Emily Post once advised that it was "bad manners" to discuss politics or religion in public. Here I am about to discuss both. If I were to be completely honest, I would tell you that I was tempted not to blog on this topic. There is nothing that gets people wound up quicker than politics. It is for that reason, I thought I would just skip it. Then I realized, that would be just thing that would cause Jesus to call attention to a bit of lumber in my eye.
So here I am, talking about the thing, that I desperately want to avoid. But that is how he works, isn't it? Bringing the uncomfortable to the forefront in hopes that we will learn just a little. For me, the Lord has been prompting me to pray for those people who make my life difficult. And I don't mean " Dear Lord, please make sure Jane Doe gets whats coming to her." I mean to genuinely ask that the Lord be with her.Can you imagine what would happen if each time I wanted to lip off about what a bad job congress was doing, I prayed for them instead.
Now maybe, I should take it to take it to the next level. Instead of getting on my soap box, I just look in the mirror. Could I learn something from their actions. Maybe the reason it hits a nerve, is that I see a bit of myself in it all. After all, those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Pastor Dennis has certainly given us something to think about. What has this sermon cultivated in your heart? Share below what God has laid upon your heart.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Get Your Glow On
I need to be honest with everyone. When I first heard the title of this weeks sermon, Go, Grow, Glow, I wondered if Pastor Hector was speaking on gardening....though I was not sure how glow figured into it. But, true to form, he delivered a passionate and spirit filled sermon. So much so, that it caused me to ask myself "how do I grow as a christian?"
The answer was sitting on my night stand. It was not my cell phone or Aaran's half eaten cookie. It was also not the TV remote or my glasses. It was, however; what my glasses rested on. It was the Bible.
I can't tell you how many times I have whined that I wish life came with an instruction manual. All this time, it has been sitting right there.
Here is the thing, it is not "cool" to read the Bible. You are all thinking it. I know you are, because I have thought it too. Maybe cool is the wrong word. Let's try a different word, how about relevant? How does what happened to Peter, John, and James on a mountain top relate to little old me? How can I get anything out of a book that was written over 2000 years ago?
Essentially, I was judging a book by it's cover. Once I got past the cover and into the word of God, things started to happen. I can't explain it. To be honest, I think it is a miracle of it's own. Once you start reading on a regular basis, it starts speaking into your own life. And it doesn't stop when you close the book. For hours (and sometimes days) after reading, things will come to me. Maybe it's an answer to a question I prayed about the day before. Or maybe it's a sense of peace about a situation that I have been upset about.
So give it a try. It's not as hard as it sounds. Start with a chapter a day. (Not a book, a chapter. Genesis 1, then Genesis 2, and so on.) If I'm wrong, you can always stop. But if I'm right, they can use the glow from Evangel for next years super bowl!
The answer was sitting on my night stand. It was not my cell phone or Aaran's half eaten cookie. It was also not the TV remote or my glasses. It was, however; what my glasses rested on. It was the Bible.
I can't tell you how many times I have whined that I wish life came with an instruction manual. All this time, it has been sitting right there.
Here is the thing, it is not "cool" to read the Bible. You are all thinking it. I know you are, because I have thought it too. Maybe cool is the wrong word. Let's try a different word, how about relevant? How does what happened to Peter, John, and James on a mountain top relate to little old me? How can I get anything out of a book that was written over 2000 years ago?
Essentially, I was judging a book by it's cover. Once I got past the cover and into the word of God, things started to happen. I can't explain it. To be honest, I think it is a miracle of it's own. Once you start reading on a regular basis, it starts speaking into your own life. And it doesn't stop when you close the book. For hours (and sometimes days) after reading, things will come to me. Maybe it's an answer to a question I prayed about the day before. Or maybe it's a sense of peace about a situation that I have been upset about.
So give it a try. It's not as hard as it sounds. Start with a chapter a day. (Not a book, a chapter. Genesis 1, then Genesis 2, and so on.) If I'm wrong, you can always stop. But if I'm right, they can use the glow from Evangel for next years super bowl!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Praying it Forward
Tonight, Pastor Dennis brought our sermon series on prayer full circle. We have spent 4 weeks circling or dreams, fears, and concerns in prayer. As we bring our "circle" to a close, I can't help but wonder "was I ever the center of a circled prayer?"
