(Below is an excerpt from my journal, written on May 07, 2009)
Father God,
I had totally forgotten until just a moment ago, when you saw fit to remind me: today is The National Day of Prayer. All over the country, Christians are lifting up their voices in petition for this great nation. I've read that some people do not intend to offer any special prayers on this day, as if they have contempt for the very idea. But I intend to, since I do not pray for my country and it's leaders on a daily basis.
America is at war. I'm not talking about the war in Iraq; that is only a temporary war. No, America has been locked in battle since her birth. He did not mind if she gained her freedom, so long as she used her freedom as an excuse to do evil. And that, sadly, is precisely what she has done. America as a country united under God is almost a thing of the past. Everyone is 'free' to do whatever they please, with little to no regard for other people, and no whatsoever for any moral standard. I think that the freedoms of America are more dangerous for Christians than the persecution in other countries. They pray for us, because they can clearly see how soft and complacent we have become in our imaginary bubble of safety.
I pray first today for Christians across America. Wake them up! Remind them of who they are, and what they're here for. Straighten out their priorities. Unite churches in love; don't let people bicker over the trivial matters that so often divide us. Remind us that we are all a part of one global church, one Body of Christ, not individual cliques or social clubs. Bless the few who really get it, and help them to spread their message. Add to our number daily and help us to disciple them. Help us to use our freedom while it lasts.
I pray for those Christians in positions of influence, be they businessmen, pastors, politicians, law enforcement or military officials, athletes or whatever else. Help and inspire them to use their station in life to take a bold, public stand against evil, for your sake and in your name. Help them to keep their footing, so that your name will not be mocked. Teach these men and women that they were raised to these positions of worldly power 'for such a time as this.'
God, it is a little hard for me to pray for President Obama, since I am somewhat suspicious of him. However, I pray that his motives are pure, and that since he professes Christianity, he will lead this country in a way that is pleasing to you. I know he has a lot to deal with, from the conflict in Iraq to our current economic situation, so please give him wisdom and discernment. Let him seek you in all his decision-making. I pray that his term in the White House will be marked down in history books not just because he was our nation's first African-American leader, but because he was a leader of integrity.
Pray for our country.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
That's Not My Job!
This is a story about four people named: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got mad about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Did you follow that? Sound at all familiar?
I'm writing this blog post as a response to something I heard a member of my small group say: "I want a more important job." Uh-oh. Some of my readers may already be able to see where I'm going with this. I smile.
"Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks." -Rick Warren
There are always going to be some jobs that nobody wants to do. However, those are the jobs that make the world go round. Everybody wants to serve God in some big, noticeable way, so that they'll feel good about themselves and other people will praise them. Well, that's all fine and dandy, but this is what Jesus thinks of that kind of attitude:
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
-Matthew 6:1-14 (NIV)
When we are given opportunities for ministry and service, it is tempting to look for an 'important job.' But the actor on stage can't perform if the guy behind the curtain doesn't open it. One job is no more important than the other. Both are essential for the show to go well. My mom always says that nobody wants to be a garbageman, but if there were no garbagemen, we would all notice.
"In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary."
-1 Corinthians 12:22 (NLT)
In our spiritual journey, adopting the attitude of a servant is probably one of the most difficult challenges we're going to face. Serving others involves putting their needs before ours, and sometimes even instead of ours. There might not be a reward. It may be that no one pats us on the back or tells us what a good job we've done. But we have to mature to the point where we no longer need our egos stroked in order to put forth our best effort.
"Notoriety means nothing to real servants, because they know the difference between prominence and significance." -Rick Warren
If you want to look for the right way to serve, we need look no further than The Man Himself:
"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
-Philippians 2:3-11 (NLT)
Developing this kind of servant's heart is a long and difficult process, I'll acknowledge that. And we're not the first people in history to have trouble with it! Even Jesus' disciples argued amongst themselves as to who was the most important, but Jesus set them straight:
"The apostles got into an argument about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus told them: 'Foreign kings order their people around, and powerful rulers call themselves everyone's friends. But don't be like them. The most important one of you should be like the least important, and your leader should be like a servant. Who do people think is the greatest, a person who is served or one who serves? Isn't it the one who is served? But I have been with you as a servant.'"
-Luke 22:26-27 (CEV)
Did you follow that? Sound at all familiar?
I'm writing this blog post as a response to something I heard a member of my small group say: "I want a more important job." Uh-oh. Some of my readers may already be able to see where I'm going with this. I smile.
