Hillsong United produced a film that was shown in theaters nationwide on November 4, 2009. The plan was to release the film on DVD in March, but plans changed when countries from around the world also began to request that the film be shown in their country. Now the tentative release date is August of 2010.
Before going further in this blog, I ask that you take a look at a short clip from that film. It will set the precedence for the thought in the rest of this post:
Hillsong United Clip
As I was watching that film in theaters, I remember feeling anguish over all the needs across the globe. Just barely open your eyes and you see millions who are homeless, starving, sick, or oppressed. Turn to CNN or Fox News and see the disasters that have struck Haiti, or see all of the orphans that are in Honduras, or see the AIDS problems that are in Africa. I feel like you can't really look anywhere without seeing needs that are demanding attention. And no matter who you are, or what beliefs you have, you can't help but feel for those people.
A lot of times, it is easy to see those things and feel like the problem is too big for us, and so we change the channel. Or we examine our own lives and realize that we, too, have problems, and even though they are much smaller, they are more demanding of our attention. And so whatever mindset we fall into, we always end up ignoring the the cause of those that are dying abroad and thanking God for "blessing us".
Part of me wants to veer off and address that last statement about being blessed, but hopefully your own Spirit will convict you of what is wrong about those thoughts. So for now, I am simply just going to stay on track with where I am going...
I don't know if you have seen the news this past week, but disaster has struck our own soil. There was an attempted terrorist attack in New York, a huge oil leakage in Louisiana, and massive flooding in Nashville. The latter of the three hits home with me the most due to my friends and family that live down there. As I have been in touch with them and following the news, here are some of the things that I have found:
Thousands of houses have been completely destroyed, and most homeowners did not own any sort of flood insurance (Nashville never floods). More than 7,000 people have been declared to be officially homeless, in addition to those that already were. The death tally expects to be in the hundreds, as water has still not even gone down far enough to check in all parts of the city. Schools have been destroyed and many are cancelled for the remainder of the year. Hotels, restaurants, and businesses have lost everything. Crime rates have soared as homes are being broken into and items are being stolen. The city is in desperate need of millions of dollars to help rebuild what is one of the most popular cities in all of America.
Ok, so now we reach that point when we see how you respond. Do you simply just turn the channel again, or go on to your next website? Or do you actually stop and pray over the ways that you can get involved? If you are reading this and are part of the Christian body, then I exhort you even more to consider this. Read Matthew 25:31-46 as you do so.
God calls His church to rise up in times like this to help those that are in need. One of His promises is that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but how will others realize that if we leave them and forsake them? What an opportunity this is to show the world the love of Jesus Christ by helping those that are in desperate need! Help is needed all over the globe and if you are able to help them out in any way, then do it. Do you think that you have been blessed to simply just hang on to that? No, rather you have been blessed so that you can bless others.
If you have been blessed, like I have, then join me in reaching out to those that need help. You may have other projects or other causes to help with, but I want you to know that my dollars are going to Nashville. I don't say that boastfully, but I say that to present a challenge for you to join me in that. I have other projects and causes to also think about, but I simply cannot continue to turn the channel and move on with my life. This is what God has called us to do.
If you want to get involved, then I am going to get you in touch with Celia Quin. Celia is a teacher in Nashville and is part of First Baptist Church of Pegram. She is currently assisting in running a shelter out of her school, as they are the only school in the area that still has electricity. She also currently has connections with the American Red Cross and some other organizations because they are also running out of their school right now. Celia has said that some of the major needs right now are clothes and household items for those that have lost everything, and they are also in need of Bibles. Maybe the best way to go about giving is to send money and let her spend it accordingly.
To send a letter or money to Celia, you can do so through the following postal address:
Celia Quin
10 Erin Lane
Nashville, TN 37221
If you want to first communicate with her via email, her address is:
Celiajane03@hotmail.com
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and thank you in advance for getting involved in this ministry. I want to leave you with one final quote, and then this post will be done.
"Having seen all this you can choose to look the other way, but you can never say 'I did not know'."
