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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #6. The Church exists for the sake of the world.

12 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#6. The Church exists for the sake of the world.

Dear God, I think before I address the observation above, I need to step back and ask a different question: Why do I exist? Really quick, however, I want to point out something I just noticed. Numbers 5 and 6 are actually a bit redundant and, I suppose, #6 builds on #5 so it cannot exist without #5 being first. As a refresher, #5 is, “The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.” What caught my eye this morning is that #5 starts with “The point of the Church…” while #6 starts with “The Church exists for…” Two different ways of saying the same thing, but he starts with receiving and reflecting your love and then moves to doing #5 so we can be here for the sake of the world.

Now that I have that out of the way, I want to go back and look at my first question: Why do I exist? I think the answer for that question is probably pretty easy. I am here to worship you. I am part of your creation and if all of us remain silent in our worship then the rocks will cry out (Luke 19:40–although I might be taking that verse slightly out of context for my purposes here). At the most basic level, that is why I am here. Everything I experience, while it might have other purposes in your plan, contains the ingredient that you expect my worship. You expect my submission. You expect my repentance for my sins. You expect my attention. You expect my dependence. You are a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). You don’t want me to put my faith in myself, my country and its economy, government or military, my wife, my children, my parents, etc. I am here to worship you and you alone. So that’s the core of why I am here.

Frankly, all of why we are here can be found in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. that goes for us as individuals and as your Church:

  • Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name: Worship
  • Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven: Wishing for your will to be done in the world at large, but also through my life.
  • Give me this day my daily bread: Dependence.
  • Forgive me of my sins: Repentance.
  • As I forgive those who sin against me: Personal growth for me and spreading your love to others.
  • Lead me not into temptation: Help me to stay pure.
  • Deliver me from evil: Back to dependence, but this time with a twist of committing to live righteously.
  • For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever: This one isn’t always in there, but we are back to worship and submission.

So that’s a crude summary of why I exist. Now, why does the collection of individuals doing these things and calling itself the Church exist? I think the first thing is that I will be better at doing the list above if I am doing it as part of a collective as opposed to being on my own. It’s like the piece of charcoal burning off by itself as opposed to being on a pile with other pieces of burning charcoal. We burn hotter and brighter together. We accomplish things like providing warmth and cooking food more effectively in a group. So I suppose we exist as a collective Church to help us and then help others. Helping others can simply include serving, but ultimately it’s to bring others to you as well so that they might experience the fullness of life in you.

Father, help me to know how to effectively be part of your Church. It starts with my own discipline of worshipping you, submitting to you, and repenting to you. Then it moves to making myself available to others in your Church for both accountability for myself and then service to them. When my kids were little and didn’t want to go to church because they weren’t “getting anything out of it,” I would remind them that maybe their reason to be there was to help someone else to get something out of going. So help me to remember that and be that as well. Finally, help me to know how to work corporately with your Church and individually to bring others into your family and be worshippers of you. Help me to do all of this through the humility and love you would have me present because you and I both know I have nothing about which I can boast on my own. I’ve done nothing apart from you.

You are my God. Holy Spirit, counsel me today. Jesus, help me to learn from you today. I worship you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as my one true God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #5. The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.

09 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#5. The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.

Dear God, my first thought when I read this observation was to question it. Is that the point of the (capital C) Church? I want to think through that a little this morning. Pray through it like this. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me as I process it. What is the point of the Church?

I guess I should start with the body of Christ to which Paul refers (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We are all one body. So how should that body act and what should it do?

First, it should worship. Well, I guess the first thing all of us should do is repent before you and submit to you. Then we should worship you as individuals and corporately.

Second, we should commit to pursuing you and discipling as individuals and corporately. This is where I think 90% of Christians miss the mark, but it is foundational. There has to be time spent consistently communing with you in one way or another. If that is not happening then it gives Satan too much freedom to influence us.

Third, we should live out our faith in the world and let you use us to draw others to yourself. This is where I am both good and bad. I think my life is pretty representative of a life submitted to you, but I am terrible about actually bringing people to you and offering you to them.

Fourth, we should collectively help each other in our discipleship and life decisions. This happens through relationship and a willingness to be confronted and to lovingly confront.

Fifth, we should collectively reach out and help those in need. Of course, that includes evangelizing, but it also includes simply loving others and meeting their needs in a appropriate way.

Sixth, we should collectively be an example of your love to the world. It should generate naturally as a fruit of the Spirit in our individual lives brought together as one body.

