Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.” Psalm 108:5

Driving in Senoia the other day I noticed a local church signboard with the words “Prayer Moves God.” I am certain the person putting up the sign simply wanted passersby to know the power of prayer which I agree with wholeheartedly. It is a nice little pithy saying, but it started me thinking. Does God only move when we pray? This simple sentence makes prayer the subject and God the object. It makes God the inanimate object to be controlled by the pray-er.

If not careful, you can make “Prayer Moves God” seem almost as if we see God as the friendly mall Santa Claus at Christmas just waiting to hear the little girl’s request for a bike or the little boy asking for a new Lego set.  “We shall not rise in our practice of prayer above our perspective of prayer.”—Jack Taylor

You can make “Prayer Moves God” be more like parents of teenagers trying to wake them up, it takes repeated shouting to get them out of bed. However, you don’t have to wake God to get Him moving because He didn’t go to sleep on you. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.” God is moving even before we know we need to pray; morning, noon or night. Mary Crowley wrote, “Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway.”

“Prayer Moves God” because God is intently listening to us. Parents of young children know the minute their child hits the floor the “Why?” questions begin. According to child psychologist Paul Harris, a child asks around 40.000 questions between the ages of two and five. If parents listen to their children’s “why” questions, you know God is so ready for our prayers.  “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

“Prayer Moves God” because He loves us completely. “See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children….” (I John 3:1) “But God proves his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“Prayer Moves God” because God was already moving. “Remember the things I have done in the past…. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens.” (Isaiah 46:9-10) “Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.” (Psalm 139:4) “True prayer moves in a circle. It begins in the heart of God, sweeps down into the human heart upon the earth, so intersecting the circle of the earth, which is the battlefield of prayer, and then it goes back again to its starting point, having accomplished its purpose on the downward swing.”—S. D. Gordon

“Prayer Moves God” because prayer moves us. The life of prayer is a critical part of our soul journey. Our prayers of intercession allow us to be in partnership with God in healing the world. Our prayers of intercession for Haiti, Afghanistan, and Louisiana have an impact because prayer moves us. Jack Taylor sums up well the lack of a life of prayer in our lives.  “We are in desperate need of a return to personal and prevailing prayer. We shall not be saved from our spiritual doldrums by more programs and better strategy. God’s chief method has always been people and prayer!”

During the time that Connie and I lived in Bophuthatswana we served in a small Batswana church that often prepared for a time of prayer by singing the words, “Be still and know that I am God; I am the Lord who saves and heals; In you, O Lord, I put my trust.” These simple lyrics became a calling for us to be still and know God:  a time of worship and prayer, a time to focus on God moving prayers. The voices singing together with one heart in this small African church with no electricity, no ceiling, dirt floors and brick walls knew the One who could truly make a difference.

Though the link to the song, “Be Still and Know” is not quite the same as how our church in Bophuthatswana sang, I invite you to take a couple of minutes to worship in prayer. (click here to listen)

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

“Prayer Moves” because our

God is great!

Pastor Lynn

 

 

 

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.”  I Kings 19:11-12

Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? This was the title of a speech given by Edward Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist. Lorenz pioneered the concept of the chaos theory. “In the chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.” In other words, the idea that small causes may have effects in weather.

Johann Gottlieb Fichte had a similar thought in the 1800s when he wrote, “you could not remove a single grain of sand from its place without thereby…. changing something throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole.”

The Butterfly effect is often used as a metaphor that the existence of seemingly insignificant moments alters history and the shape of destiny. Instead of a “chaos theory,” what if we applied the butterfly effect spiritually?

Paul understood the butterfly effect of sin. Romans 5:12 tells us of the impact of Adam and Eve’s choice that has rippled through the ages. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.”

The butterfly effect of faith is incalculable. “One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4) Edward Kimball lived a simple life, had no formal education but was a passionate follower of Jesus and a faithful Sunday School teacher. It was in the backroom of a shoe store that he led a young man by the name of Dwight L. Moody to faith in Jesus Christ. Over the years, Moody shared the Gospel with millions, both in the United States and England.

