In many places around the globe, on many Sundays, believers gather and pray something called "The Lord's Prayer" or the "Our Father." We also pray this on occasion at Lewisburg UMC but recently I thought I needed to reclaim the deep meaning in it. So, I wrote out a guide to help me linger in prayer with The Lord's Prayer instead of rushing through it.


I recently asked our Greater Things Team (a team just beginning who is seeking after the heart of God for our church's present future). Here's my guide for them that I would implore you to pray for us if you are interested...
 
"Our Father" - Remember that God is your personal Daddy. He's also the Father of Creation, so He's got it all covered.

"Who is in heaven" - Ask for a heavenly perspective that comes only from seeking God (Jeremiah 33:3 - 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'")
 
"Holy is your name" - Tell God how special He is to you...how set apart He is...be thankful for God being so much "all that" to us.

"Your Kingdom come" - Begin asking God to make known his kingdom = his eternal picture of things right here on earth, in your life, in your family, in our church, in our world.

"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - This is a time to confess any of your will that you may bring into our meetings. Get rid of your ego and trust that God's will for your life and the life of our church will being completion and joy to you as well. God, do what only you can do!

"Give us this day our daily bread" - What do you need from God? Be honest. What are today's needs? How can God meet them?

"Forgive us our sins" - Spend some time asking God, "test my heart and thoughts and see if there is any wicked way in me." Confess it to God.

"As we forgive others" - How can you set yourself free from carrying the baggage of other people's hurt upon you?

"Lead us not into temptation" - May God keep us from the things that get us off track!

"And deliver us from evil" - Pray in the name of Jesus that the work of Satan would be far from each of us and from our group as a whole! 

Today was our most tiring day of the whole trip.

No, we didn't do 8 hours of manual labor.

No, this wasn't the day I got to use the jackhammer.

Today was exhausting because we did NOTHING physical. We learned about human trafficking, we served the homeless some sandwiches, we visited a home that cares for the dying, we gave some food and candy to people living in the dump and we drove through the Red Light District before ending our night curling ourselves around the sound of the ocean's waves.

Today was tough.

We talked alot about what people are worth.

We met a lady who had a severe stroke and was paralyzed on one side. Her husband didn't think she was worth keeping around, so he put her on the street, to be rescued by the home for the dying.

We met hundreds of people in the dump who are 3rd generationers. They live there, they work near there and they raise their family there. Do they think they are worth more than that kind of living?

We saw numerous ladies working the street with empty eyes wondering if they were worth anything more than their hourly rate. 

This is what happens when we don't know WHO WE ARE or this is what happens when we VALUE OTHERS SOLEY ON WHAT THEY DO OR DO FOR US.

The heavens said to Jesus before he did anything, "This is my beloved Son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased."

A poet said,"The King is enthralled with your beauty."

The prophet said, "The Lord dances over you with joy."

Will you claim that as your worth? Will you ascribe that to others? 

 In just a couple of days, I will lead a faithful group of servants on a Mission Trip to Tijuana, Mexico. We will be there for a week and we will spend time serving orphans, working with the urban poor and researching how we can be a part of the solution to the global human trafficking problem!

I wanted to take a moment to address a couple questions that have arisen about this trip (and other international or quasi-regional trips). Please forgive my honesty. Here is the series of questions that usually arise (whether someone speaks them to me or just posts them on Facebook):

But why would we go there when there is so much need for "our own people"? Isn't there enough need next door? What about in Mississippi? What about in our own families?

Here's why we go:

1. Jesus' said to! Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." He's saying, "the witness of Jesus must go to the ends of the earth through you." Jerusalem, yes, was local, but it was also the center of Judaism. He was telling them to go to the toughest mission field right where you live. "Go, confront the powerful, elitist, tradition-laced hierarchy of the religion you converted from"! And if that isn't enough, he tells them to go to Samaria, the Ann Arbor to OSU fans, the place where hostility reigned toward Judaism. Maybe "the ends of the earth" were actually the EASIEST spot to go serve. We go around the world because Jesus' grace needs to be extended everywhere.

2. To confront our prejudices.  I tell the teams up front that one of the reasons why God has me going to Latin America (including my own family adoption) was because God freed me from my own prejudice toward people groups that are often stereotyped and labeled. Do you understand what it's like to be Mexican? Do you assume all Mexicans in the US are illegal or have ill intentions? I used to! It's real easy to have an opinion about "them" sitting thousands of miles away. "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Even "them."