I might have missed some things in there, but there is nothing about influencing the world through political power, top-down ruling, or force. It’s grassroots. It’s love. It’s healing. You don’t force us. Why would we force others?

Father, if I were to boil the six things I’ve said here down into a 16-word sentence, I am comfortable with what Neder has here. “Receive.” “Reflect.” Those two words summarize what I’ve listed here. Help me to do that today. Help me to receive your nature into my life. Use me as the sun uses the moon to reflect your light into the world.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2022 in 1 Corinthians, Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #4. Politically moderate Christianity is disappearing.

08 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#4. Politically moderate Christianity is disappearing.

Dear God, I guess I have to ask the question: What kind of political activity and perspective do you want me to have as a Christian? I would have been curious to hear more about what Mr. Neder had to say about this topic.

For me, it feels like everyone on both sides is fighting for more political power. It’s interesting to me that Jesus never did. He never seemed to care what Caesar was doing. He helped the centurion and complimented his faith (Matthew 8:5-13). He said to pay your taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13-17). I never heard him say, “Make Israel great again!” or, “Israel first!” When he was offended by the Samaritans and John and James wanted to cast fire down on them, Jesus rebuked John and James and went the other way (Luke 9:51-56). So what does he, what do you, Father and Holy Spirit, want me to do? I’m sure you don’t want me to be a political zealot. It’s interesting that Jesus spent more time fussing at the church than he did at the government.

I guess I always come back to the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)–the fruit that is born through you living through me. Discernment is not a fruit that Paul listed. In fact, it might be more of a discipline, but it could probably make the list. But the fruits Paul described are more outward expressions of love as opposed to actions of decision making. I just don’t think there is a way to be a politically fringe zealot and exhibit any of the fruits. There are times when I see people who are resolute to speak in absolutes–I must be right about this, that, or the other thing and there is not room for compromise–and wonder if they don’t feel that way because they are terrified they are wrong and therefore cannot allow themselves to consider they are wrong.

Father, Holy Spirit, I need to wrap this up and go to work, but I want to know how you would have me use my own political influence today. In terms of national politics, there isn’t much I can do but vote and, if I see an injustice that I feel you would have me address, partner with others to see if there is a constructive way to a follow-up. On a local level, you have given me relationships and standing in the community to the point where I can work with others to move the needle for the good of others. Help me to know how to do that and how to do it in love. Help me to do it in a way that you are using me to have your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give me the courage to do it even if it might cost me something.

I pray all of this through Jesus, my savior and Lord,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 8, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #3. Cable news and social media accelerate partisanship.

07 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#3. Cable news and social media accelerate partisanship.

Dear God, what is it in our nature that gravitates towards confirmation bias? I mean, I guess it’s as simple as the concept of if I like something then I’ll take more of it. It can go as far as an addiction to food, sex, alcohol, drugs, etc. It can be as simple as steering towards foods that I like but aren’t good for me. But this thing about the algorithms used by the Internet is insidious to its core.

I was listening to David French speak yesterday, and he was quoting a survey that said often people who spend the most time listening to political news often know less about their opponents viewpoints than those who do not spend as much time. That’s probably because they don’t want to know everything about the person. They just want to know the parts they don’t like about the person.

I also heard French say that, in the church today, as we approach politics, we’ve made the things that should be negotiable non-negotiable, and we’ve made negotiable the things that should be, for us as your followers, non-negotiable. For example, healthcare and the extent to which it should be made available to everyone in an affordable way should be negotiable, but we have drawn hard lines in our ideologies and taken non-negotiable stances–and we’ve asked our political representatives to do the same. On the other hand, we’ve taken the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self control) and made those characteristics negotiable in our politicians. In fact, many seem to like it if that person doesn’t have some of those qualities. They will “fight” for us.

Father, Holy Spirit, I will admit that it is hard for me to see how to get the toothpaste of social media and Internet/cable news back in the tube. However, it needs to be killed. Your Spirit of love…well, we as your people need to carry it into the world. We need to stop allowing news and social media to scratch our self-righteous itch and repent before you. We need to struggle through the things that are negotiable and reject the things that are non-negotiable. We need to stop reaching for political power and seek your power in our individual lives. Show me my sin in this area (that’s a scary thing to ask of you) and help me to be your ambassador into the world.

I pray this through the power of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 7, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #2. American churches are becoming less politically diverse and more partisan.

06 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes this morning, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#2. American churches are becoming less politically diverse and more partisan.