It was in a little chapel in England where Moody preached that the young pastor, F.B. Meyer was inspired to change his ministry approach. Over the course of time Meyer had the opportunity to preach in America where another pastor, J. Wilbur Chapman was motivated, upon hearing Meyer, to move into full time evangelism. In one of Chapman’s crusades a young baseball player, Billy Sunday accepted Jesus as his savior. Sunday later took over Chapman’s ministry, preaching the gospel to thousands. In one of Sunday’s crusades, Mordecai Ham came to faith. Later on, Ham was called to preach in a tent crusade in Charlotte, North Carolina where a young man by the name of Billy Graham came to faith. It is estimated over 2.2 billion people heard the gospel through Graham’s ministry. The butterfly effect of one Sunday School teacher over the course of decades!

Can you imagine if we applied the butterfly effect to prayer? Unleashing the power of prayer to impact family, friends, communities and nations for Christ. The impact would be both life-changing and life-giving.

You may be frustrated with the ineffectiveness of our political leaders. Imagine the butterfly effect as you pray “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD, he turns it wherever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1)

You may be burdened with the cultural changes leading away from God. Imagine the butterfly effect as you pray “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!” (Ezekiel 33:11)

You may be overwhelmed with the staggering hopelessness in places like Afghanistan and Haiti. Imagine the butterfly effect as you pray that “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Psalm 9:9

The butterfly effect is not a theory when it comes to the realm of spiritual things. The spiritual butterfly effect was working long before our generation lived on earth. I know from personal experience of the spiritual butterfly effect.  I know that a faithful preacher preached the gospel that changed my life for eternity. I know that a loving Mother took her little boy to church every week. I know that many faithful Sunday School teachers taught me to love God and His word. I know dedicated school teachers taught me from a godly perspective.

Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings set off a spiritual awakening around the world?

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

 

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth my strike terror no more.” Psalm 10:17-18

I am overwhelmed by the news from Afghanistan – watching video clips of Afghans clinging to a C-17 desperately trying to escape, much like people jumping from burning buildings trying to escape the flames. How desperate does one have to become to place their hope for survival in what couldn’t save?

When I started this weekly blog my only desire in writing was to encourage people and always point to Jesus. I know without a doubt that He is the ultimate source of hope and salvation. However, I am finding words inadequate to express the events over the last few days related to Afghanistan. I will leave it to you to debate the merits of the action, the timing of withdrawal and whether the United States should have stayed or gone.

What I do feel as a follower of Jesus Christ is that I now have a greater responsibility to pray for the voiceless, the fragile, the vulnerable and the small Christian remnant in Afghanistan. We know our God is far greater and more powerful than the current world events unfolding before us. The late Richard Halverson, who served as chaplain of the U.S. Senate, said of prayer, “Intercession is the truly universal work for the Christian. No place is closed to intercessory prayer: no continent, no nation, no city, no organization, no office. No power on earth can keep intercession out.”

A good friend who served in that area with her family shared a most thoughtful reflection on the situation. “Hope is fragile. Anyone who cared for the people of Afghanistan, particularly those who felt called to go serve among them in some capacity, suspected the precarious peace might not last. One Christian woman who lived there at that time observed, “I said I don’t want to die in Afghanistan. But the fact is that when I went to Afghanistan, I had already died.” Dying to self is at the very heart of Christian discipleship. And no one understands it quite like followers of Jesus living in contexts of extreme persecution.” – Tina Boesch

The events in Afghanistan and Haiti, among the many seemingly hopeless situations around the world, reflect the futility of placing one’s faith in worldly structures. My prayer is that our nation will never experience the total collapse of our government. Yet each of us at some point will experience individual collapse from sickness, aging, family conflicts, jobs. Only in God will we find our way home.  “It’s when the Red Sea is before you, the mountains are on one side of you, the desert is on the other side, and you feel the Egyptian army closing in from behind that you experience His power to open up an escape route. He has power to do the supernatural, the unthinkable, the impossible” – Anne Graham Lotz (The Joy of My Heart)

Though I feel a soul deadening frustration, I know the God I worship is able beyond all measure to carry the broken souls through this season. I invite you to listen to the words of A Song of Lamentation by Steve Schallert. (click here to listen) Let the words of this song become a prayer for the voiceless and to lament with them their pain.

Jesus

God of the poor

Liberator

Friend of the weak

 

Jesus

Light of the World

These weary bones

Tremble and weep

 

Heal every heart

Heal every soul

Heal this violence we carry

The blood in the soil

 

There is blood in the soil!

There is blood in the soil!

There is blood in the soil!

There is blood in the soil!