"Great opportunities often disguise themselves in small tasks." -Rick Warren
There are always going to be some jobs that nobody wants to do. However, those are the jobs that make the world go round. Everybody wants to serve God in some big, noticeable way, so that they'll feel good about themselves and other people will praise them. Well, that's all fine and dandy, but this is what Jesus thinks of that kind of attitude:
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
-Matthew 6:1-14 (NIV)
When we are given opportunities for ministry and service, it is tempting to look for an 'important job.' But the actor on stage can't perform if the guy behind the curtain doesn't open it. One job is no more important than the other. Both are essential for the show to go well. My mom always says that nobody wants to be a garbageman, but if there were no garbagemen, we would all notice.
"In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary."
-1 Corinthians 12:22 (NLT)
In our spiritual journey, adopting the attitude of a servant is probably one of the most difficult challenges we're going to face. Serving others involves putting their needs before ours, and sometimes even instead of ours. There might not be a reward. It may be that no one pats us on the back or tells us what a good job we've done. But we have to mature to the point where we no longer need our egos stroked in order to put forth our best effort.
"Notoriety means nothing to real servants, because they know the difference between prominence and significance." -Rick Warren
If you want to look for the right way to serve, we need look no further than The Man Himself:
"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
-Philippians 2:3-11 (NLT)
Developing this kind of servant's heart is a long and difficult process, I'll acknowledge that. And we're not the first people in history to have trouble with it! Even Jesus' disciples argued amongst themselves as to who was the most important, but Jesus set them straight:
"The apostles got into an argument about which one of them was the greatest. So Jesus told them: 'Foreign kings order their people around, and powerful rulers call themselves everyone's friends. But don't be like them. The most important one of you should be like the least important, and your leader should be like a servant. Who do people think is the greatest, a person who is served or one who serves? Isn't it the one who is served? But I have been with you as a servant.'"
-Luke 22:26-27 (CEV)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tempted by Ease
"To be honest, I can't imagine how a person could say, 'I'm weak,' and then stay that way. If you know that about yourself, why not fight it, why not develop your character? Their answer has always been: 'Because it's much easier not to!' This reply leaves me feeling rather discouraged. Easy? Does that mean a life of deceit and laziness is easy too? Oh no, that can't be true. It can't be true that people are so readily tempted by ease." -Anne Frank
Up until about two weeks ago, I had been dealing with the constant problem of laziness and procrastination. It's not that I didn't know what I ought to do... I just couldn't seem to bring myself to care enough to do anything about it. Apathy is a dangerous weapon of Satan's. Instead of doing the obvious thing and placing a temptation in your life, which you might be able to pray through and overcome, he instead saps your will to do anything at all, leaving you a mere lump of lard on your couch. He's subtle that way.
I compare the way I became so apathetic to the way you would go about boiling a frog. If you just toss the frog into hot water, it will try to escape, for it will realize its danger. But if you put that same frog in cold water and heat it up slowly, it will never even know it is being boiled alive. I began by putting things off a little. Ah, I'll take care of it in a minute. Then it grew. That will keep until tomorrow. Eventually, the idea of expending the least amount of effort was completely unappealing to me. I was the epitome of the sluggard:
"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!" -Proverbs 19:24
I was really too lazy to cook something if I got hungry, or pour a glass of water if I was thirsty. I wasn't getting anything done--I was keeping busy with all the usual stuff, but I was just going through the motions. The worst of it was, I was aware of my laziness the whole time. I would intend to do something about it... but everyday I managed to convince myself that it was too hard, or that I didn't have the time, or that I was too tired; the list goes on endlessly.
And then there came a weekend when there would be no distractions: no work, no computer, no telephone calls... no friends, even. I went up to Roanoke Bible College for the placement testing and the college preview weekend, and as a last-minute decision, I grabbed The Purpose Driven Life as I was walking out the door to get on the road. So I had three days with just a Bible, a book, a journal and a pen.
As I began to read, and pray--having nothing better to do--God reminded me of his love for me, and of my love for him. He reminded me of my calling (Jeremiah 1:4-10 & 17 & 19), and my reason for being on this earth.
"Love is not Christ making much of us or making life easy. Love is doing what he must do, at great cost to Himself (and often to us), to enable us to enjoy making much of Him forever." -John Piper
Early in my life as a Christian, I prayed to be given a hard task. I've always wanted to live my life on an epic scale, viewing it as a grand adventure, where good must ultimately triumph over evil. Well, God granted my request. He offered me a hard task... and my journey has been incredibly hard. I have endured difficulties and temptations from without, but my greatest struggles have been with myself. Who can combat my laziness and apathy except me? No one can force me to put forth any real effort. No one can make me do any more than the bare minimum. I have to choose to work with all my heart.
A wise person once said to me:
"If you don't think that you can push yourself and do your best for yourself, then push yourself and do your best for God." -Jonathan Phipps
It was certainly by no will of my own that I began in earnest to pray and study again. It is not my will that's been dragging my butt out of bed at six o'clock every morning so I'll have time to myself to pray. God's will is stronger than mine; all I had to do was surrender myself to it.