Dear God, I would love to go back to the 1960s and see what the political makeup of American churches was back then. In retrospect, it seems like, from my limited perspective, that Satan used the abortion issue in the 70s to start to divide the church on political lines. When I think about the political divide now and how it has come into the church, it seems, frankly, hopeless. I don’t pray about it like I should, that’s for sure. A couple of weeks ago, I was praying through the verses about us all being part of one body and I asked you if it is possible for American Democrats and Republicans to be part of the same body. The answer is obviously yes because neither side is holier or has the monopoly on you. All political platforms are flawed and full of sin. All of us need to repent. All of us need to extend your grace to others and, even if we think we are absolutely right, allow someone else to be “wrong” as much as we expect them to allow us to be “wrong.” And when it’s important, we can discuss it and keep our minds open to see if there might be error in the way we are thinking or see an issue.

If I were a pastor, I honestly don’t know what I would do except go back to what I said for Neder’s first observation, and go back to emphasizing discipleship. I find that the deeper I get into you the less I need to be right because I realize step by step that I’m wrong so often. And then the more I look for your grace and mercy to be wrong the more I end up giving people space to either be, what I consider to be, wrong or allow for the idea that they might be right and I am wrong. Or, in the end, maybe neither of us are wrong, but simply have different opinions.

Father, Holy Spirit, please be with your church. As Jesus said in John 17:20-21: 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. This is my prayer for your church. Help us to repent from spending more time reading or watching news than with you. Help us to be in the world but not of the world. Use us as your vessels to love others, take your will and kingdom into the world, and be your ambassadors to a world that needs you. Speak to us. Comfort us. Counsel us. Guide us. Teach us. Motivate us.

I pray this through your son, Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, John, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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10 Observations by Adam Neder: #1. The American religious landscape is changing quickly.

05 Sep

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes this morning, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#1. The American religious landscape is changing quickly.

Dear God, I know there is nothing new under the sun, and you’ve seen it all. But this shift in electronic media feels different. Number 3 is media so I don’t want to spend too much time on that thought today, but it’s the first thing that came to mind when I thought about the religious landscape changing quickly.

It’s funny. As I think of things that are changing in the “religious landscape,” I keep coming upon thoughts that are covered in the other points such as increased partisanship in the church. But what’s deeper? What is Satan doing at the foundation of the church to divide us? I think it comes down to a simple thing: discipleship and a pursued relationship with you is lacking for many, if not most self-professed Christians in America. We are simply treating religion like a philosophical position whose moral compass is rooted in our ideas of what we think you think about something instead of meditative prayer time spent repenting of our sins, seeking the wisdom of your Word (and I mean both scripture and the Holy Spirit’s still, small voice), and asking for your love to fill us and flow through us.

It in interesting that there are more self-professed Evangelicals in America (at least among White people) over the last six years, but fewer of them are in church. Their community is no longer found on Sunday morning, but at political rallies and on cable news. Pastors are either quitting or wanting to quit (or being discouraged to become pastors) at a higher rate given all of the division. Their congregations spend more time with cable news and on social media during the week than they spend in personal prayer and scripture. Again, I’m sliding into some of the other observations, but for me the foundation upon which they are all built is true discipleship.

Father, let it start with me. Help me to continue to sit here and hear your voice. Help me to share my love for you with others. Love them richly through me. Bring glory to your name through me. Help me to decrease so you can increase. Help us to know what it truly means to know you, repent before you, and extend the love we’ve received from you to others. Help us–help me–to be humble. Help me to extend grace and mercy.

I pray this through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection as part of the Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 5, 2022 in Faith In Ruins: 10 Observations by Adam Neder, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“Where You Are” by Rich Mullins

03 Sep
Rich Mullins Live at Family Broadcasting Corp.

“Where You Are” by Rich Mullins

Talkin’ Daniel in the den of the lions
Talkin’ Jonah in the belly of a whale
Talkin’ three Hebrew children
And they’re standing in a furnace, fiery furnace

But the fire didn’t burn them, and the lions didn’t bite
And the Lord reached down and you can be sure that
Everything turned out right
Oh you’ll meet the Lord in the furnace
A long time before you meet Him in the sky

And where you are ain’t where you wish that you was
Well your life ain’t easy and the road is rough
But where you are is where He promised to be
From the ends of the world to every point of need

Talkin’ Daniel in the den of the lions
Talkin’ Jonah in the belly of a whale
Talkin’ three Hebrew children
And they’re standing in a furnace, fiery furnace