 

Lord we don’t know the words to voice yet we trust You to know. We trust You to care for the oppressed, the hurting, the fragile and the hopeless. We trust You to guide us to in these days on how to show Your love. Amen

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

Living Life “as a Character” or “with Character”

“For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” Psalm 11:7

“…and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Romans 5:4

How are you living life; as a character, or, with character? The dictionary lists multiple definitions for the word character:  “moral or ethical strength; integrity; fortitude; reputation” or as a “person who is peculiar or eccentric.” You can also be the actor who becomes the character “portrayed in a drama, novel or other artistic piece.”

It seems our modern culture is producing more who are characters than those with character. Steve Carter, in an interview, shared that “we push competency again and again over the development of our character.” Carter had a front row seat to character issues when he replaced Bill Hybels as pastor of Willow Creek Community Church following the surfacing of numerous allegations against Hybels.

Over the last few days, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned his office after the release of findings from multiple investigations into sexual misconduct. In his parting interview he gave as his rationale; “In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have — no excuses.”

Flawed characters are on display whether in the world of church life, politics, business, Hollywood or your neighborhood. Household names that were once revered are now in tatters because of a misshaped character. Their character sought after fame, fortune and power. Singer Whitney Houston said, “Success doesn’t change you. Fame does.” The writer of Proverbs says in 4:19, “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.”

Yet, for as many broken vessels that you can name, there are countless others who strive to live with character. Character that has long-lasting impact is never forged in darkness. “The ability to see and the practice of seeing God and God’s world come through a process of seeking and growing in intimacy with him. God is seen by those who long for him.”—Dallas Willard

Legendary coach Bobby Bowden died this past week and in all the tributes about his career, the success of his football program and the insane statistics produced, it was his faith that garnered the most attention. One of his former quarterbacks, Danny Kanell wrote, “those numbers pale in comparison to the number of lives Bobby Bowden impacted for eternity. He was more preacher than coach. More father figure than mentor. More friend than teacher. It’s important to know WHY he was kind and thoughtful. It was not to recruit or get favorable press. He was who he was because of his relationship with Jesus. A lot of Christians preach one thing but live another. Coach Bowden lived his faith daily. That is his legacy.”

Living with character is possible as we grow in intimacy with God. My desire is to live life with character but I know daily that I have to let God continually shape me for Him. One of my life verses and prayers come from Psalm 69:6. “Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me, O God of Israel.”

“What a character.” or “What character!” Your choice. How are you living life? As a character or with character.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” John 17:18

 

Followers of Jesus are never left to wander hopelessly in a desert, trying to find their way. Rather, they are the sent ones, going into the world on mission for and with God. No two lives look the same or are assigned the same God-given task.  Yet in the going, they are on mission – a mission that brings hope, life and presence.

Henri Nouwen wrote that “Each of us has a mission in life. Jesus prays to his Father for his followers. We seldom realize fully that we are sent to fulfill God-given tasks. We act as if we have to choose how, where, and with whom to live. We act as if we were simply dropped down in creation and have to decide how to entertain ourselves until we die. But we were sent into the world by God, just as Jesus was. Once we start living our lives with that conviction, we will soon know what we were sent to do.”

Jesus understood living life on mission. His prayer in John 17 reveals the depth and purpose of his mission. He understood and accepted the task that God had given him. Now He is at the point of completing His task and praying for His disciples. The tasks will be unique but each will undertake to carry out their God-sized task of being the sent ones.

Past generation Olympic runner Eric Liddell grasped his mission for God. He shared that “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Liddell channeled his running glory into his missionary calling to China and ultimately dying in a concentration camp to glorify God.

Current Olympic swimmer Caeleb Dressel is finding his life mission in that “It’s the reason I’m in the sport—not just to go fast times, but to inspire people and show them where I find my happiness with what God’s given me.” “Swimming is my life, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is what I’m supposed to be doing, and God gave me the talent, and I’m going to do that for him…”

Finding one’s mission in life may not be through Olympic glory but the dark nights of cancer. Liberty University graduate Jane Marczewski, who goes by the stage name Nightbirde found herself on the America’s Got Talent stage. She probably wouldn’t have chosen to battle cancer yet in this God-sized moment she was able to sing her original song, It’s Ok and through singing encourage and inspire thousands. “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy,” going on to say, “I have a 2 percent chance of survival, but two percent is not zero percent. Two percent is something, and I wish people knew how amazing it is.”

