Week 12: Devote Yourselves to Prayer

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." ~ Col. 4:2

Last week, the assignment was prayer. For much of my Christian life, prayer has been a big struggle. I've gone through long periods where I hardly prayed at all. I've felt guilty about not praying enough. I went through a period where I kept a long list of things to pray for and mechanically prayed my way through the list.

In the last few years, my prayer life has started to come alive, and my desire for prayer has increased. I attribute this to three things that God has done in me. First, God has given me more faith to believe that He responds to our prayers and that our prayers make a difference. A couple years ago God highlighted a story in the Old Testament, and it has had a profound impact on my prayer life. It is at Exodus 17:8-13:

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands. So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses's hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up---one on one side, one on the other---so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

What an amazing story! Moses gets together with Joshua to plan this battle. He basically says, "OK, you go fight, and I'll be up on the hill praying." Joshua values Moses's prayers so much that he readily agrees. God's power is poured out as Moses prays. Then, Moses's arms start to get tired. He can't keep his hands raised any longer, and the Amalekites start to prevail. That's when Aaron and Hur step in to support Moses. Together they keep the prayers and God's power flowing. I love that story. The painting above is "Victory O Lord," by John Everett Millais.

The second thing God has given me is more faith to believe His promises given in His Word. Some of my most treasured promises have been: That God will give us all things. Romans 8:32. That he will use all things for our good. Romans 8:28. That we have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven that can never perish, spoil or fade. 1 Peter 1:4. The little grain of faith that God has given me in these all-encompassing amazing promises, has made it much easier to bring my problems and concerns before the Lord.

The third thing that I believe has increased the quantity and quality of my prayer life is that I've learned to listen for and recognize God's still small voice. God wants to speak to us. He has always talked to His people. Bill Hybels says in his wonderful little book Too Busy Not to Pray: "Listening to God speak to us through the Holy Spirit is not only normal; it is essential."

I don't mean to suggest that I am a heroic prayer warrior or that I'm spending hours every day on my knees. I know those people. I treasure those people. I'm not one of them, at least not yet. But, God has brought my prayer life a long way. This week, however, was a major struggle. The first few days of the week I prayed less than usual, not more. When I did pray, it felt dry and pointless.

On Wednesday morning, I was walking Herbie the Wonderdog around the neighborhood and thinking about how I had failed miserably at the week's assignment. I thought, "Should I just fake it and write a post like I had a good week? Nobody will know." My conscience got the better of me, and I resolved to put up a post admitting my failure and giving myself a do over for the next week. I said to myself, "I just don't feel like praying right now. I'm burned out on this spiritual stuff. I need some time off from this blog anyway. I'll just admit that I blew it this week, and I'll try again next week." Then, speaking of Moses, I had something like a burning bush moment---at least as close to a burning bush moment as I've ever had.

Herbie and I had turned down an unfamiliar street. The sign below was in a yard.

I'm usually pretty skeptical when people say they've had a sign from the Lord. But, here, just as I was giving up on prayer for the week, was a literal sign in big bold letters---P-R-A-Y! Coincidence? Maybe. C.S. Lewis said: "For a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A Secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work." Coincidence or not (and I think not), I started praying. My pastor often talks about how some of his best prayer time is when he's running. I have this crazy dog. He needs exercise. I'm getting up and walking him for an hour every morning. We take another thirty minute walk every evening. So, why can't I use that time to pray? What difference would it make in my life if I spent sixty minutes or ninety minutes every day not just walking the dog, but walking the dog and praying?

Never Work with Kids or Dogs

So goes the showbusiness saying. At the risk of upstaging my most recent post about The James 1:22 Project, here is something purely personal in nature. Directly below is the latest ultrasound photo of my daughter---due date July 24, 2010. If you look closely, you can see closed eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth.




Below is a photograph of our new puppy---Herbie. Herbie was surrendered to the Metro East Humane Society by his previous owner who was, according to the paper work, not prepared for such a "high energy" dog. Indeed, "high energy" is putting it mildly. He is a beagle/black lab mix, and he is eight months old. The boys named him after The Love Bug. Someday he might be the ideal dog. For now, he needs some work.

Week 11: Serve One Another, Part 2

Last week's assignment was Galatians 5:13b---"serve one another in love."

A commitment to God requires a commitment to a local church, which in turn requires active involvement in the lives of people in the church. "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:4-5. My wife and I are blessed to belong to City Lights in St. Louis where a Biblical view of the church is taught and facilitated through an active small group ministry.

I didn't do anything extraordinary this week. I helped some dear friends move to a new home. I led our normal small group meting on Thursday night. My wife and I capped off the week by traveling to Bloomington, Illinois to serve at a conference at Clear View Church (which is in our small network of churches). At the conference, we had several opportunities to pray for people, and I was able to help move some tables and chairs between sessions.