But the fire didn’t burn them, and the lions didn’t bite
And the Lord reached down and you can be sure that
Everything turned out right
Oh you’ll meet the Lord in the furnace
A long time before you meet Him in the sky

Meet Him in your time of trial
Meet Him in your hour of prayer
You can reach out and I’ll bet
That you’ll find that He’s right there

Where you are, however grim it may seem
This is real life, baby
This ain’t no Hollywood dream
And where you are no matter what you may face
You’re gonna find out real soon what they mean when they say

Talkin’ Daniel in the den of the lions
Talkin’ Jonah in the belly of a whale
Talkin’ three Hebrew children
And they’re standing in a furnace, fiery furnace

But the fire didn’t burn them, and the lions didn’t bite
And the Lord reached down and you can be sure that
Everything turned out right

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David Strasser / Richard Mullins

Dear God, I’m teaching a Sunday school class about Naomi tomorrow and I’ve been thinking a bit about her and Ruth all week. For whatever reason, this is the song that was going in my head this morning when I woke up, and I think it fits with their lives and even my life today. Of course it fits with my life today.

I haven’t heard this song in years (it’s about 30 years old), but I know the words almost by heart. As I was singing it to myself, this one line struck me:

Oh, you’ll meet the Lord in the furnace a long time before you meet him in the sky

I’m not sure it’s possible (outside of a small baby or child) to meet you in the sky before we’ve met you in the furnace. It’s the furnace that tempers our steel. It’s the furnace that removes the dross. It’s the furnace that refines. Metaphorically, Rich was referring to the three Hebrew exiles who were thrown into the furnace for worshipping you instead of the king in Daniel, but the furnace imagery actually lends itself to great effect in other areas of my life.

I was listening to Chuck Swindoll talk about the book of Ruth this morning, and he said (paraphrasing) the underlying message of Ruth is that in our worst times, [you are] present. You are present. You aren’t necessarily fixing everything the way I want it, but you’re present. You’re loving me. You’re teaching me that there are things going on that I cannot, and my never, see. You are teaching me to trust you beyond what it benefits or harms me and the life I have now.

My wife and I were talking this morning over breakfast about how you have used each other and our children to grind off some of the rough spots of who we are. You aren’t done with me yet. I still have plenty of rough spots. But that’s something that a single person or a person with no children will have to find somewhere else–a source for friction to grind down our pride and selfishness. Our arrogance and foolishness. You designed marriage and parenting to make me holy more than to make me happy (I’m looking at you, Gary Thomas).

Holy Spirit, Father God, please help me today. Help me to love my wife. Help me to love my friend who’s coming for a bike ride. Help me to love my children. Help me to love my parents. Help me to love my siblings, nieces and nephews. I include in all of those the significant others of each one as well. Help me to prepare for this Sunday school message tomorrow. Glorify your name in that room tomorrow. Offer your hope. Offer your peace.

In Jesus’s name, through his life, death and resurrection, I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 3, 2022 in Hymns and Songs, Ruth

 

Grief, Support, and Judgment

31 Aug

Dear God, I just read an essay by Lisa Marie Presley as printed by People Magazine. It touched me on a few levels. It touched me as a parent who, in many ways, feels like I failed. It touched me as a parent who has been through the loss of a child (through miscarriage). It touched me as a parent who has felt judged by others for things that, on one hand, I judge myself, but, on the other hand, feel like they were due to circumstances beyond my control. It touched me as a fellow sojourner with Ms. Presley. She’s two years older than me. Her son was one year older than my son is now when he died.

One of the tragedies in our divided nation right now is that we tend to judge each other a lot more easily than we support each other. Even within your Church, we judge each other. I prayed the other day about whether or not people in different political parties were able to all be part of your Body at the same time. We can be mean, but I wonder how much of that meanness is fueled by our own insecurities, mourning, and sin. Ms. Presley mentioned the importance of support groups. She said that they didn’t take away the grief, but at least they took away some of the loneliness. I can see that. As a parent who struggled, I could have used more support group help.

I talked with someone yesterday who was struggling with her own parenting issues, both as a parent and as a grandparent. There’s real pain there. There was also a real sense that she didn’t know what to do next or how to respond to the situation at hand. She was doing the best she could in each moment–with each decision–trying to figure out what you need from her and her husband as spouses for each other, parents, and grandparents. It’s not easy.