“In the daily rhythms for everyone everywhere, we live our lives in the marketplaces of this world: in homes and neighborhoods, in schools and on farms, in hospitals and businesses, and our vocations are bound up with the ordinary work that ordinary people do. We are not great shots across the bow of history; rather, by simple grace, we are hints of hope.” – Steven Garber

Living our lives daily on mission comes with the promise and provision of Jesus’ closing words of unity.  Let the years of our lives always be lived as years on a mission.

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above; and put the door of the ark in its side; make it with lower, second, and third decks.” (Gen 6:14-16)

Standing in the shadow of the Ark replicate at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky, I was overwhelmed at the size and scope of this wooden structure. At 510 feet in length, 85 feet in width, and 51 feet in height it is simply immense. Regardless of the impressive size of the structure, far greater is the story of salvation which is the real story of the Ark.

Life on earth had not been the same since the rebellion in the garden. Granted, there had been some spiritual bright spots within the generations. Abel sought to genuinely worship God even though it cost him his life. (4:4) Enoch sought such a close intimacy with God that he “walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.” (5:21-24) Methuselah lived to the ripe old age of 969 years. However, the spotlight has to shine on a man named Noah. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.” (6:9)

In spite of these few bright spots overall the lifestyle of people on earth didn’t look good. “The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.” (6:5) Creation that had been declared “good” by God has deteriorate to the point that “the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth.”

Somewhere along the way parents forgot to pass along the stories to their children of how “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (1:31) People got so busy with life that they no longer “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden” (3:8) No longer did anyone grieve over sin which had caused God to drive their ancestors from the garden of Eden.

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” (6:11) No longer was God able to enjoy the beauty of his creation because of the wickedness of mankind. Those once cherished moments of relational intimacy that had marked creation now “grieved him to his heart.” He had reached the point where “the LORD said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (6:7)

Can you imagine such grief? Yet one man “found favor in the sight of the LORD.” In the midst of wickedness, violence and evil, this one man, Noah, found favor as he walked with God blameless and righteous in the midst of society. One man chose to walk with God and stood in the gap. Through this one’s faith, generations would experience life.

Noah was given a God-size task, to build a boat in the middle of nowhere. Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives went to work. It wasn’t easy to cut the trees, saw the planks, build the rooms, gather the food, collect the water and listen to the laughter and ridicule of their neighbors. Yet “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (6:22)

Noah could have joined in with his siblings and neighbors to simply fit in with the culture around him. Surely it would be easier to be part of the party than to be an outsider. Yet,“By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

“Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark…” and there Noah sat with his family and all the animals for seven days. The door was closed and there they sat with all the mooing, grunting and chirping. Waiting is hard.  Noah could hear his brother’s voice ridiculing him. Maybe Mrs. Noah could hear the high pitch whisper of her sewing club talking about how foolish she was. Jesus used Noah as an illustration about being watchful when he said, “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” Otherwise life as normal “until the flood came and swept them all away.” (Matthew 24:36-39)

Noah obeyed, yet seven days can seem like an eternity. Did I hear correctly?  Doubting if all the years of living a righteous life was really worth it. Looking down at his calloused hands from all the manual labor. What does he have to show for his life?  Seven days! Then he hears the first drop of rain and he bows his head in worship.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

 

 

 

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power

And the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV)

 

“He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1) Surely Jesus’ disciples had heard others pray. It’s not as if the disciples didn’t know how to pray, they had listened to countless hours of prayers by the religious leaders. They had even listened as Jesus taught about prayer. However, something finally clicked in this one disciple’s soul for him to voice the question, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Maybe for the very first time the simple intimacy that Jesus prayed touched him so deeply that he wanted more. Maybe it wasn’t the words, but the depth of a relationship that he saw. Maybe for the first time, the words of Jesus, “when you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words”, took root. Much like our modern idiom, “the light bulb went on in his brain,” he understood there was more to prayer than words only.

“Someone once approached a teacher and asked her how to cultivate a deeper prayer life. “Say the Lord’s Prayer,” she replied, “but take an hour to say it.” (author unknown)

Instead of hitting the gas and going from 0 to 30 seconds which is about the average for repeating the words to this model prayer, slow down and let the prayer be the frame for our requests and worship. No longer do we see it as a rote prayer but as a life-giving pattern to enjoy communion with God. There may come mornings when we never get passed the opening phrase, “Our Father” when we are praying.

