Prayer - Matthew 6:5-15

Good day everyone. I hope you are doing well. The following I put together for a prayer meeting that I help lead on Friday mornings at my place of employment - New Life Church. I wrote it out because this particular Friday we are unable to meet due to the Desperation Conference taking place. This allowed me to email it to the normal attendees as well I thought it would be great to place on my blog; especially since it has been a while since I have posted anything. I hope you enjoy and that it speaks to you. Thanks for reading! God Bless you!

Prayer
Matthew 6:5-15

v. 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.”

They were self focused and prayer was about them not about communing with the Creator of the universe. They wanted to look important to God but knew not how to be righteous before Him. They missed the point and in the process missed their opportunity to be connected to the Father. We should take warning and check our hearts to see where our motives are before the Lord. We should remain humble and pure before Him.

v. 6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father, who is unseen. Then your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

This is a big idea about prayer and one I am big on. Prayer is communion with the Father. It is intimate and in most circumstances it should be treated as intimate. There definitely is a place for public prayer and worship but when we go before the Lord on our own in most cases I believe it should be a private encounter. This accomplishes two things…
1. It makes the encounter pure and keeps your heart humble
a. No or limited distractions
b. No limitation on how you express yourself before the Lord. Its private.
c. No temptation to “impress” prayer partners or leaders or spectators. It’s just you and the Lord and you cannot impress Him.
2. It provides a quiet atmosphere before the Lord to meditate on Him and His word.
a. He speaks/responds to you which edifies and blesses you (reward).

v. 7 & 8 “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

I make the mistake all the time of thinking I have to explain my thoughts to God. One of the many great, and really vast, attributes of God is that He is all knowing. We simply need to go to Him, worship Him, sit silently before Him and allow Him to work through the darkest areas of our hearts. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We certainly can speak, express our desires and ask for things. He wants us to do so (Matt. 7:7 & James 4:2). However, we should never feel as though we must explain the details or go on and on about our opinions. In doing so we remove the opportunity to receive the reward spoken of in v. 6 – His ministry to our hearts received through quiet meditation.

v. 9-13 – How we should pray…
“’Our Father in heaven (See Him as your Father), hallowed be your name (He is Sacred and Holy and must be treated and worshiped as such),
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Our hearts desire should be for His complete rule and control [sovereignty] over our world and lives. We should seek to know His will and operate within it.
Give us today our daily bread (All we need is that which is necessary for today. Nothing else is necessary. Today is what matters the most. Tomorrow will come and with it all its concerns. Receive what He has for today and take care of it first and He will be there to provide what we need tomorrow just as well).
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors (Recognize your failures and confess them to our Father who forgives. Release those who have offended or hurt you. As a believer you cannot move forward unless you do so [see v. 15]. Give to God those individuals that have wronged you as well as those things you have done to wrong Him).
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one (Our battle is not flesh and blood but spiritual [Eph. 6:12]. We must remain acutely aware of those evil/fleshly things we are drawn to and remain on the offensive by going to our Father for help and protection).’”

Prayer is a great tool and weapon for all believes to use. Prayer should be continual (Eph. 6:18 & 1. Thes. 5:17) as we children of the Most High stay in tune and relationship with our Father who knows all things (1 Sam. 2:3 & 1 John 3:20). Prayer, along with faithful obedience to God will changer our lives and the lives of those around us. It can and will spark revival if we remain faithful in prayer and the action it sparks in our hearts.

KEEP PRAYING!!

Blessings on you!

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Blessings and have a great week!

Need and Passion: The Fuels of Goal Achievment

Yesterday there was quite the achievement in the NCAA Basketball Tournament; Butler University won its region and is heading back home to Indianapolis to play in the Final Four for a national championship. To basketball novices this may not be a big deal. However, Butler is not considered a basketball powerhouse and, in fact, was only considered 5th best in their region. To get to the Final Four they had to beat a few teams that were considered by all the "experts" to be far better than themselves. However, all the teams from their region that were supposed to beat them will now be watching them play for the national title in the coming week.

How did they accomplish this? I am pretty sure it all started with a goal. I was not there at the beginning of their season when the coaches and players set out on their journey and decided what they wanted the end results of their season to look like. However, I have been on competitive teams of my own and grew up around sports and have never been on a team that did not set goals for their season. For a school like Butler the national title may have been a little big to consider at the beginning of the season but once they received their invitation to play in the tournament I guarantee that they reconvened and saw that this goal was now in sight. They are now two games away from achieving their goal. Will they do it? Who knows but it sure will be fun watching.

