I was talking to someone recently about how Christ forms habits of obedience in us as we make choices toward him. The more we create time for him, choose his way even in the small things, and resist old ways of sin, God’s life of faith becomes grows. We don’t always have to think “what would Jesus do?” Our obedience and reactions become reflexive. Part of this is creating a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s role in us. The other part is living day by day in obedience to Christ.
Can prayer also become reflexive and not simply reactive to situations? We need to learn to not simply pray out of tradition but more like the way our brain operates to move our fingers and toes. We don’t really think about it, we just do it. What does it take to reflexively pray our “pray continually” as the Bible encourages? Part of the solution is thinking and living life in the whole versus segmented parts. What I mean by this is that we can think of certain parts of the week or day as “God’s part”, such as Sundays or during our devotional time. In the same sense a good chunk of our week belongs to our work or our school. When we’re working we’re on “their time”. Then when we get home and have dinner and kick back its “our time”. The danger here is that we begin living like-to steal a phrase from Craig Gay- practical atheists. Our times of devotions, prayer, worship and church are on God’s time. But outside of this we can live like athiests or like God isn’t there and doesn’t exist. We believe and worship Christ as Lord, but in practice we can so easily exclude God from our lives and our decision-making.
The Bible warns us about paying lip service to God but having hearts that our far away. This might be painting a very broad picture but it can easily happen. Our secular world encourages this segmenting of our time and affections. If its not practical athiesm then it idolatry in all its subtle forms. The Old Testament called them “household gods”. We need to be on our guard and really battle in our minds to bring Christ into every area of our lives. In todays academic, institutional and professional world there is little to no reference to God or prayer anywhere. So its too easy to just have our brains and hearts on neutral as we go through the week. But when we do this we miss out on all God has to teach us, and how he can use us in the mission field of everyday life among others.
One thing we can do for reminders of God in the everyday is set up liturgies or spiritual habits and patterns. Years ago when I worked at Starbucks I would read a little section of Scripture at lunch and then pray this back to God. Another time in my life I asked God to wake me up so that I could have time with him. Sometimes this would be 3AM but whatever the time I found myself wide awake to pray! If he can raise the dead than he can give us grace for the need of prayer! I’ve begun writing down verses on 3×5 cards from my Bible reading and refering to the verse throughout the day using it as a prayer. Recently I use time in the car going to work to pray, worship and intercede for the souls of people who need Christ. As you purposefully practice God’s presence throughout the day, it just becomes more and more natural to pray as if it’s an ongoing conversation- which is what it becomes! The discipline of listening and hearing God’s voice is another part of prayer that makes it a true dialogue.
All these things come slowly. But the more you practice them the more God can shape you into his image and likeness. Unlike the world’s shaping process, God has our best in mind. As we come to him in humility and honesty he promises to draw near to us. And when I’m reminded of his love for me that never fails, it encourages me to keep praying and pressing into his presence. Eventually prayer becomes not just what we do but who we are inside. We become the lovers of God we were always made to be.
Christmas, as well as church, as well as life, as well as all of history is all about Jesus. No more and no less. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
Missiologist George Patterson has developed a list of the seven essential commands of Jesus. (www.paul-timothy.net) These commands are being taught all over the world and are bearing fruit for the Kingdom. How are they faring in your life?
The Cordova theater was built in 1927. Opened first as a vaudville theater and later as a movie theater, the Cordova entered the full-time ministry in 2006 when Pullman Foursquare Church began holding services there. If you are in Pullman in the Fall of 2009 come by and join with us as we celebrate Jesus every Sunday morning at 10:30am.
Last night as I worked amongst my flower beds, I was reminded how drab plucking weeds out of the beds in the middle of summer can be. My fingernails get dirty and my back and knees tend to ache from bending over. I really don’t enjoy it very much. Every spring, however, I go to the local stores and pick out new flowers and can’t wait to get them planted and see them grow.
Isn’t that much like how our marriages tend to be. When we first marry, we are so excited about all the new things our marriage will look like and how it will grow and develop but as the months and years continue after the wedding, we find that some of the cultivating of our marriage is dirty work and not nearly as pleasant as when we first said, “I do”. If we remember the beginning……. the hopes and dreams and purposes of why we wanted to marry in the first place, we might spend a little more time cultivating our marriages in the later seasons and find that a little more effort reaps the benefits of hard work.
A little extra time in the garden every night has rewarded me with beautiful flowers and enjoyment every time I pass by them. A little extra time and effort on my marriage does the same!
There are times in our lives when circumstances bring us to a crisis point. During those times, our emotions rule us, our strength fails us, and our minds deceive us. All that we normally rely on everyday disappears and we find ourselves in a crisis mode of feelings, thoughts and decisions. And we are never “ready” for it. In a twinkling, the rug is pulled out underneath us. Sometimes the crisis is very large, maybe a death in the family or a unexpected serious illness; a home engulfed in flames or the loss of income. Most often, the crisis is not so large or maybe it is a combination of crisis’ that still consume us…. the disappearance of a pet, the complete engine failure on your only car, or the loss of a friendship. Whether it comes in a large dose or small, it can send you into a downward, negative spiral.