- William Wilberforce
Friday, May 7, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Crossing the Finish Line
In November of 2008, I had the privilege of running in the Huntington Half-Marathon. I had trained for several months leading up to it and felt like I was prepared when race day finally rolled around. In training, I had discovered what I felt to be a good pace for myself, though I wasn't sure how the adrenaline of race day would change that. However, I decided to take a watch with me and try to stay on pace for an 8 minute mile, and then when I hit mile marker 11, I would take off for the final two miles.
As the race progressed, I stayed consistently around 8 minutes per mile. Some miles were a little quicker and some were a little slower, depending on who was around me. One man that I ran with for a while was wearing a shirt that displayed the verse 1 Corinthians 9:27, which talks of beating your body into submission. I felt that was a great verse for such a long race.
After passing mile 10, I began looking for 11, which was where I was going to pick up the pace a bit. However, after 8 minutes on my watch had gone by, mile marker 11 was nowhere to be found. I continued running and 9 minutes, then 10 minutes went by and I still hadn't seen it. I began to ask the judges if they knew which mile I was at and none of them were completely sure. Yet through all of this, I continue to run.
A couple of minutes later, I passed a sign indicating mile 12, meaning I had one mile to go. I picked up my pace a lot for that final distance, confused as to why I never saw mile marker 11. But in that final mile, I was able to pass a few people and cross the finish line in a sprint, getting a time of 1:46:20.
I was standing around after the race and watching others who had crossed before me laying on the ground completely worn out. Others were eating, trying to replace all of the energy that they had just lost. However for me, I felt as if I had a lot of energy left in me. This was not because I was in phenomenal shape (given, there were dozens of people who beat me), but I felt as if I could have run harder or picked up the pace sooner. One fellow runner reminded me that, being my first race, I should take joy in just completing it. But the competitive person in me kept thinking, "I could have run harder. I could have picked up the pace a long time ago."
I think that is one of the worst feelings in the world: to think that you could have done more. This emotion is often felt in sports as there have been many times that I felt like I could have tried harder or given more effort. I have felt similar things even in school after turning in a project that I know that I could have done better on. For me, completion alone has never been enough. I must know that I gave everything I had, no matter what is at stake.
Do you think that this feeling exists in Heaven? I mean, I know that Heaven will be all about the glory of God and worshiping Him with all that we have. But I think that my biggest fear in life is to one day get to Heaven, crossing that finish line of life, and still have energy. I fear getting there feeling as if I could have done more, or that I could have talked to more people. I don't want to be one of those people who simply just floats there way into eternity. I want to be the one who crosses that finish line in a full sprint, and then be able to look Jesus in the eyes and say, "I gave everything I had for you. I did it all for your glory!"
When I view the world today, I see so much suffering, so much pain, so much brokenness. I know that I have talked about these things in previous posts, but this is still what I see! And then my eyes shift back to the church where I see many members saving up for retirement so that they can move to the beach and play shuffleboard for the rest of their lives. Is that the way you want to enter Heaven? Is that the way that you want to cross the finish line?
Several individuals stick out to me as people who are running hard at all times. I won't take the time right now to recognize you on this post but you should know who you are. If you have to question it, well then most likely you are not one of those people and maybe you need to pick up the pace a little bit. But if you are one of those individuals, then I thank you for the ways in which you have paced me and encouraged me to keep running. Let's continue on as hard as we can until we cross that finish line of life and enter into eternity.
Please, examine your life and check how hard you are running. What else can you be doing to advance God's kingdom on this earth? Who else can you tell and what else can you do to get closer to Him? Be one of those individuals who collapses at the finish line knowing that you have given everything that you could have possibly given. Make Colossians 1:29 your life verse, striving with all of HIS energy. He will carry you until the end.
"To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me."
-Colossians 1:29
As the race progressed, I stayed consistently around 8 minutes per mile. Some miles were a little quicker and some were a little slower, depending on who was around me. One man that I ran with for a while was wearing a shirt that displayed the verse 1 Corinthians 9:27, which talks of beating your body into submission. I felt that was a great verse for such a long race.
After passing mile 10, I began looking for 11, which was where I was going to pick up the pace a bit. However, after 8 minutes on my watch had gone by, mile marker 11 was nowhere to be found. I continued running and 9 minutes, then 10 minutes went by and I still hadn't seen it. I began to ask the judges if they knew which mile I was at and none of them were completely sure. Yet through all of this, I continue to run.