Any team or individual that sets out to achieve a goal generally does so for a reason. However, that reason is usually not a strong enough fuel to propel the team or individual toward success. That is, unless the reason fell into one of two categories. In my own experiences I have found that there are two key ingredients to succeeding in the pursuit of a goal, one is need and the other is passion.

I recommend that for anyone setting goals, they set them based upon one or both of the two fuels. To set a goal without at least one of them is basically to follow the same course as most New Years resolutions; which generally leads to failure. Most individuals setting out to achieve some sort of resolution at New Years time do so because they have a "want" to achieve. However, since there is no real need to accomplish it and ultimately no passion behind it the drive to achieve dies out within one or two weeks if not sooner.

Need based goals come when there is no other choice; this either happens or there will be severe consequences. Examples of need based goals can be things such as gaining a job within a necessary time period, finishing a fiscally important project on time, raising the funds in order to participate in an event or defeating a disease that threatens life. Failure, for these types of goals, simply is not an option.

Passion based goals are goals much like what Butler is working towards. They have no real need to win the national title but I can guarantee that there is plenty of passion. If failure comes life and circumstances do not really change. The driving force is a deep want and desire that surpasses normal motivation. Athletes are the most visible of passion based goal setters. They have a finish line to cross and to them there is nothing more important than crossing it and doing so first. For the average person, the passion comes through life events. Maybe they have a promotion they are working towards or an activity that they find challenging thus desiring greatly to accomplish it.

If you are setting goals look for goals you have need or a great passion for. Achievement will be far more possible if you do. Goals are not easy to set or achieve but when you have need or passion everything gets a bit easier. What passions and needs do you have?

Back to the Basics: Jesus is the Answer

Each Friday morning I get the great privilege of leading my department in a prayer meeting. It is not your typical prayer meeting in that we do not generally gather in a sanctuary, put on music, pace, worship and pray. Rarely do we even ask specifically for prayer requests; though on occasion we share them and pray over them. What we do do, however, is meet on the back side of what we call the "Living Room" (New Life’s main sanctuary) chit chat a bit as we stair out the windows over the morning sky and the beauty of Pikes Peak and then discuss a topic that God has placed on my heart or in the heart of one of the others and then pray the scriptures and ideas of the topic. It looks a little different each week but that’s the basics.

Upon showing up this morning and preparing to speak what was on my heart it became apparent that only guys were going to be present and thus something seemed awkward to me about sharing the original message. It seemed right with both ladies and men present but with just the guys it seemed better to let the testosterone out of its cage a little bit. So, we shifted gears and had a little "man discussion" instead. It was good and well needed for each of us, as it generally is for guys, to get things off our chest, tell stories and laugh a bit. We still prayed, for the day, for the team and for each other before concluding. When we finished, however, I still had this topic on my heart. So, I’m blogging about it.

What I wanted to do was get back to the basics of our faith; to encourage everyone by reminding them that Jesus is the answer. The reason being is that sometimes its just good to be reminded of things we already know. I actually was reminded myself after I purchased a new CD and listened to one of its songs about how Jesus is the answer. It basically says that any time we have a question or need direction or life is simply getting out of hand then we can always look to Jesus. It was good to listen to its words and be reminded that the God of the universe is on my side and His promises at my fingertips.

With this knowledge and idea running through my mind I was also quickly reminded that the one danger in thinking this way was that people may begin to think of Jesus as simply a problem solver or police officer we can call when trouble comes along. Therefore, I want to also point out that we should never place Jesus on a shelf and only go to Him when life seems unfair or things aren’t going our way. On the contrary we should continually pursue Him so that we are increasingly growing in our relationship with Him during both the good and difficult moments. Then, when life does get crazy, He is already there, already working and already providing for our needs. We won't have to dust Him off after taking the time to search for Him amongst the many other items on that same shelf He is sharing space with. When we came to know Him as our savior we all became acquainted with the fact that He is truly the answer at all times.

In quickly looking for some scriptures to use I found two that I thought spoke to what I was going to say. The first was John 10:10 which says in the NIV, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." You see Jesus gave and gives life. The enemy takes but the Lord gives. When we find ourselves confronted with the enemies schemes we can take heed that the Lord's life is still in us and that we can live to the fullest measure possible.

