Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Do Not Miss This Moment!


only son died.
The only son died.
Death is a hard pill to swallow. And yet, we speak in some instances of a welcomed death. A person has lived a long life or the suffering has been too much to handle. The death of a child never seems to be good. It seems to be untimely or out of order. It is a pill that never seems to be swallowed. Instead it consumes us.
This son chose to die.
To choose death is out of order as well. It is within the normal ranges of human life to keep one's life. Choosing death shows passion that is not the norm. Choosing death many times is to choose life for others.
The son died at the hands of others.
On the back of my phone is a piece of paper held there by tape. On the paper is the name of Dylan Hockley, one of the children killed in the senseless tragedy of last year. On good days I look at that name and pray for his family and friends. I wonder about them—how they are doing, etc. On my bad days, I remember that my days are not really that bad. They are simply days of discomfort for me. Others are having bad days. My days are still good. For some reason, the death of this child will not leave me nor do I want it to leave me.
The death of the son gives life!
There is a wonderful story of a man who owned some of the most valuable art pieces of the world. The man's son died in a tragic accident at a young age. The man's grief was overwhelming. The father died and left directions in his will to sell all of his art collection. The world was excited about the auction to be held as there had never been so much valuable art offered on a single day. The day of the auction, the room was filled with people from all over the world. The room was filled with the great masterpieces of all time. The auction began with the presentation of a rather crude self portrait drawing obviously made by the man's son. No one bid as the opening bid was called for. Finally, one person bid $25 so that "the real art works could be presented!" The auctioneer pleaded for more bids but no one else would bid. The crowd was becoming restless with the actions of the auctioneer. The auctioneer reluctantly sold the child drawing with only one bid. No one hardly noticed the cry of "Sold!" Then the startling words were heard, "And that concludes our sale today!" The room went into a panic! Wait! What about the other pieces of art? Then the auctioneer read the words of the man's will, "The one who takes the child gets them all."
This week, the son died. His name is Jesus. He died for you to know the riches of this life and life eternal. Do not miss this moment.
Pray for me as I pray for you.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Tear the Roof Down--WIT

I like to refer it as WIT.    Are you a WIT Friend?  Are you a WIT Christian?

This past week our small group read the passage where four friends  went beyond the call of duty.  They were WIT Christians.

So they heard that Jesus, the healer from Nazareth, was in town.  The four guys had this friend.  The Bible does not give him a name so I will.  I like to call him Harry.

Harry spent his days in the bed.  Every once in a while, he would get someone to carry him outside and put him on the outside chair.  There he would stay until someone else would come and move him again.  He did not know what it was like to just go on his own.  Harry was reliant on someone else all the time.

But Harry had four of the best friends a person could have.  They made sure he had what he needed.  When they could, they would include him in their conversations.  It was not unusual for them to end up at the foot of his bed just shooting the breeze.

Once they heard a healer was in town.  So they took Harry to see him.  How they wished he would have been healed.  But nothing happened.  Harry felt really bad for himself and his friends.  There were days he thought he must be getting punished for something.  He could never figure it out.

Then the four amigos showed up.  "We are going to see Jesus!  He is going to heal you!"  Well Harry could not argue.  So here they go again. 

When they got the place, there were people everywhere.  People with all sorts of diseases were lined up waiting to see this man, Jesus.  There was no way they would get near him.  They tried and tried but failed miserably.  Harry looked at his friends and said, "Thanks guys, but I am ready to go home."

"Nope!  We are not giving up!"  said one of the friends and pointed towards the roof.  The other three amigos smiled.  "Let's do it!"

Harry did not like this ideas at all.  As they lifted him up to the roof, he was sure he was going to die!  He pleaded with them to put him down.  They only went higher.

On the roof, they dug a hole until the roof had an opening  and below they could see Jesus.  The crowd inside of the room could not believe what they saw.  The four friends had tied Harry's bed to a rope and were lowering him down to Jesus.  Harry was embarrassed.  What a scene.

This man, Jesus, looked at Harry with the most gracious smile.  He looked up at the four friends and chuckled.  He was impressed by the friends.  And then he spoke, "Your sins are forgiven!...."  

Harry felt his legs.  He felt his legs as he never had before.  Jesus took his hand and Harry walked!  Harry walked!  He could not believe it.  He looked up at his friends only to see tears in their eyes!  Harry was healed!

The four amigos were WIT friends.  They are the models for WIT Christians.  What is WIT?  WHATEVER IT TAKES!!!

The four amigos were going to do whatever it takes for their friend to meet Jesus.  What about you and your friends?  Are you a WIT gang?

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Prayer Takes Time

If you go out to eat with me, your food will not get cold if I pray.  When asking a guest to pray for our meal, my father made it a habit to ask if they were current in their prayer life before they prayed.  My dad was of the opinion that one should not make up for lost time in their prayer life at the expense of others.  In other words, you should be current.

To stay current some folks will just try to convince the world that they are always praying.   There is a constant flurry of "zap" prayers going heavenward at all hours of the day.  There is little intention or aim.  It is more like impulses or reactor prayers that are supposed to energize the relationship with God as well as solve all of earth's problems as well.  This view pretty much waters down everything about prayer and its vital relationship.

On the other hand there are those who will make a ritual out of everything.  Prayers are to be said at a certain time in a certain posture and in a certain language.  To overhear a prayer from this person would be meaningless for most as it makes no sense most of the time even to the person practicing it.  This practice pretty much weighs down prayer and probably God as well.

Prayer is best understood as a relationship that is vibrant and dynamic.  It's language and posture is as normal as any other relationship in one's life.  There are times when prayer stops us cold in our tracks.  Other times prayer moves us quickly along.  Sometimes one knows exactly what to say.  Then there are days, nights, and weeks where there are no words.  We just listen.

People who practice prayer are much more closer to God than those who just talk about prayer.  People who talk about prayer will use language like, "I will be thinking about you".  The P word is way too frightening to say and to hear!  People who practice prayer will be moved to pray for a stranger or a friend.  People who talk about prayer just talk about how strange other people are.  They are glad they are not that strange.  Or are they?

As I have learned and practiced the life of prayer, I find it easier to pray more.  Most of the time anyway.  Did you know that sometimes preachers do not feel like praying.  It's okay.  Feelings come and go.  Relationships stay.  Maybe that is why when God tells Moses who God is in Exodus, the answer is " I Am Who I Am".  Am is a form of the word, be.  Maybe God was at that point inviting us to constantly BE with God.  Be with God!

Prayer takes time.  You have to BE willing to invest that time.  Without it, you do not have a prayer.

Pray for me as I pray for you.