Found

A couple of people today wished me well today as I'm returning to missions and told me that they hoped I found what I was looking for.  For some reason it didn't resonate, but then the truth break in with great light and joy.  I'm not going because I'm looking for something.  I go because I already found what I was looking for.  Him.   Such joy!

Soft Heart

I was talking to a police officer tonight and he had that syndrome that so many officers get--hardness of heart.  I thought it about.  Truly, the only way we can keep from hardening our hearts when we see so so much evil is trust the justice of God.  The cross was proof that He never compromised justice to become justifier.

:)

40 Days: In the Morning (Confessions of a Night Owl)

There are many verses that talk about rising early to pray, but the one I have always held onto is Psalm 119:62--"At midnight I rise to give you thanks..."

I've historically not been a morning person.  I pray throughout the day and usually at night, although I tend to cut my time short at night because of sleepiness.  So what would it be if for 40 days I rose in the morning to spend an hour "praying in the spirit on all occasions?"  Would morning make a difference?

The forty days are done and I have to say the first 20 days were some of the best.  It really did set the tone for the day.  My spirit felt full as if I'd had a big meal.  The second 20 days I began to falter.  I am moving a couple thousand miles away in a couple of weeks and my tiredness has increased.  My hour prayer time was reduced to being spread out throughout the day as I was just plain tired!  It didn't feel the same.  I still had my prayer time in, but something changed.

I still think we can be morning pray-er people or night ones.  David Wilkerson of Cross and the Switchblade prayed at night and out of it came his entire ministry.  But I think there is something special to the morning.  I just don't know how to overcome the extreme tiredness I feel.  Going to bed early isn't always easy because it doesn't mean you fall asleep right away.  But I want to continue working on this one because as much as I hate to admit it, I think the morning birds may be on to something. 

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(The next 40 day experiment I think will be my hardest one yet.  Stay tuned.)

Do I trust God with who He made me to be?

40 Days: The Morning

New International Version
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Tim 4:8)
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The above verse says it all.  Forty Days is about training for godliness.  I have taken on another 40 day challenge as of June 1st but it's not something that is blog worthy.  I will write more later on and even maybe at the end of the 40 days, but for now I will wait.

Newcomers

It was one of those situations that we realized too late.  Communion was being served and we hadn’t adequately prepped our unchurched,  international guests.   The communion plate came around and our guests stared at the two circles of unleavened bread.  Bewildered but trying to honor us the best they could, they picked up the circles and took a big bite like you would out of  a sandwich.  My mother and I and those in the pew behind us looked on in shock realizing the situation.  Our guests, aware that something was wrong but not sure what looked around uncomfortable and embarrassed.     We motioned them to pass the plate with it’s half eaten communion to the next person.  Thankfully the communion cups were  a little bit more intuitive.  Our guests though were humiliated, we were mortified and the other church folk were trying hard not to notice. 

            Not knowing the protocol when going to a new church is not unique to an international or unchurched guest.  I decided to go on a journey of my own to see what it was like to go to a new congregation.  I had the advantage of being a fellow believer in Christ as well as one who has travelled to scores of churches around the world.  The difference was that I was going not knowing anybody who would introduce me or show me around.    What I discovered was that in more cases than not, I felt completely like our friends—lost, uncomfortable and not sure how church “worked.”

            The first church I attended was a church I had seen alongside the road.  Just the mere attempt to attend was a challenge.  As I drove by I caught the name of the church and thought it would be no problem to use the internet to discover their service times or at least phone number.  What I didn’t expect was that there was no website and no phone number.  I abandon phone books long ago.   So I got in my door and drove back to the church where at least they had their services times on the marquee. 

            Sunday came and I walked in the door and immediately didn’t know where to go.  I was in a foyer with hallways that led left and right.  After a brief few moments someone came along and pointed in the right direction.  So I sat down in a pew and waited for the service.  I was clearly a newcomer in this small congregation but I felt almost like a burden, like the others in the church didn’t know quite what to do with me.  Do they come greet me?  Do they stay away?  Am I a Christian?  Am I an unbeliever?  To their credit one woman turned around and said hello, had 5 seconds of conversation and then turned to talk to others.   No real conversation, just the obligatory politeness.  The preaching was great and the genuine love for the Lord was palpable among but I left the church not really having made much human contact. 