The other scripture was 2 Pete 1:3-11 (emphasizing on and I'll quote only verse 3). In the NIV it says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Here we see it again. We have everything we need for life, even when darkness is upon us. He is there. His promises do not cease when things go haywire. If anything His promises become all the more visible, we just need to stop focusing on the negative so that we see and hear His spirit working them out in our heart.

From time to time we all go through moments where we are tempted and even fall into the temptation to forget the very basics of our faith. We get clamped down with the worlds worries and struggles and forget that all the promise of the great God are in us, active through our own relationship with Him and reachable through His spirit. When we focus on Him and our relationship with Him we begin to see through the junk and remember that He is our healer, our strength, our courage, our hope, our joy, the author and perfecter of our faith, our source, our provider, our refuge and on and on and on and on. He is the answer.

So my point is to encourage you today with a little of the basics. Remember today that God is the answer. No matter what you are going through He is there and capable. Always pursue Him, always seek Him, always stay in tune with His spirit. Listen intently and respond in obedience. Never forget. He is our answer, our salvation, our overcomer.

Have a great week!!

Ego in the Church Part 2: The Other Side of Ego

In 1 Peter 5:5 & 6 (NIV) scripture says, "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time".

Last week I wrote on the issue of ego in the church as it came to the forefront of my thoughts due to some things that I have seen in the church throughout the years and more recently in a circumstance that I had to deal with. I made no bones about my feelings of it and I wrote on what I think leaders and followers need to do to avoid becoming egotistical in their positions and how to deal with it appropriately when others do. This week was a different story, however, as I saw the other side of ego: humility.

First of all, I want to make it clear that I love the church and believe that Christ has set her up as His bride. He has placed those in leadership into their positions. Despite the fact that the individuals in these positions carry within them the possibility of making mistakes or misusing their authority they are in authority none-the-less. If Christ has put in them the ability to lead then neither I nor anyone else should ever stand in or operate in an attitude or spirit of rebellion. Even King David, knowing his role as the future King of Israel, refused to rebel against King Saul despite the knowledge that God had rejected Saul and was moving David toward the throne in Israel. David worked diligently to honor God by honoring King Saul even though the King was, in effect, operating with a massive ego that ultimately led to his downfall and disapproval. King David stayed humble and patient as he waited for God to remove Saul from his position. With that said I will never allow my distain for a bad character trait to keep me from honoring those God has placed above me in authority even if I dislike their attitude or persona. I will try and keep the story of King David and Saul in close proximity to my heart so that through the story's example I remain pure in my thoughts, attitudes and actions.

Now, onto this week. There is also plenty of humility flying around in today’s church with instances of ego on display from time to time. In fact, there was one particular person that seemed to model this in front of me this week. This individual is a pastor and leader in my church and we have been aquainted with one another for some time. However, we have never become close friends due to the fact that we do not work close to each other and thus our paths have simply not crossed with any regularity throughout our time at New Life Church. However, we came into contact on more that one occasion this past week and as a result were able to speak personably and build on our aquaitance. I was struck by his kindness and openness and even more by his humble approach to people. This is an individual, who if anyone ever has had reason to gloat should be able to do so as he has been very successful in life. However, despite his success this individual’s persona has remained very humble, friendly and open throughout his life.

This is what I love to see in the church and ultimately it’s what I do see most readily throughout the church. Though there are times that egos are in control the church is actually full of leaders like this person who are humble and loving and I love it. It is what makes the church so inviting and enjoyable. It is what I love about working in the church. I couldn't imagine working in an atmosphere any different.

I can remember when I was first hired at New Life almost 12 years ago. I wanted so bad to work in the ministry. I wanted to be in a place where the people were kind and I could learn more about God on a daily basis. During my first days of employment at New Life I got just that. I loved being a part of what God was doing at the church and through the many that served there. Though I found out quickly that the church is still full of human beings that make mistakes or do things that can rub you the wrong way I still saw exactly what I wanted to see: good people, a peaceful atmosphere and a very present God.