What I hope to take away from this last week is a different perspective about serving. I might have ordinarily grumbled a bit (inwardly, if not outwardly) about giving a few hours to help somebody move or a couple days to help with a church conference. The truth is I love people in my church, but sometimes I love my comfort and solitude more. Last week, however, I was eagerly desiring opportunities to serve others in order to fulfill my "assignment" for the week. In the process, I discovered that the joy of serving was increased when I set about the serving actually wanting to be used by God. I didn't feel that service was an inconvenience but rather a blessing and an answer to prayer. Isn't that exactly what my attitude always should be? Shouldn't we always be eager to be used by God to help His people? My prayer is that by God's grace I will keep that attitude about serving for the rest of my life.

Week 11: Serve One Another, Part 1

"Serve one another in love." ~ Galatians 5:13b

Ten weeks down, thirty weeks to go. Last week, I focused on the command to "encourage one another." This week, I'm focusing on the command to "serve one another in love." Tonight, the "in love" part of the command is on my mind. Indeed, all of these "one another" commands merely show us the way to fulfill the greater command to "love one another." So, what does it mean to serve one another in love? Anybody remember the DC Talk song, "Luv is a Verb?"

Hey, I think it's time ya learned
I don't care what they say
I don't care what ya heard
The word luv, luv is a verb
Down with the dc Talk, d- d- down with the dc Talk

Etcetera. Etcetera. Despite the bad grammar and the inexcusably bad spelling, they had a point. It's action that proves our love. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15. On the other hand, God doesn't just command our actions. He also commands every part of our lives and every part of us, including our thoughts and our feelings. For example, Jesus commands us to rejoice (Matt 5:12), to fear God (Luke 12:5), to not feel shame about Him (Matt 10:33), and to forgive from the heart (Matt 18:35). But how can God command our feelings? That isn't fair! I can't make myself feel a certain way. In What Jesus Demands from the World, pastor/author John Piper responds to these objections:

The fact that I may be too corrupt to experience the emotions that I ought to have does not change my duty to have them. If Jesus commands it, I should have it. My moral inability to produce it does not remove my guilt; it reveals my corruption. It makes me desperate for a new heart---which Jesus came to give.

The command to love one another requires no less than that we have a deep emotional affection for one another. That is not all it requires. But, we cannot fulfill the command with any of our efforts without the underlying affection. Encouragement, service, hospitality---these must flow from affection.

The biggest obstacle to us loving others is the fear of being hurt. If you take the command to love others seriously, then you learn very quickly that getting hurt is part of the deal. C.S. Lewis put it this way:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket---safe, dark, motionless, airless---it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

At age seventeen when I became a Jesus-follower, I had done what Lewis warns against. I had locked away my heart to keep it safe. I don't agree with Lewis, however, that hearts can become irredeemable. By God's grace, he has given me a new heart, removing my heart of stone and giving me a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26. Following Jesus these last eighteen years, I've found myself getting more and more "entangled" in relationships. The first entanglements were with faithful Christian men, who began to teach me about God and Christian brotherhood. Then, my beloved wife, Christina, came into my life, and she showed me much about gentleness and compassion. When I became a father myself, I began to understand more deeply the unconditional love that our heavenly Father has for us. Over the last couple years, God has been putting in me a greater, deeper affection for the people of His church.

I am still a mere novice at this art of loving others, but God has taken me further than I would have imagined possible eighteen years ago. I pray that in these next few weeks, God would show me more about what it means to love others. And, that he would give me more of his Spirit that allows us to obey the command to love one another. Ezekiel 36:27.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ~ Ezekiel 36:26-27

Week 10: Encourage One Another, Part 2

This week's command was First Thessalonians 5:11--"encourage one another and build each other up." I've been reading and listening to Paul's first letter to the church of the Thessalonians. It was a letter of encouragement from Paul (and his helpers Silas and Timothy) to the people of that church, and it serves as a road map to those of us who would follow the command to "encourage one another." The letter:

• emphasizes the blessings of God
• acknowledges the difficulties and suffering of the church
• commends the church's faithful endurance through hardship
• reminds the people of the church of Paul's own deep love and concern for them
• commends the church for its service
• exhorts the church to be confident in the goodness and sovereignty of God

What I find most striking about the letter is Paul's great passion and affection for the people of the church. I often think of Paul as the great evangelist and theologian. This is Paul the gentle and compassionate pastor, and this letter sounds like a love letter. "We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers." 1:2. "[W]e were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her children." 2:7. "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives, because you had become so dear to us." 2:8. "[W]hen we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of intense longing we made every effort to see you." 2:17. "May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you." 3:12.

I don't write letters (or e-mails) to people in the church that express such depth of affection and concern. Heck, I don't often talk to my wife like that---see Week Eight! It's not that I don't love people in the church. I do love and admire many people in the church. I just don't feel comfortable expressing it, and, as a result, I most often just keep my feelings to myself. To the extent that my discomfort is a by-product of my own junk, I need to get over it. To the extent that I'm a reflection of our culture, I think our culture is wrong. This is one area in which the church is called to be counter-cultural. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35.