I have no doubts that the answer is yes. My teenage years alone, sent my mother to the hair color isle in Wal-Mart before the age of 40. It's an interesting thought, isn't it? To think that someone would invest their time and energy praying for little ole me.
Just for a moment, let's think. Maybe, just maybe, we are still here on this earth because of someones circled prayer for us. Or more to the point, maybe we are living a life of victory, with Jesus Christ as center because of their prayers.
The next time I start to doubt if prayer really works, I have a plan. I think I will just look in the mirror. No, I won't just look in the mirror..... I will look in the mirror, thank mom, then hit my knees and pray for my own daughter.
Now that's what I call "praying it forward".
I have no doubts that the answer is yes. My teenage years alone, sent my mother to the hair color isle in Wal-Mart before the age of 40. It's an interesting thought, isn't it? To think that someone would invest their time and energy praying for little ole me.
Just for a moment, let's think. Maybe, just maybe, we are still here on this earth because of someones circled prayer for us. Or more to the point, maybe we are living a life of victory, with Jesus Christ as center because of their prayers.
The next time I start to doubt if prayer really works, I have a plan. I think I will just look in the mirror. No, I won't just look in the mirror..... I will look in the mirror, thank mom, then hit my knees and pray for my own daughter.
Now that's what I call "praying it forward".
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Circle the Wagons
Well, we all should have drawn a few circles by now. Our Bibles should look like a one sided tic tac toe game. But do those circles have a "if you would just" in them? I know that I have prayed a few of those in the past. And yes, they may have included a parking spot at Kohl's.
It's easy to hear a no for a parking spot, but not so easy to hear no to a healing. Let's face it, I'm not very fond of the word in any circumstance. That is why I am trying to change the way I pray. Why would I want to limit God? This is the God that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask.
Limit Him, I think not.
Though I will not share all of my circles, I will share one. I have circled the United Methodist Women, otherwise know as UMW. I will also tell you this. I am not limiting God with a specific list of wants. His imagination is WAY better than mine. I ask for his blessings and let him fill in the blanks.
So let us "Circle the wagons" so to speak. Circle our lives and circle our dreams. I just can't wait to see how He answers this one!
It's easy to hear a no for a parking spot, but not so easy to hear no to a healing. Let's face it, I'm not very fond of the word in any circumstance. That is why I am trying to change the way I pray. Why would I want to limit God? This is the God that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask.
Limit Him, I think not.
Though I will not share all of my circles, I will share one. I have circled the United Methodist Women, otherwise know as UMW. I will also tell you this. I am not limiting God with a specific list of wants. His imagination is WAY better than mine. I ask for his blessings and let him fill in the blanks.
So let us "Circle the wagons" so to speak. Circle our lives and circle our dreams. I just can't wait to see how He answers this one!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Circle Maker
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." That is the first prayer I ever learned. It's simple, it rhymes, and it's a little bit scary. But as an adult, do my prayers measure up? Are they so luke warm that God is bored with them? Are they so vague that we don't need God to make them come true?
I know I have been guilty of this in the past. I think when it gets right down to it, prayer is a little bit scary. There is always a chance that our prayers will go unanswered. So if I don't ask, I won't have to feel rejected. God's will is not always my will, and that is hard. But what if we prayed within God's will? What if we were relentless in our prayers. There would be no limits.
Over the next four weeks, we are going to explore the book "The Circle Maker". I am about 40 pages in and it is a great read. I believe that this is a book that will change lives. We have all underestimated the power of prayer. I know I have. I encourage everyone to get in a small group so we can discover the legend of Honi together.
I know I have been guilty of this in the past. I think when it gets right down to it, prayer is a little bit scary. There is always a chance that our prayers will go unanswered. So if I don't ask, I won't have to feel rejected. God's will is not always my will, and that is hard. But what if we prayed within God's will? What if we were relentless in our prayers. There would be no limits.
Over the next four weeks, we are going to explore the book "The Circle Maker". I am about 40 pages in and it is a great read. I believe that this is a book that will change lives. We have all underestimated the power of prayer. I know I have. I encourage everyone to get in a small group so we can discover the legend of Honi together.
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