            Then came the church that was “prepared.”  They had their little baggie ready for the newcomer.  It had a small New Testament, a calendar, their church schedule and a pen.  I walked into the building and sat down.  As the song service began from behind my back an arm reached above me and thrust the baggie into my lap.  I was actually quite startled and turned around to see who the arm belonged to but the woman was already leaving.   The only other thing I remember about that service was that the aging pastor was clearly a battle-hardened yet ready soldier who would preach the love of Jesus until his dying breath.  But I couldn’t come to grips as I left that church only having encountered an arm that if I were unchurched, I probably would not return.

            After having several more uncomfortable experiences, church #6 finally felt like there was potential.  Oh it had a few mishaps.  When I pulled in the only thing obvious was the “Pastor Only” parking.  It took several minutes for me to realize that the parking for the rest of us was out back behind the building.  But these things are forgivable when overshadowed by a warm welcome by the greeter.   I enjoyed the worship and the message was pretty good.  On the way out the pastor greeted me but only had 3-4 seconds before the next person leaving wanted to talk.     But then I remembered they had invited the congregation to pizza afterwards at a local restaurant.  It felt awkward but I decided to join them.  When I entered the restaurant it was obvious where the church folk were so I sat down.  The woman beside me asked me a few questions and I told her I had served all over the world laboring for the gospel.  That’s nice.   Now on to the people she knew.  I tried several more times to initiate conversation and they were polite.   But they were more interested in the friends they hadn’t seen in the last week.  I just couldn’t break into the circle of conversation.  They clearly enjoyed each other but I was on the outside.  I was glad I went, but I was even more glad when I left. 

            I could go on about the church that had such indecipherable communion time where I had no idea how it was done with their kneeling at the altar, opening their mouth to the pastor and bowing here and there.  Or about the time I sat in a pew only to have an elder tell the congregation during the offering meditation how he was having a bad day, partly because someone (who I discovered was me) was sitting in his regular spot.   Or how during one church greeting time with people to my left, right, front and back not a single person said hello or shook my hand.  

But the long and short of it is that attending these various churches made me realize something that is very important to the heart of Jesus and that is the importance of hospitality.   When I show hospitality in my home I naturally try to make my guests feel comfortable.  I tell them where they can put their coat and where the bathroom is located.  When it is mealtime I give instructions if I’m having it family style or buffet style.   If we are grilling outside I show them the way to the back and tell them where they can leave their potato salad.  I want to put my guests at ease so we can enjoy each other.  This kind of hospitality is no less important in the church.  

Here are some ways learned that perhaps can help us facilitate a warm welcome:

 

1)   Assign someone to newcomer hospitality.  Many large churches have an organized tea and cookie time after services where newcomers can talk to an assigned person to obtain more information.  This is especially needed in the larger churches where newcomers can come and go unnoticed.    But the bulk of churches in America averages approximately two hundred.   Newcomers usually come in the single digits.  It’s very important for these congregations to have someone the greeter can transfer them to in order to show them around, point out the bathrooms, sit near them and let them know how things flow.  Communion and offering are especially important to give them guidance and expectations (i.e. participation is however you feel led of the lord).  Each church celebrates these so differently and as the “holy time,” it can quickly become the most uncomfortable time for visitors.

2)   Express genuine interest.  That means time and relationship and the place where Jesus teaches that happens most often is around the table.  Perhaps the church could offer to the congregation that if anyone takes a first-time guest out for a meal, the church would pay for the meal of these guests. 

3)   Have contact information available.  Surprisingly one of my biggest challenges merely finding out service times.   Churches that didn’t have websites often had answering machines that said hello and please leave a message but had no service times.  Even with some of the larger churches I had to physically go there to find out their service times.  At the very minimum there needs to be a sign in front of the building, an answering machine with service times with a contact phone number, and preferable a website. 

4)   Encourage your people to go.  One church I know of sent out some of their people and encouraged them to go to other churches to discover how they welcomed or didn’t welcome newcomers.   This wasn’t about church bashing but about discovery.  One couple came back and reported,  “it was one of the most terrible experiences we have ever had.”  We want to honor these churches who are in the same growth process as ourselves, but I can assure you that this couple now bends over backwards to make sure new guests at their congregation feel welcome.  Additionally, good experiences cause us to learn from each other.   We are all learning together.

Nothing can ever replace the power of friends showing people they’ve invited around and how our time together flows.   But if someone has just moved to our city and doesn’t know anybody yet, having thought out hospitality beforehand and communicating that to the congregation can be the difference between them finding a church home or not.   And one day we may just find ourselves in that same boat. 

40 Day Summation: Healing the Sick

 1 Corinthians 9:25
"Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

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To say that this 40 days of praying for the sick/healing the sick did not look like what I expected is a bit of an understatement.  I truly thought finding sick people would be easier.  In the home stretch I think in some ways I stopped trying to find people and just started praying for sick I knew about.