A couple of minutes later, I passed a sign indicating mile 12, meaning I had one mile to go. I picked up my pace a lot for that final distance, confused as to why I never saw mile marker 11. But in that final mile, I was able to pass a few people and cross the finish line in a sprint, getting a time of 1:46:20.
I was standing around after the race and watching others who had crossed before me laying on the ground completely worn out. Others were eating, trying to replace all of the energy that they had just lost. However for me, I felt as if I had a lot of energy left in me. This was not because I was in phenomenal shape (given, there were dozens of people who beat me), but I felt as if I could have run harder or picked up the pace sooner. One fellow runner reminded me that, being my first race, I should take joy in just completing it. But the competitive person in me kept thinking, "I could have run harder. I could have picked up the pace a long time ago."
I think that is one of the worst feelings in the world: to think that you could have done more. This emotion is often felt in sports as there have been many times that I felt like I could have tried harder or given more effort. I have felt similar things even in school after turning in a project that I know that I could have done better on. For me, completion alone has never been enough. I must know that I gave everything I had, no matter what is at stake.
Do you think that this feeling exists in Heaven? I mean, I know that Heaven will be all about the glory of God and worshiping Him with all that we have. But I think that my biggest fear in life is to one day get to Heaven, crossing that finish line of life, and still have energy. I fear getting there feeling as if I could have done more, or that I could have talked to more people. I don't want to be one of those people who simply just floats there way into eternity. I want to be the one who crosses that finish line in a full sprint, and then be able to look Jesus in the eyes and say, "I gave everything I had for you. I did it all for your glory!"
When I view the world today, I see so much suffering, so much pain, so much brokenness. I know that I have talked about these things in previous posts, but this is still what I see! And then my eyes shift back to the church where I see many members saving up for retirement so that they can move to the beach and play shuffleboard for the rest of their lives. Is that the way you want to enter Heaven? Is that the way that you want to cross the finish line?
Several individuals stick out to me as people who are running hard at all times. I won't take the time right now to recognize you on this post but you should know who you are. If you have to question it, well then most likely you are not one of those people and maybe you need to pick up the pace a little bit. But if you are one of those individuals, then I thank you for the ways in which you have paced me and encouraged me to keep running. Let's continue on as hard as we can until we cross that finish line of life and enter into eternity.
Please, examine your life and check how hard you are running. What else can you be doing to advance God's kingdom on this earth? Who else can you tell and what else can you do to get closer to Him? Be one of those individuals who collapses at the finish line knowing that you have given everything that you could have possibly given. Make Colossians 1:29 your life verse, striving with all of HIS energy. He will carry you until the end.
"To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me."
-Colossians 1:29
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Don't Waste Your Life - Acts 20:24
"But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."
Welcome to the Todd McClure story. Some of you may know these details and some of you may not. But I am going to fast-forward through my life to get to my main point. I have no intentions of dwelling on my past or even bringing attention to myself, but rather my goal is to show what the LORD has truly done in my life...
Growing up, soccer was my dream. I even remember coloring a picture in kindergarten and telling my teacher that it was my dream to play professional soccer. God and family were always a big part as well, but soccer was my passion.
In high school, I won two state championships. I also received numerous awards and as a result, I was contacted by many different schools, some offering scholarships and others offering the opportunity to play Division 1. The latter was too good to pass up. After visiting Marshall University and speaking with the head coach, I knew this is where I was supposed to be.
I often look back and wonder what it was that drew me to Marshall. To be honest, soccer is the only reason I came here and well, that hasn't exactly flourished. I guess I could go into more details with that. I had aspirations of being the star, but coach never put me on the roster. I had dreams of being the leading goal scorer, but really, I was never given a chance. I wanted to have my jersey retired one day, but instead, I have bounced around from number to number, depending on who was injured. Ironically, the one thing that brought me to this school hasn't exactly worked out. There are a lot of other things that have happened, many of them illegal, and so I cannot post that sort of material on this site. Point being, however, soccer really wasn't all that I had hoped it would be.