I recently experienced such a crisis (thankfully a small one) and was surprised to take such a spiral in my thoughts and emotions. As I find sometimes occurs to me, I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep again and my mind a flurry of disturbing pictures and thoughts, my emotions on the edge of uncontrolled weeping. I was reminded in a single moment of why I am so glad to be a Christian. In the middle of the darkness, I heard two words…..”dig deep”.
Now I am not totally unaccustomed to hearing God’s voice and recognized Him immediately but didn’t really understand what “dig deep” meant. As I pondered and searched over this new thought, God spoke to me about having roots deep enough to hold during whatever storm I was in. His encouragement to me was to hold fast, to rely on the truth that He has put in me through His word and to trust that those roots are deep enough to hold on. Indeed, I was encouraged and took my eyes off the situation at hand and put them on the answer to the situation…God Himself.
Thankfully, the crisis has passed and I am feeling more in balance and thinking more logically. But it would be my mistake to let the lesson I was taught to pass by unnoticed. I need to continue to dig deeper, to nurture what roots God has planted in me that will allow God to keep my foundation strong no matter what the future brings. My encouragement to you is to do the same because sometimes you have to ”dig deep”.
My first real job was as an assistant box boy at the mom and pop grocery store in the little town where I grew up. During the first month of my career I was competently supervised by Jim the “senior” box boy. (he literally was a senior in high school.) Things went well untill Jim left the store to pursue bigger and better financial pursuits. In those days a boxer wore many hats from butcher, to checker, to order clerk. Very quickly I began to get bogged down in the thousand and one details of my job. Things got so bad at one point that I heard through the grapevine I was in danger of being fired.
One Wednesday evening Jim came back for a visit. I was so excited I couldn’t stand still. A feeling of peace and security filled me in a way unlike anything I had experienced since he left. When we got a minute alone I poured out my troubles to him. I told him how I had been unable to keep up with the complicated and overwhelming load of responsibility that had been placed on my shoulders. I even went so far as to ask if he would come back and take his old job supervising me.
He then said nine words that changed my work there forever. He told me that the job was really very simple, “…just keep the shelves full and the cusomers happy.”
Those words were a lifesaver. For the first time I was able to see the many things I did through a simple compelling prism. I went on to become the assistant manager of that store and worked in retail for the next twelve years.
The same thing is true in ministry. We go to work or school and see so many problems that we literally don’t know where to start. We wish that someone more knowledgable and experienced might take us by the hand and lead us to fruitfulness.
In John 5:19 Jesus gave us a simple definition of success in ministry. He lived by it and taught his initial twelve to live by it. Through the centuries the most fruitful people in the church both great and small have followed his nine word explanation on how to minister successfully in any situation. He articulated these words confronted by the Jewish leaders:
So Jesus explained ” I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing.” (emphasis added)
These nine words will revolutionize your work in ministry. Try it. For the next thirty days, every time you enter your principle place of employment (or study), ask the Father what he is doing and how you can cooperate with him. You will be amazed at the results.
Too often in the past we have discipled people to knowledge rather that obedience. We considered it more important that they knew correct doctrine than that they practiced correct doctrine. In light of this, I recently heard a great story. It is about guy I know who has been an evangelist/ministry leader for many years in a nearby university.
It seems that a young student approached this man and asked to be “discipled” by him him. The answer my friend gave him was insightful and practical. He told the student to get three color hi-lighters: one green, one yellow, and one blue. He then directed the new disciple to go through the gospels and find all the commands of Jesus (there are about 300).
As he identified each command he was to mark the verse in green if he was obeying it and in yellow if he was not obeying it . After making it it all the way through the gospels he was to go through again learning how to obey all the commands marked in yellow. Each time he began to obey a “yellow” command he was to mark it in blue which would, of course, turn the verse green.
“When you have all the commands marked in green,” he concluded, “Come back and see me and I will will tell you what to do next.”
Jesus said, “Why do you keep calling Me Lord, Lord, when you don’t do what I say? (Luke 6:46)
Let’s begin to pray and work for a revival of obedience in our lives and ministries.
Join with us this Easter Sunday, April 12, 10:30am at the CORDOVA Theater in downtown Pullman (135 N. Grand Ave) for a special presentation of JOE AVERAGE: A fresh look at God’s creation.
Too often in the past we have discipled people to knowledge rather that obedience. We considered it more important that they knew correct doctrine than that they practiced correct doctrine. In light of this, I recently heard a great story. It is about guy I know who has been an evangelist/ministry leader for many years in a nearby university.