Father, I could go on an on. I feel like I could probably type nonstop about this for at least an hour. More and more thoughts just keep coming into my head. But it comes down to this. I need–we need–the Holy Spirit to guide us beyond what we can see and help us to make the decisions that must be made in what is darkness to us, but complete light to you. Please help us. Help our children. Our grandchildren. Help us as spouses. Help us to mourn. Help us to use the mourning and the scars it leaves to take your light into the world–especially to others who mourn. Let us be your comfort to them. Fill their loneliness through our lives. And fill our loneliness through the lives of others. For the pain we are experiencing, please make it count. Make it count for your glory. And I’d also like to pray for Ms. Presley. Don’t let her pain be wasted. Use it in some way, even through this essay she beautifully wrote, to help someone. And ease her pain. Give her peace. Help her to find you and your heart in the midst of this and use her life for your glory.

I pray this through the power of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 31, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Romans 12:4-5

28 Aug

4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

Romans 12:4-5

Dear God, does that mean American Christians who are both Republican and Democrat are part of the same body? Do we all belong to each other? That just doesn’t seem right.

I’m being sarcastic of course. I am so tired of the animosity. I’m so tired of each side not being able to tolerate differences in opinion. Not because I don’t think there is a right opinion and a wrong opinion. I’m sure you have an opinion on everything. The problem is that both sides have opinions that are right and that are wrong. I have some opinions that are right. I’m sure I have many that are wrong. I have been taught good things, I have been taught erroneous things. I’ve developed my own thoughts on some issues. Sometimes through prayer. Sometimes just using my mind. But I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know. I’m smart enough to know I haven’t cornered the market on what it means to love you.

I have heard something from different sources over the last week that keeps resonating with me: “Never stop wanting to learn.” I can’t remember the first time I heard it this week, but it spoke to me. Then I heard it again this morning while I was listening to a sermon. I can be very cocky at work. I can feel like I know what to do, what not to do, when to do it, and when not to do it. I like to give my thoughts more than I like to ask others for their thoughts and really listen to their words. Sometimes, I probably miss you and what you might have to say to me, using their voice as your own–whether they are worshippers of you or not.

Father, Holy Spirit, please help me to be the part of the body you need me to be, appreciate the other parts of the body that I’m not, and also listen to those who have your wisdom to share with me. Give me a discerning heart that will seek you, your wisdom, and your glory. Forgive me for my selfishness, arrogance, pride, and self-indulgence. Help me to live in that repentance and turn from my foolishness.

I pray this through Jesus and the mercy He offers,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2022 in Romans

 

John 15:9-15

25 Aug

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:9-15

Dear God, I was thinking about Abraham this morning and the juxtaposition of his faith and love for you and the many bad kings that followed David in Israel. The idea was to end up after life in the bosom of Abraham (Luke 16). But they didn’t love you. They gave up on looking beyond themselves and their limited power. They clung to their pride. They didn’t want to submit and then go through the work of worship and relationship with you.

Are we any different? Am I any different? Oh, perhaps I’m a little different in that I continue, at least up to this point, to strive to worship you, pray to you, learn from you, and pursue relationship with you. But it’s all fragile. There are days when it feels easier to just sink into myself and gratify all of my own desires. It’s like marriage a little. It takes work on my part for a healthy relationship. The path of least resistance–the wide path–is to indulge my own selfishness, ignore my wife and her needs, and just…I don’t know…be a jerk. But the more difficult but fulfilling past–the narrow path–takes self-sacrifice, self-denial, and work. But at the end of the day, it’s the much more rewarding path.

How much more so is the narrow path worth it with you? I was listening to a discussion this morning on the theology around hell and the afterlife. I confess to you that I have no idea what all of that means. However, I am confident that relationship with you on earth and the fruits of the Spirit that come from loving you and obeying your commands are worth more than the fruits of the flesh described in Galatians 5. When I come to the end of my life, I’d rather look back on a life marked with love, joy, peace, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23) than a life full of “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties” (Galatians 5:19-21).

Father, Holy Spirit, please be with me today. Pray for me. Pray for my friends. My wife and I spent some time this morning praying specifically for a friend with family issues. Please guide them. I know this couple does the hard work. I know they worship you. Please be their comforter and counselor now. Please honor their prayers. Please bring glory to the world through this pain. Don’t let it be wasted. And don’t let my day be wasted either. Show me what to do to bring glory to your name throughout the earth.

I pray this through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 25, 2022 in John

 
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