God" were being interviewed.  As the discussion turned to prayer, there were two statements that really hit me.  You know - the kind of statements that you hear in which the conversation continues, but your mind is stuck on what was just said.

The first was:  God will always answer prayer that is for His glory and His Kingdom. OK.  Is that how I pray?  Really?  Honestly?  Frankly, most of my prayers are about (and for) me or my family.  The same goes for most groups I pray in.  Rarely do I hear people (or myself) concerned about God's glory and His kingdom.  It's not that God doesn't want us to bring our requests to Him.  The Psalms are full of that.  But the Psalms are also full of praise to His glorious name.

Then they quoted a guy named Frederick Meyer.  Meyer said:  "The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer."  Again, I was convicted about how little I pray.  I think we can all admit to the need to pray more.  But maybe, as we pray more, we can pray less about ourselves and more about His glory and His kingdom.  I have already caught myself this week when I have started to pray, falling back into the routine of asking for things for my sake and not His.  Old habits are hard to break.

John Piper coined the term Christian Hedonism meaning, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.  Let that be our prayer.