“The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer about God’s honor and glory. It is a prayer about God’s kingdom coming on earth as in heaven—which pretty much sums up what a lot of Christianity is all about. It’s a prayer for bread, for meeting the needs of every day. And it’s a prayer for rescue from evil.” (N.T. Wright)

Enjoy the beauty and intimacy of this prayer as the gift of grace that Jesus intended for your life. Slowly let the words of Jesus form your words. Meditate upon each phrase allowing it to shape your prayer requests for the day. Don’t get so focused on the form that you miss looking into the face of God.

Lord, it is about You, not about me but You let me make it about me until I finally understand it is all about You! You listen so deeply to what I think are my needs even when they sound more like wants. You forgive me, now if only I can forgive others. In a world filled with evil, You wait patiently to guide me home safely. “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” Mark 1:12-13

Rob Lundgren and his son were backpacking in Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.  Lundgren remembers crawling into his nice warm sleeping bag that night but found himself startled awake after falling into the icy cold creek. Now wide awake at 8,000 feet and 20 degrees outside, he lives out a nightmare in the wilderness.  “I hadn’t sleepwalked in over 50 years, so it was the last thing on my mind…”  

Bitten by a Rattlesnake

Mauled by a Grizzly

Stranded on a ledge

Lost in an Ice Cave

Mauled by a Mountain Lion

Such are some of the headlines from the Backpacker magazine. Life in the wilderness with all of its amazing beauty, is also a place of unbelievable danger. Much like Lundgren, we have often found ourselves awaken from a wonderful dream into a living nightmare.

Eugene Peterson said it well, “There are times, no matter how thoroughly we’re civilized, when we’re plunged into the wilderness—not a geographical wilderness but what I’m going to call a circumstantial wilderness. Everything is going along fine—and then suddenly we’re beside ourselves. We don’t know what’s going on within us or in another who is important to us; feelings erupt in us that call into question what we’ve never questioned before. There’s a radical change in our bodies, or our emotions, or our thinking, or our friends, or our job. We’re out of control. We’re in the wilderness.”

The list of our circumstantial wilderness experiences is never exhaustive. We may find ourselves unemployed because the company reorganized. We may find ourselves in the hospital because a drunk driver ran a traffic light. We may find ourselves sitting in a funeral service from the death of a loved one. We may find ourselves_______, you fill in the blank.

This May Connie and I found ourselves sitting in the Piedmont Emergency Room with my Father-In-Law who had a life threating knee infection, only to get a call at midnight the same day, from our daughter in Nashville that our little grandson was at the Vanderbilt ER struggling with a breathing problem.  We found ourselves in a circumstantial wilderness. Scripture is filled with example after example of wilderness living.

Young David finds himself being driven into the wilderness by King Saul. David had learned some lessons about living in the wilderness but now he found himself facing new obstacles for his survival. What did David do? He turned to God. “You, God, are my God, I earnestly search for you.” (Psalm 63:1a)

“If you are chased into the wilderness when you are persecuted, do not be afraid as if you were all alone. Instead, rise up early in the morning and sing Psalm 63 to God knowing that he is there.” (Athanasius)

Moses’ time in the wilderness prepared him to lead God’s people out of slavery and he found himself standing on holy ground (Exodus 3). Elijah fled to the wilderness fearful of his life only to find renewal at the hand of God (I Kings 19).  Jesus found himself in the wilderness locked in battle with Satan until “angels came and took care of Jesus.” (Matthew 4)

“I readily acknowledge that this circumstantial wilderness is a terrible, frightening, and dangerous place; but I also believe that it’s a place of beauty. In the wilderness we’re plunged into an awareness of danger and death; at the very same time we’re plunged, if we let ourselves be, into an awareness of the great mystery of God and the extraordinary preciousness of life.” (Eugene Peterson)

Life in the wilderness can push us to our limits. The truth, we will all find ourselves at some point living in the wilderness. The question becomes, what will you do?

Lord, I find myself in a wilderness that I didn’t choose. A wilderness that is overwhelming. A wilderness that makes me afraid. I know I can’t go it alone so please be my refuge, my strength, my rock. As you walk with me in this wilderness let me find in you the joy, hope, peace and knowledge that only you can provide. Amen.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me” only because I learned (am learning) to be content in good times and bad, in wealth and in poverty or whether I am eating well or barely have enough. The secret is found in my relationship to Christ and only in that relationship to be able to do all things “through him who strengthens me.”

Many believers find comfort in quoting “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” during a crisis and stressful times of life, yet quickly forget to quote it during the good times. Contentment in any circumstance is the key that allows Christ to strengthen me to do all things.