3. There are no "our own."  God cares about people whether they sit next to me on Sunday or if they live thousands of miles away. When I leave my comfortable surroundings something happens in my heart where I begin to realize how BIG and EXPANSIVE the grace of God is. Do I feel an obligation to care for the US citizens before I care for others outside our country? This is a trickier question that usually cannot be answered in text. It is answered when you put your feet on foreign soil. When you step foot into the cardboard home of the 3rd generation of people who live in the City Dump of Quito, Ecuador, something happens in you. You begin to see what privilege even the poor in the US have compared to the world around us. We have so many resources in our wallets and in our bodies here that simply are not in the Majority World. An orphan in Ethiopia will most likely die whereas those in our country will at least be a part of a system (crappy as it may be) that will preserve their lives. Do I believe that we should take care of our own first? No. I believe we should take care of everyone to the extent that we can and we must be mindful of our world's reality! We cannot be mindful if we are ignorant. Trips like this hopefully dispel our ignorance.

4.  The fruit of a trip like this affects our family, our neighbor and our country. I can tell when someone "gets it" on a trip like this because they come home and make change right where they live. Like Saul in Acts, sometimes you have to spend a few days "away" before you can actually SEE what is right in front of you. I took a man to serve with the homeless on a trip like this. God gripped his heart so much that he came home and started serving the homeless next to him each Saturday morning!

5.  Kids. We will meet kids who are trafficked into human slavery because we demand more porn! They didn't have a choice. We decided for them. We go to find ways to develop systems of resuce, prevention and care. When you meet a kid around the world, your "localization" of the gospel gets thrown out of the water. All you want to do is help them know Jesus and keep them safe.

Maybe the question is, "will you come with me next time and see for yourself?" 

A Prescription for our Affliction

Here are some of the sermon notes from yesterday's sermon from Marty McMichael. Enjoy the conversation.

#1 We need the knowledge of who God IS in our life's experience. 

     -God IS - He is the beginning of all things and no matter what we think of God, it doesn't change God. God is creator and sustainer. When we get this, we no longer have to live with our limitations...because God is limitless.

#2 We need faith in the relationship we have with God

     -David says, "in this I will be confident" He had confidence in his relationship with the Almighty. To challenge you: how can you posture yourself today so that you can better feel confident in who God is in your life?

#3 We have to have hope that good can prevail. Verse 13

     -Hope keeps you alive, keeps you moving. It drives practical action and it creates an environment where we can win!!

#4 Learn patience in deliverance and with expectancy (verse 14)

     -Problems are opportunities in disguise. The character developed in the process is more important that the outcomes! We live by faith, not by outcomes. If God was MOST concerned with outcome God would have never created imperfect beings. The process of life in one of nurturing faith in the God who IS! 

John 13:1-9 The Voice Revealed

¹ Before the Passover festival began, Jesus was keenly aware that His hour had come to depart from this world and to return to the Father. From beginning to end, Jesus’ days were marked by His love for His people. ² Before Jesus and His disciples gathered for dinner, the adversary filled Judas Iscariot’s heart with plans of deceit and betrayal. ³ Jesus, knowing that He had come from God and was going away to God, ⁴ stood up from dinner and removed His outer garments. He then wrapped Himself in a towel,⁵poured water in a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with His towel.

Simon Peter (as Jesus approaches): ⁶ Lord, are You going to wash my feet?

Jesus: ⁷ Peter, you don’t realize what I am doing, but you will understand later.

Peter: ⁸ You will not wash my feet, now or ever!

Jesus: If I don’t wash you, you will have nothing to do with Me.

Peter: ⁹ Then wash me but don’t stop with my feet. Cleanse my hands and head as well.

I love this story! Jesus is spending his final night with his friends when he does the unthinkable: he begins to wash their feet. Peter, responds violently (ever wonder why? If someone you respect was to wash your feet, would you let them? What if you have corns or fungus?) saying, "YOU will not wash my feet." He could not let his Leader wash him.

But Jesus tells Peter that if he doesn't wash his feet, Peter won't be connected to Jesus!

What's interesting to me is that all that happened in front of others, colleagues of Peter who he was often in competition with. Peter opened his mouth, Jesus warned him in front of others (public humiliation) and what did Peter do?

Did he sulk?

Did he try to re-explain his earlier comment to save face?

Did he defend himself at all?

No. Peter recovered quickly because Peter, although brash, was humble. Jesus was right. Peter did not respond out of his embarrasment or humiliation but instead he says, "Well, then, please, wash all of me." 

Only the humble can do that?