This week was about me encouraging others on a daily basis and about me getting out of my comfort zone and expressing how I feel. During the week, I was struck by two things. First, once I made the commitment to encourage others on a daily basis and entered each day with the expectation that God would nudge me to encourage others, it was amazing how many people I saw that needed a word of encouragement. Second, this is one of those commands that requires very little effort by us, but God can use our obedience in a powerful way.

UPDATE: My dad has returned home from the hospital and is doing very well compared to his condition just a few weeks ago. Thank you all very much for your prayers and encouragement. Buddy, my dad's dog, has also returned home. This was rather disappointing for my boys, who had grown very fond of Buddy. I think we may be getting a dog of our own in the not too distant future.

Week 10: Encourage One Another, Part 1

"Encourage one another and build each other up." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11a

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." ~ Hebrews 3:13

This week starts the "one another" phase of The James 1:22 Project. The New Testament is full of "one another" commands. These are God's instructions for how the people of his church are to live together. First and foremost, we are commanded to love one another. John 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8.

All of the other "one another" commands show us the way to love one another. We are commanded:

• to be devoted to one another and to honor one another above ourselves ~ Romans 12:10
• to live in harmony with one another ~Romans 12:16
• to not pass judgment on one another ~ Romans 14:13
• to greet one another with a holy kiss ~Romans 16:16
• to accept one another ~Romans 15:7
• to serve one another in love ~Galatians 5:13
• to bear with one another in love ~Ephesians 4:2
• to forgive each other ~Ephesians 4:32
• to submit to one another ~Ephesians 5:21
• to spur one another on towards love and good deeds ~Hebrews 10:24-25
• to confess our sins to each other ~James 5:16
• to offer hospitality to one another without grumbling ~1 Peter 4:9.

This is a representative list, not a complete one. If you want a complete list go over to Bible Gateway and do key word searches for "one another" and "each other."

My plan for the next several weeks is to focus on some of the "one another" commands. Yes, the command to greet one another with a holy kiss is on the list. I have no idea how to handle that one. I'm debating whether to replace it, but that's for another week.

I'm going to start with something much less awkward---the command to encourage one another. There are many faithful Christian brothers and sisters in my life who I respect and appreciate. I rarely, however, communicate any encouragement to them. I want to become a person who obeys God's command to daily encourage His people, and I'm going to start this week. I'll tell you about it next time. Until then, grace and peace to you.

Week 9: "Do This in Remembrance of Me," Part 2

I try to go into each week of The James 1:22 Project with an open mind, without anticipating what that week's experience will be like. I think, however, that at the outset of this last week I believed that by sheer force of will and determination I could make myself experience the Lord's Supper in a more emotional or deeply spiritual way.

I took the Lord's Supper on Thursday with my small group and on Good Friday evening with my church. I had prepared during the week by focusing my Bible reading (and listening) on the gospel accounts of Jesus's last day. I also spent extra prayer time in thanksgiving (as Jesus broke the bread and gave thanks) and self-examination (as the Apostle Paul admonishes we ought to do).

On Thursday and Friday, I experienced wonderful fellowship and moving worship and prayer. Although the Lord's Supper was a part of both evenings, I was a little disappointed that it did not feel significantly different than it had before.

Reflecting on the week's assignment now, however, I realize that the Lord's Supper means more to me than it ever has. At the end of this week, I've come to appreciate that what is so special about the Lord's Supper is not that it is such a very spiritual thing to do but that it is such a very tangible thing to do. It is a material and palpable reminder of the reality of Jesus's life and death. Jesus and the twelve sat together in a real room in a real house. There was real bread and wine, not that different from the bread and juice we still use for the Lord's Supper.

As believers, we can do a lot of things to remember Jesus. We can read the gospel. We can sing beautiful hymns about Him. We can think about Him and reflect on what He did. The Lord's Supper, however, is special in that it is so very tangible, and thus reminds us that Jesus's death is not just words in a book or a song, a thought in our heads, or a feeling in our hearts. Jesus was flesh and blood, broken and poured out for us. He was and is as real as the bread we eat and the juice we drink when we take the Lord's Supper.

I don't remember my paternal grandfather. He died when I was very young. I've seen some photos and heard my Grandma talk about him. I recently discovered a box of his things in my parents' attic. There were yearbooks, report cards, and letters and momentos from his service in the Pacific during World War II. Going through those things, my grandfather was more real to me than he ever had been before. It's one thing to hear about our ancestors, but it's something else to put your hands on something that belonged to them. The Lord's Supper, I think, is a little like that. Jesus didn't leave behind any momentos for us to put our hands on. If he had, we might be tempted to worship the things instead of Him. Jesus, in His great wisdom, left the Lord's Supper for us as a physical and material reminder of Himself and His death for us.

Next week, I will turn my attention to the first of several "one another" commands. Until then, grace and peace to you.