Take Time To Pray And Listen

I don’t know how many times I have to learn this lesson because it is so obvious, yet so easy to forget. Here is the lesson: take time to pray and listen.

You would think we wouldn’t have to be reminded of that, and yet, I caught myself sitting at my desk on a long Wednesday workday trying to plow through a bunch of different things, only to hear a still, small voice gently rebuke me. “You aren’t trying to do ministry all by yourself, with only your own thoughts and efforts, are you?” So I got up, found one of my favorite nearby spots to pray and listen and (big surprise coming) it was amazing what God led me to think on, act on, to consider!

If life is sweeping you away like a river after the Spring rains, stop!! Take some time—in fact, PLAN SOME TIME—and get by yourself and pray. Ask God to show you whatever it is He wants to show you. You may very well find this time to be the most productive hour of your week!

Draft Picks

On Wednesday I received “the other Bible” in the mail: The 2012 Pro Football Weekly’s NFL Draft Preview. OK, maybe that is a slight exaggeration :-), but I have always been a draft-nik. I love watching how teams utilize the draft to build up their teams…except the Browns! Usually, when they get to their picks (with the exception of the last couple of years), I want to put my foot through the TV because they so often overreach for a player (use a high draft choice to get a player they could have gotten in the later rounds)! Not that I am bitter....

As I watch how teams build themselves through player selection, I cannot help but think that if God were putting together a team through the draft, everyone would be left scratching their heads at His picks. You, me, us…He WAY overreached for us!! He traded up to the top pick of the draft with His own Son to claim us. No one in their right mind would have done that! But, that is both the amazing grace of God and the amazing genius of God. Somehow, through a plethora of mind-boggling choices, He crafts a winning team - His church. He coaches us, teaches us, puts us into the right position and empowers us. 

Yes, on April 26th, I’ll be eating wings and watching with bated breath as the Browns choose their players for the future.  But, I will also rejoice in the grace of God and how He has personally chosen every one of us!!

Foreshadowing in the Old Testament

Considering that Matthew wrote to a much more Jewish audience than John did when they were writing their gospels, John really draws out a lot of Old Testament imagery as he tells the story of Christ. The story begins with allusions to the Genesis creation story. Further along (John 1:51), Jesus proclaims Himself the new ladder from Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28:10-22). But it is the work of Christ on the cross that preoccupies John the most. Indeed, John spends chapters 13 to 20 basically detailing the last week of Jesus’ life. And it all reflects back on the foreshadowing of the story in the Old Testament - stories in which God purifies His sanctuary of sin by applying blood to the cover of the ark of the covenant: a flat surface with two angels, one on one side and one on the other, looking down upon God’s mercy where the blood is applied. So, this week, look into John’s telling of the passion of the Christ. But, more importantly, stoop into the cave in John 20:11-12, and see what Mary Magdalene saw - the flat surface where Jesus’ body had been lain and an angel, one on one side and one on the other, looking down upon God’s great mercy for us in the cross and the resurrection of Jesus.

The Real Shepherd

As I was thinking about John 10:1-42 and the theme of false shepherds and the real Shepherd - Jesus, in case that was unclear :-) - I really got to thinking about how important it is for us to choose our leaders wisely!!  I have served under great leaders and poor ones…and ones in-between.  I have also thought how critical it is that we really choose our friends (the people who we really live life with!) wisely also.  If we want to be more like Jesus, then the people who will have the most influence on our lives (to the extent that we can have some say into this), should reflect this Good Shepherd’s personal make-up.  If we want to be courageous (Jesus was the most courageous human to ever walk on this planet!), then we need to select people who exhibit courage!  If we want to combine grace with courage…and wisdom and humility, then we should look for people with those kinds of traits, or who really pursue the development of those virtues.  We are so shaped by the people over us and around us.  And in John 10, we see Jesus giving us the ultimate Person whom we should model ourselves after…but being rooted in community means that we are called to look for people who love Jesus and live like Him to shape our own lives.  Paul even told the Corinthian church - “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)  Choose wisely then, because there is a lot of fake and flimsy in this world!

"Lost Cause"

During my Wednesday morning community group, we were going through the Book of Acts chapter nine and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Here was one of the most vehemently anti-Christian crusaders to ever walk the earth. He was arresting Christians and even overseeing some stonings. So what does God do? He decides to recruit Saul for His team!! And Saul soon became Paul, and went from one of the most brutal persecutors of the church to its greatest missionary. It is so easy to see people who are completely antithetical to the faith and see them as enemies. It is so easy to hold people who scorn God in contempt. But, from God’s view, these are the first-round draft picks for His team!!

So, here is my challenge: think of someone in your life who would be easy to view as a “lost cause” or the last person who would ever receive Jesus as Savior and Lord and begin praying for them, for open doors to discuss the faith with them. Try to imagine them as someone completely the opposite. You may just begin praying for the next Billy Graham or Mother Teresa or Apostle Paul!!

Encouraging Things...

I was at our seniors’ luncheon on Tuesday and was thinking about the past few weeks and how easily we can allow encouraging things to get drowned out by the discouraging things. So I asked the group to name one thing in the last several months that was an encouragement to them. The first two people spoke of how this church is truly unleashing love both in the Body and in our community. That, in and of itself, was an encouragement to me. Of the several I gave, one was hearing how the Blakkolb family felt so loved by their church family (way to go church!) and the other was a lady who saw me shopping with Micah and asked if Micah was autistic. She then began to tell me of this church right on 306 that ministers every month to her sibling who has a special needs child and what a wonderful church it had to be (yeah!!).

And then I read 2 Corinthians 4:1…

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

We carry the glory of Christ’s gospel in our very bodies, though it is true that these bodies are jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7), prone to break, to endure discouragement, even persecution (4:8-12). But, here is the really encouraging thing: we are hard-pressed but never crushed, knock us down but we’re getting back up again, even in our death, we bring life to others if indeed we are living our worship of Jesus in the world around us!! Be encouraged then, for we are more than conquerors in the end…and yes, even now.

Enjoy Life

I have an addiction I need to confess. Ever since we got a Wii for the family and my son, Josiah, got the “Super Mario Bros.” game, I have found myself waiting until everyone goes to bed and playing that game until midnight a couple of nights a week. I think in my attempt to temporarily escape the sorrow of the last couple of weeks, I logged an extra night this week. And after months of playing with Josiah and by myself, I finally got through all of the worlds, collected all of the “star coins” and conquered all the “bosses” in those worlds. It was a journey of excitement, challenge, frustration (it must have taken me 50 tries to get through one of those worlds!) and finally…fun; fun with Josiah and Jordan who always want me to play with them. And fun because, much like life, there were always new challenges. This has been a tough two weeks. We have been challenged by some real tragedies. We need to stay engaged with the families who are hurting. And we need to be reminded to enjoy life (Ecclesiastes 3:22), to take time with your family and to count your days…all to the glory of Christ. One day, the journey will be over.