Overall this has been a good training experience.  I was able to pray directly with 22 people and then for 18 other cities, nations, families, facebook requests and even for a cat.  Yes, a cat.  Gotta practice somewhere.

I do believe I've changed from this experience.  I am more keyed in on prayer requests now and don't take them as lightly.  If people are asking for prayer, let's pray for them right then and there.  I've also been challenged by what I believe about healing and my own heart's inhibitions.   I realized when I didn't see healing or find people to pray for  I slipped into casual, wishful thinking mode instead of contending intercession.  This issue needs addressing.  Lastly I feel like my eyes are more trained on seeing people's needs.  It's been good.  Really good. 

So the 40 days of "training for godliness" continues.  I have a whole host of 40 day challenges that I want to do and it seems like the Lord is leading me down a path of when to do these.  I do have another 40 day challenge I feel like I'm to do but I'm going to wait to start June 1st.  A little bit of a break isn't bad.  :)

Day 40: Lost

A lost wallet.  That's what they said that ruined their vacation.  It was 3 adults, 4 teens and a toddler.  They were at the Wal-mart tonight panhandling trying to get enough gas money to get back to Ohio.  From the looks of it they were getting enough although the man thought he had far less.  I don't know.  It's not my business to know.  It's my business to love.  And love meant talking to them and not just giving them a drive-by offering out the window.  Love also meant giving--a Wal-mart gift card that they could use for gas, food, or whatever but not an illegal substance.  As I was leaving I remembered this was Day 40 so I took a moment to pray for them.  They really didn't need healing that I could see.  Just money on a sweaty hot day.  It might not have been a glorious end with a story of healing, but maybe it was a better ending for a family trying to get to the place called home.

Day 39: Family

Encouraged.  That's what it felt like when I read my friend's blog today www.gowinfamily.com.  She almost died giving birth to her first.  She said this of her experience:

"One night, in the middle of the night I was awake—inevitably, since the blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm every 15 minutes.  I suddenly had this vision of angels over me in my hospital room and God saying to me, “You are going to be OK.  There are many people praying for you.” "

It's hard for met to reconcile in this experiment that prayers can be effective through the laying on of hands as well as praying for them long-distance.  I think of some of the people I've prayed for on the list and they have gotten better.  Would they have improved without people praying?  We'll never know.  But posts like the one above encourage me.


So tonight I will spend praying for my family.  I don't do this often enough.  They really and truly need prayers, and healing in different ways that they may or may not see.  And perhaps they too will be  touched by the Lord as did my friend Suzanne.

Day 38: Justice

Tonight I was meditating on Luke 18 and the woman who pesters the judge until she gets justice.  How much more God will give justice when asked than that of the unjust judge.  But perseverance is prerequisite.   So while this post is short, tonight I pray for healing of those mothers who have aborted their children.  May their own hearts live again.

PS--40 Day Summation coming soon.

Day 37: Facebook

If you are on Facebook and you have someone who is close to you in critical need, unabashedly you ask for  prayer.  And you hope some take it seriously.  One this this experiment has taught me is to do just that.  So today I read of someone who really is having congestive heart failure.  I can't lay hands on them, but I can lay my heart and words upon them.

What We Believe

If we knew outright what Hitler was doing during the Holocaust, would we vote for him?  Would other things he believed in outweigh what was happening during the Holocaust?

When Hitler wanted to kill Jews, he labelled them sub-human.  When the white folk wanted to abuse and oppress the blacks, they were "monkeys" and not really human.  When modern folk don't want to be inconvenienced, they label the baby a "fetus" and not "viable" tissue, whatever that is supposed to mean.

We often really don't believe that the life in the womb is indeed life.  If we did, we would see abortion as a holocaust...and take action accordingly (although many do).

This picture is so true, as well as the documentary beneath.  Definitely food for thought.  No...food for action:

 

 

Day 36: Healing for the City

This is the water tower where I live:

It kind of looks like a space ship up close.  Having just visited Joplin one of my thoughts is that it would make a great tornado shelter--the cement is two feet thick all the way around.

Having been inspired to pray for the healing of Joplin, I decided to pray for the city where I live (as I couldn't find any of the walking wounded to pray for directly).  This city desperately needs Jesus.  There's more crime per capita than the national average.  I'm almost numb to the fact when I hear of another shooting or another robbery, mainly I think because they haven't happened to me (I pray). 

May God heal this city.  It's wound is gaping and it needs the healing.  So I place my feet on it and ask for it.