The world can look at humility as weakness and thus look upon the church in like manner. However, in my experience in the church true power comes when humility is in play. James 4:10 (NIV) says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up". Who else in all the universe would you want to be lifted up by? God is the most powerful force in the universe. Scripture say that God measured the waters in his hand and marked off the heavens with the breadth of his hand (Isaiah 40:12). He is massive in power and great in wisdom. To many in our world, whether secular or spiritual, see true wisdom as one of the greatest strengths anyone could have. To gain true wisdom one must be humble. Proverbs 11:2 (NIV) says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace but with humility comes wisdom." This scripture not only provides direction to wisdom but it also expresses again why ego can be so destructive.

I love the church and I love the Lord Jesus. I desire to lead for Him and in His church and thus I must learn to be humble. I am a human and therefore I am subject to the things all humans are subject to. If I do not maintain a healthy attitude toward true biblical leadership my ego will get the best of me and I will quickly become a hypocrite. No one is perfect and no one should ever expect another to be perfect. However, we should all work to be humble and to love people the way my pastor friend showed humility and love toward me this week.

May the spirit of humility be upon you this week!

Ego in the Church

Aaaa what a week. Work, family, play, relaxation, conversation, down time, mean people and nice people. My week had it all. The problem was that it was highlighted by something that simply drives me crazy; ego in the church.

Since time began people have disappointed each other, leaders have mistreated followers and corrupt humans have disrespected life. It’s part of who we are as fallen beings and it never feels good when having to deal with it. We make mistakes, hurt others and operate as hypocrites. It just happens. When it happens in the church, however, it stings a little differently. It stings the soul and causes hurt to sink straight to the deepest most vulnerable places of our heart. It’s a hurt that can drive people away from the Lord and ruin faith. Those who we are supposed to trust the most can suddenly and without warning cast us aside as if we were worthless and unnecessary.

One of my biggest pet-peeves is watching people in the church operate this way; especially leaders. One of the ways it happens the most within the church is through inflated ego. Ego is such an ugly thing as it ultimately brings hurt to those under it. Ego is everywhere; in and out of the church. Almost every leader and influential person seems to carry a bit of ego. There is nothing more disgusting than watching someone so full of themselves blatantly spew arrogance through their actions and words. Egotistical leaders in the church can be even more nauseating as their egos are tied to some special “holy hierarchy”, which obviously doesn't mix well and can make them very dangerous in their actions, subsequently pushing people away or disconnecting themselves from others as they get lost in their special clicks with others that “fit in”.

Why is it that people with a church title can begin to operate as though their title entitles them? What brings them to the place where they begin to think they are more than a commoner unlike the “rest of us”? I actually believe that most leaders dealing with an inflated ego love the Lord with all their heart and simply do not realize they are acting in this manner. Therefore, as I learned this week we must keep from being offended and becoming bitter toward the church when a leaders ego gets the best of them.

Though I did not necessarily deal with someone’s personal arrogance this week my disdain for inflated ego was brought back to the forefront of my mind as I dealt with the situation. I was disappointed by someone’s response to me and though they did not commit some unforgivable sin I became increasingly frustrated. I know this person to be a very good and Godly individual and thus I should have given them the benefit of the doubt before allowing my feelings to be hurt. However, the more I tried to push it aside the more I became trapped in my thoughts. Thankfully we serve a graceful God that desires our growth and maturity and thankfully He gave me a wife that prays for me and humbles me ever so gently with her words of wisdom.

Let me explain. First of all, God reminded me that I am far from perfect. I realized that I will be the disappointment for someone at some point and have been plenty of times in the past. Therefore, if I want people to be graceful with me when I become an egotistical problem then I must learn to always be graceful with others. Secondly, I was reminded that God is still God no matter how disappointed I become with someone. He still loves me and He loves those I am upset with. If I do not keep my focus on these facts I will open a door to the enemy who wants to kill, steel and destroy (John 10:10). Scripture says in 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) that "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour". He waits for his opportunity to make a mess of our lives. He can do this by manipulating our emotions so that we become bitter, angry and offended; leading us to unforgiveness and ultimately to separation in the church; something not on Jesus’ heart (read John 17).

The plain and simple fact is that we will be hurt by people. There are leaders with big egos and they will make us want to walk away. Yet to do so would be a bigger crime than what has already been committed. We become part of the problem if in the end we walk away and allow their disappointing action to control our thoughts and emotions.