Only the humble can be publicly humiliated and still respond with grace.

Maybe I'm slow to recover from my "stuff" because I'm too proud to accept the fact that God (or others) are right.

May this Holy Week break me of my pride and humble me as I sit at the feet of the One. 

Proverbs 11:14 says, "Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances."

Another version says, "There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors." 

But still, I don't often like to listen or obey others, especially when I am passionate about something. Authority is often difficult to follow, yet God seems to work in places where Godly authority is present. When Jesus is in his last hours, instead of walking away from the pain awaiting him, he remarks that he is submitting to the Father's Authority, the Father's Plan, even at the expense of his own body!

Do I submit to authority when it pains me? When I am passionately moving in another direction?

This reminds me of the Taylor Building

This is a building that was located on the same block of a church I served at as a Youth Pastor. 9 years ago, we decided to look into either redesigning our church space or buying/renting a facility off campus in order to help lead people to Jesus. One of the potential off-site Buildings was the Taylor Building. When I saw it, I was stoked. I thought we could put a coffee shop on the lower level, a worship space on level two and just a kickin' it Man Cave somewhere on the top. It's potential was endless and as a wide-eyed Youth Pastor I thought this building had the potential of cementing my legacy (Yes I admit my vanity).

To purchase it would have cost $100,000 and then we'd have to renovate it.

I thought it might be worth it.

When it was presented to Godly leadership who sought the Lord, looked at our finances and the possibility of the mission field, they decided to instead let us renovate one of the floors INSIDE the church. 

What would you have done?

Last week the Taylor Building was destroyed at the cost of $350,000. (see pic below) It had defects in it that noone saw for years. We didn't SEE that 9 years ago, but the multitude of counselors, did SEE that God was leading elsewhere. By trusting that, we saved over a half a million dollars AND the reworked church housed incredible youth ministry for 9 years. 

Do I give anyone else in life any authority in things that matter?

When I don't get my way do I leave? Pout? Claim superiority?

What if God's plan for my life and for the redemption of others actually causes me pain? At the end of the day, does God have the authority in my life, or does something else? 

This Sunday marks the First Sunday of Lent. (see HERE for more information on Lent) Our church will be re-looking at a Sacred Practice called SABBATH together each week to unpack its potential power for us today.  Each week we will be challenged to practice a 24-hour day set apart for God or some aspect of it. If you're looking for good resources to help you better understand Sabbath's rhythm, here are some starting places:

Sabbath Keeping by Lynne M Baab

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller

The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

New Life Church's Sabbath Resources Click HERE 

I usually make it a habit to sneak over into one of our church's two specified prayer rooms each work day in order to connect with God in the middle of my day. I love sitting in there with my Bible and journal, especially on those days when it's too cold outside to walk.

Last week however, as I was sitting in my favorite chair, I turned to my right and noticed the two book shelves next to me. More specifically I was distracted by some of the GREAT resources on the shelf. I grabbed a couple right there, flipped through them, made some notes about them and put them on my reading list. Did you know about them?

I felt selfish not telling anyone (although if none of you know about them, then I can check all of them out whenever I want...ha ha ha) so I thought I would encourage you all to visit the Library in the Gathering Place at church to pick up one of these (or more) great resources on the shelf.

Shaped By The Word by Robert Mulholland - Dr. Mulholland is one of my all-time favorite professors. When I sat under his teaching at Asbury Seminary I not only learned a ton about the Bible but about transformation. If you have a goal to connect deeper with God then this book is an essential beginning!

The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by Reggie McNeal - If you want to get "into my head" a bit, exploring deep and difficult questions for the Church's future then grab this book.  Two points of note in this one is his idea that churches must be Developing disciples instead of church members and focusing on spiritual formation rather than church programs.

The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie O'Martian -  This book will take the woman reading it to new depths of both the activity of prayer and the way God works through prayer. If you've eve complained about God not changing someone's life near you, pick this up.

The New Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson - In order to protect those around me it is best that I not tell you why this book is so applicable to me as a parent, but let's just say that it is. :)

Prayer by Philip Yancey -  Read anything this guy writes. He's honest and deep and he's unafraid of mystery. This is an honest look at if prayer makes any difference in real people's lives.

Messy Spirituality & Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli -  I got to meet this guy back in my Youth Ministry days and he was the real deal! He died a sudden, tragic death but these two works will take the serious level down about 10 notches in your life. He was an incredible man and these 2 are great books.

Which one is for you? How might they give you strength during your next season of life?