Day 35: Pray for your Enemies

If I say their names, you will immediately resonate with them as "enemies."  And if there is anybody who needs Jesus, it is them.  They are famous for protesting at funerals, against homosexuals, and against, well...anything.  They love the media attention.  I won't even mention their names here so web crawlers don't pick up any unjust press.  They are truly difficult to even think about loving, nonetheless praying for them (they plan to protest at Joplin tomorrow which is hard to think about).  But even they are precious to Jesus.  In fact, they are some of the most lost people I've ever known.

So tonight my mom requested we pray for them.  Has there ever been a more fitting way to obey this Scripture above?  We prayed for their lives, their repentance, their salvation.  Can there be any greater healing than that?  If they were to die today, I am no righteous judge but I at present do not anticipate seeing them as neighbors in heaven.  This has to break the heart of God as Father, yet their actions must anger him as Judge.  What if this man were your son?  Seriously, what if this grown man were your precious, yet seriously lost son?

"Pray for your enemies," says Jesus.

So God, I pray that you heal their minds and hearts.  It happened with the child-murderer Manasseh that he changed and that surely seemed impossible (2 Chr 33).  If he can repent, cannot this family? 

Day 34: Joplin will Sing Again!

The Scripture talks about the laying on hands of healing, but how about the laying on of feet?  I went to Joplin, MO to visit friends and decided that I would pray for the healing of the city.   And somehow praying onsite for insight felt very much like the laying on of hands.  And I can assure you this city still needs healing on this one year anniversary of the tornado.  The pain is still raw.

What I didn't know is that God would connect my mom and I with others to pray for Joplin.  We were sitting at Cunningham Park which has been redone.  It is ironically a beautiful place right next to the devastated hospital.  It was weird to sit in beauty and look at destruction, to feel peace and look at despair.

As we were sitting there the most lovely couple approached us and began to talk.  It quickly became apparent that they too were lovers of Jesus.   He was a "musicianary" who will be singing at Tuesday's memorial event.  Unfortunately we weren't going to be able to be there as my mom and I had jobs to return to.  But his wife (bless her) asked her husband to go get his guitar and sing for us.  How beautiful it was to hear this man's voice singing healing over Joplin.  His song has become well-known in the Joplin area and is entitled "Sing Again," written specifically for Joplin.  There we were on a beautiful Saturday evening getting a private concert from this precious brother and sister in Christ.

After he sang a few songs for us we gathered together to pray healing for the city and for blessing over each other.  It just reminded me that heaven on earth is the bride of Christ, and oh how beautiful she really is! 


I would like you to take a minute and join me in praying over Joplin that she would sing again, just like Mark's song that he sung to us that night (and by the way, please check out his website Mark LaPrele and get some of his music!). 

"Sing Again" by Mark LaPerle whom we met in Cunningham park.

 St. John's hospital one year later.

"The Miracle of the Human Spirit" dedicated to the volunteers of Joplin.

"He will be the stability of your times."  (Isaiah 33:6)

Day 33: How big is my faith?

Tonight I went out to eat with a friend in a wheelchair (and her little doggie too!).   I have prayed often for her healing as she so longs to be healed.  It truly will take a miracle of God.  I've prayed for her to be restored, but tonight I decided to pray for her thumb.  Maybe start small and see things healed slowly.  No instant miracle tonight but I do hope her thumb comes out of its curled position.  It did make me wonder though about the size of my faith.  I'm afraid it's not very big.  Thankfully Jesus takes mustard seeds.

Day 32: Real Joking

Someone had knee pain today and I said jokingly, "be healed in Jesus name" as the situation may not have been appropriate at that time.  It made me think, when we joke with that, does it still matter in the heavens?  I pray silently for her regardless.

Day 31: Who?

Again I came up empty.  But tonight I will pray for healing of the little girl's heart that I mentioned previously.  May her heart not be empty like that of her father's.

Every Day Heroes

As I was out picking up beer cans for Bibles, I witnessed an everyday hero.  As I was walking down the alley way an older man was walking with a 6 or 7 year old little girl.  He took her to where her father was at the car and that's when I noticed them because the father of the girl was yelling at her.  The man explained to the father that she was lost quite a ways from home, scared and crying.  The father did not hug her, welcome his lost girl home (it was early evening) but shouted that she was grounded for 3 days.  The man who brought her turned and walked away, saddened by what the little girl was returning to.  Perhaps it was this kind of environment that made her want to wander away.  But as I looked at the man who had brought this little girl home, I began to think that I had just witnessed an every day kind of hero.   Sir, the father may not have thanked you, but there is a Father who will.