"To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?" -C. S. Lewis
And now, because I have turned from all the trying, all the struggling and fighting, and even from the despair and resignation, and have prayed the simple but earnest prayer, "God help me," I am experiencing a closeness with God that I had almost given up on ever finding again.
Matthew West's new song, The Motions, are words I poured out to God directly from my heart, from the moment I first heard it.
This might hurt
It's not safe
But I know that I've got to make a change
I don't care if I break
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause "just okay" is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don't want to go through the motions
I don't want to go one more day
Without your all-consuming passion inside of me
I don't want to spend my whole life asking
"What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?"
It's not enough for men to think well of me. When people think well of us, we tend to become complacent, and we no longer pursue righteousness, because partial or even pseudo-righteousness is 'good enough' for the rest of society; praiseworthy, even. I can do all the good in the world, but unless I am motivated by and possessed with an all-consuming love of God, it means nothing.
Up until about two weeks ago, I had been dealing with the constant problem of laziness and procrastination. It's not that I didn't know what I ought to do... I just couldn't seem to bring myself to care enough to do anything about it. Apathy is a dangerous weapon of Satan's. Instead of doing the obvious thing and placing a temptation in your life, which you might be able to pray through and overcome, he instead saps your will to do anything at all, leaving you a mere lump of lard on your couch. He's subtle that way.
I compare the way I became so apathetic to the way you would go about boiling a frog. If you just toss the frog into hot water, it will try to escape, for it will realize its danger. But if you put that same frog in cold water and heat it up slowly, it will never even know it is being boiled alive. I began by putting things off a little. Ah, I'll take care of it in a minute. Then it grew. That will keep until tomorrow. Eventually, the idea of expending the least amount of effort was completely unappealing to me. I was the epitome of the sluggard:
"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!" -Proverbs 19:24
I was really too lazy to cook something if I got hungry, or pour a glass of water if I was thirsty. I wasn't getting anything done--I was keeping busy with all the usual stuff, but I was just going through the motions. The worst of it was, I was aware of my laziness the whole time. I would intend to do something about it... but everyday I managed to convince myself that it was too hard, or that I didn't have the time, or that I was too tired; the list goes on endlessly.
And then there came a weekend when there would be no distractions: no work, no computer, no telephone calls... no friends, even. I went up to Roanoke Bible College for the placement testing and the college preview weekend, and as a last-minute decision, I grabbed The Purpose Driven Life as I was walking out the door to get on the road. So I had three days with just a Bible, a book, a journal and a pen.
As I began to read, and pray--having nothing better to do--God reminded me of his love for me, and of my love for him. He reminded me of my calling (Jeremiah 1:4-10 & 17 & 19), and my reason for being on this earth.
"Love is not Christ making much of us or making life easy. Love is doing what he must do, at great cost to Himself (and often to us), to enable us to enjoy making much of Him forever." -John Piper
Early in my life as a Christian, I prayed to be given a hard task. I've always wanted to live my life on an epic scale, viewing it as a grand adventure, where good must ultimately triumph over evil. Well, God granted my request. He offered me a hard task... and my journey has been incredibly hard. I have endured difficulties and temptations from without, but my greatest struggles have been with myself. Who can combat my laziness and apathy except me? No one can force me to put forth any real effort. No one can make me do any more than the bare minimum. I have to choose to work with all my heart.
A wise person once said to me:
"If you don't think that you can push yourself and do your best for yourself, then push yourself and do your best for God." -Jonathan Phipps
It was certainly by no will of my own that I began in earnest to pray and study again. It is not my will that's been dragging my butt out of bed at six o'clock every morning so I'll have time to myself to pray. God's will is stronger than mine; all I had to do was surrender myself to it.
"To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?" -C. S. Lewis
And now, because I have turned from all the trying, all the struggling and fighting, and even from the despair and resignation, and have prayed the simple but earnest prayer, "God help me," I am experiencing a closeness with God that I had almost given up on ever finding again.
Matthew West's new song, The Motions, are words I poured out to God directly from my heart, from the moment I first heard it.
This might hurt
It's not safe
But I know that I've got to make a change
I don't care if I break
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause "just okay" is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don't want to go through the motions
I don't want to go one more day
Without your all-consuming passion inside of me
I don't want to spend my whole life asking
"What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?"
It's not enough for men to think well of me. When people think well of us, we tend to become complacent, and we no longer pursue righteousness, because partial or even pseudo-righteousness is 'good enough' for the rest of society; praiseworthy, even. I can do all the good in the world, but unless I am motivated by and possessed with an all-consuming love of God, it means nothing.
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