Russell Conwell’s story of an African farmer in “Acres of Diamonds” exemplifies contentment well. The farmer sold his land and everything he had to go in search of diamonds and the wealth they would bring him. The farmer had a modest farm that provided for him and his family, yet the lure of wealth drove him to envy the stories of men who became rich prospecting for diamonds. The man spent the rest of his life in a vain search for diamonds that he thought would bring wealth and material contentment, but never found the true contentment of his soul. He came to the end of his life finding it empty until ultimately committing suicide.

However, the new owner of his farm found an interesting stone while working in the field and placed it on his mantle. According to the story, he had no idea that the pretty stone was anything but a stone until a visitor identified it as a diamond. It was just one of many diamonds to be found on his farm. The original farmer never found contentment though he walked daily on riches beyond his imagination.

Paul writing from a prison cell can testify that contentment isn’t about location or circumstances. We all agree that verse 13 is a great verse when facing difficult times but without the developing relationship with Jesus that brings contentment, it can leave you with a type of rabbit-foot faith. Contentment born out of a relationship with Christ provides for the when-I-can’t moments but keeps me balanced in the when-I-can opportunities. Learning contentment in all circumstances is the launch-pad that allows “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” to impact a life.

Paul quoted “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” only because he understood life through the lens of contentment. Somehow, I think he would have told the farmer that whether he barely survived on a farm growing corn, or if he flourished on a farm filled with diamonds, that his source of true life could only be found in Christ who would strengthen him.

Dallas Willard wrote, “He (Paul) succeeded in abundance because of his relation to Christ just as much as he succeeded by grace in his times of need. Few people understand that they need help to abound. The gospel is for the up-and-in as well as the down-and-out, equally so, and equally needed, from God’s point of view. The church’s solidarity with the poor cannot be realized until spirituality has a place in the boardrooms and factories, the universities and government offices, equal to what it has in the church house, the religious retreat, or the rescue mission.”

Jesus, I acknowledge my need for you no matter what my circumstances. If I struggle, then I ask for your grace. If I abound, then I ask for your humility. It is out of my relationship with you that “I can do all things through you who strengthens me.”

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“…. Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.” Nehemiah 9:5

Looking out across the faces of those gathered for his inauguration, George Washington realized that he and this fledgling nation faced an uncertain future. He had no precedent on which to lead nor traditions on which to draw; his would be the responsibility to lead this new nation into existence. Once he took the oath of office and gave his inaugural speech, President Washington walked with other leaders of the new nation to St. Paul’s Chapel to pray. A quote attributed to Washington is that “it is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible”.

President Washington understood that without God, this new nation faced a perilous future for “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” Our nation was birthed with imperfect leaders. It would take decades to address wrongs that would ultimately allow freedom for all to be weaved into the fabric of the nation. The work continues for our nation and its people to be “One Nation Under God”.

Nehemiah understood the challenges of leading and rebuilding a nation in shambles. The once powerful and proud nation of Israel had been left in ruin because of their sin and rebellion against God. Nehemiah’s deep passion for the survivors had broken his heart and he “sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Out of his passion for the people, Nehemiah sought to return to Jerusalem to undertake the rebuilding of the city.

Nehemiah faced hostile opposition, oppression of the poor and vulnerable, and political intrigue, yet through it all he completely relied upon God to strengthen his hands until “the wall was finished”. The day finally came when the wall was completed and the gates set in place “and when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.” (Neh 6:15-16)

The time arrived for Nehemiah and the people to celebrate the completion of the wall. It was a time of worship and of finding a restored hope as the people of God. Unlike our typical July 4th celebration of fireworks, parades and cookouts, the people of Jerusalem “assembled with fasting and in sack cloth, and with earth on their heads”. (9:1) Those gathered recognized their need for God as they moved into a time of national confession.

They “stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. They stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth part of the day, and for another fourth they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.” (9:2-3)

As we celebrate July 4th, maybe the words spoken by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909 are as relevant for Americans today as they were then. “I believe that the next half century will determine if we will advance the cause of Christian civilization or revert to the horrors of brutal paganism…the choice between the two is upon us.”

The people of Israel assembled to hear a word from God and to worship. Out of this sacred assembly the people sought to renew themselves through confession of their sins and those of their ancestors.

Today could mark the transformation of our nation and a renewed Independence Day “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

God is great,

Pastor Lynn