This is where my wife really helped me. She brought to my attention 2 Corinthians 10:5. It reads in the NIV, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ". Couple this with the words of Philippians 4:8 & 9 and one can easily see that God foreknew that we would be offended by people and our minds and emotions would come under attack during our lives. We must protect ourselves and guard against those things that can become inroads for the enemy to use against our hearts. To do so by running from the church in anger, however, is not the answer. There may be legitimate times to distance ourselves from destructive people but to leave or to stop trusting the church is not the answer. The church is the Bride of Christ and He loves her dearly. He believes in her and desires her company. He has a plan for her and expects her to fulfill that plan. It can only do so, though, if she stays intact and her members remain unified.

James 2:1-13 speaks of favoritism. To me it addresses the issue of ego in the church and its destructive nature. Ultimately, despites some bad experiences, I do trust the church and its leaders. However, to me many leaders (including myself) need to take a step back and read this again and again, praying its words and asking the Lord to show them where they have mistreated people because of a lack of true humility. Non-leaders or church followers must keep praying for them as well and ultimately trust that what the Lord is doing in them is good and will be complete as they grow and mature through their lives. They must also be willing, as the Lord leads, to respectfully speak up when appropriate and necessary. As a good friend recently reminded me, Jesus did not "...come to bring peace to the earth...but a sword" (Matt. 10:34, NIV). Therefore, we must be willing, as Jesus was, to cut through the muck and mire no matter how uncomfortable it can be. A good leader and true man or woman of God will receive it in due time. They are in their positions because the Lord placed them their. They will recognize Him when He speaks.

As members of the Bride of Christ we must not get consumed with the things that worldly institutions and even religion gets consumed with. We must look and live differently. Authority and popularity can never lead to an inflated ego that keeps one from being an effective Sheppard. Nor can we allow the ego of a leader cause us to move away from the lover of our souls or the Bride He so cares for. If ego is allowed to run our lives, whether as a part of who we are or as a result of someone else’s actions we will miss the point and people in need of help will be left unloved and uncared for. If we allow the results of ego to separate us from our leaders we will cease becoming the beautiful, united bride of Christ. We must as Ephesians 4:2 (NIV) says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all".

5!!!!

Around 10 weeks ago I learned that I was going to be a dad for the 5th time. How amazing is that. I can't believe that over 10 years ago I walked out of the delivery room holding my very first child and now in just a few short months I will do this for the 5th (and yes probably the last) time.

We do not know yet what it will be but the easy guess at this point will be another boy. You know, being that we have already had four of them. (On a side note if I begin losing weight over the next few years it is because those boys aren’t little anymore and are successfully beating me to the dinner table on a consistent basis. I am going to have to go into training just to ward them off. It is my kitchen you know). Anyway, Mandy and I would be ecstatic if we are told a little girl is swimming around in there. Another boy would be great. We love raising boys and are truly blessed to have the four that we have. A 5th (wow!!) would be an even greater blessing. However, there is something different about the thought of having a girl.

Having a girl would be like having the a first baby all over again. That would just be sweet. Besides, girls are different. As time moves on in life a Mom and Dad handle their girls differently than they do their boys. There are some obvious reasons as to why but there are also many not so obvious reasons as well.

As the Dad of a new little girl I know I will turn into mush. My boys make me proud and as I see them become men I will sit back in a chair on my front porch, look at the sky, watch the sun go down and simply smile the proudest smile a man can muster. With a girl, as she becomes a woman I will do the same but with a tear or two rolling down my cheek (if you ask my wife she will tell you I do not cry but in this case I think I would have to). I cannot really explain it with words but there just seems to be something different about having a little girl - daddies little girl. Its not that girls are more special than boys. I wouldn't trade in one of my boys for a girl but if a girl could be added to them I'll take her with open arms, a huge smile and a heart beating faster than a humming bird flaps its wings. She'll have me rapped around her finger before they cut the cord.

Not sure how else to explain it but maybe you Dad's out there understand what I'm talking about. Dad, how did you feel? How do you feel today now that she is all grown up with her own little one calling her mommy? I hope to find out. If not, that’s ok because a 5th boy will bless me just the same. Come April we will know. :)

Having children is great. I love looking at my kids. Holding a new born again is going to be sweet. Boy or girl it is going to be fun. Mandy, have fun with this, your 5th time. I know you love this; you are so amazing. You are a great mom and wife. I don't know how you put up with me and our full quiver.