Following each semester, players had individual meetings with the coaching staff. Mine always consisted of coach suggesting that I transfer and me simply just turning that talk into motivation. However, no matter how hard I worked, or how hard I tried, I felt as if I was invisible. And if you looked at the Marshall record books, I was invisible.
In the meantime, I was a part of Campus Crusade for Christ and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was growing daily in my walk with the LORD. But one day in particular struck me more than any other day. It was at the 2008 Campus Crusade Winter Conference and Chad Young was speaking on going to the "deepest, darkest parts of campus to share the love of Jesus." He suggested scenarios such as going to the the fraternities or the sororities, but for me, I knew that it was a call to go to my teammates and to the rest of the athletic teams on campus. For the first time, a vision was implanted in me and I knew that I had to go.
That spring, several of my teammates came to Christ. This was not because of my own doing but it was because the LORD was simply just answering prayers and allowing me to be a part of it. In addition to this, several football players, including a former roommate of mine, also made professions of faith. What a miraculous event all of this was! We were seeing the athletic department won to Christ!
A lot of times, people have stories of the past, but mine is still present. You may notice that we are now more than a year from that original event, but God is still leading people to Christ throughout the whole athletic department. In fact, we have seen our FCA grow from about 6-7 people my freshman year to more than 50 people this year! God really is at work.
However, over the past year, I have known that my main mission is to share Christ with my teammates and my coaches. My teammates were easy, as those that had come to faith were also assisting me in that mission. However, the coaching staff was a different story. I had tried to talk to the coaches, particularly the head coach, multiple times a year. But the more and more that I tried, the higher and higher the barricade went. Multiple times I was asked to leave his office or he simply just walked away as I was trying to share the love of Christ with him. But I knew that I had to keep trying. He was the last one on my mission.
I knew going into this spring that it would be my final semester on the team. The coaching staff had made that very clear and offered me the opportunity to quit right away, but I told them I didn't want to do that. After another semester of trials and hardship, I was finally given another opportunity to meet with the coaching staff, this being my final meeting.
When I was praying before my the meeting, I thought back to Esther 4:14 when Mordecai suggests that Esther was raised up for "such a times as this." Again, I often look back to my reasons for coming to Marshall and I knew that it felt so right. So could it be that I had come for such a time as this as well?
The meeting started and, as predicted, I was told that my career was done. But (prayers answered) he then asked if I had anything to add, which I did...
"Coach, looking back over the years, I haven't really moved anywhere on the depth chart. And each time that we have met, you have suggested transferring or quitting, but I have continued to ignore you. And so with that, I must be extremely stupid, or extremely determined..."
With that, he made his point as to why I appeared to be determined, shown by my motivation on the field. However, I responded...
"You see my motivation on a really shallow level. If you don't mind, I would like to introduce you to a deeper level of my life, and this is where my motivation lies. As you know, I am a member of FCA and am a follower of Christ, and the only reason that I have stuck around this long is because sports gives you a platform. With that platform, you are surrounded by 25-30 guys every day, a coaching staff, and a community that looks up to you. Now you can either use that platform to glorify yourself or you can use it to glorify something greater. And I use it to glorify Christ. You see it as me sticking around simply just to try to earn playing time. But I want you to know that the only reason that I have stuck around for so long, despite all the opposition, is to show my teammates the love of Christ, to show you all the love of Christ, and to show the community the love of Christ."
He responded a lot better than expected, "Todd, I have noticed that you have always been on a mission...And whether you know it or not, you really have had a great impact on the lives of your teammates, and, I say this humbly, you have made a great impact on my life as well..."
Much more took place in that meeting and much more was said, but that is a conversation that must be shared with you in person. However, I left that office feeling like I had accomplished something. I left with all weight removed from my chest. And I left without any regrets.
I came to Marshall with the goal of playing soccer, but God took that and literally made me one of "the least of these" (1 Cor. 1:27). From that position, He gave me the mission of proclaiming Christ to my teammates and to my coaching staff and for the first time in my life, I can finally say that I have completed that task. I don't say that boastfully because the majority of times in my life, I fail in carrying out the mission that God gives me. However in this situation, I can say that I have done it. And that does not mean that my ministry is done. Rather, the door has actually been opened to a lot more Gospel conversation with many individuals, including my coach.
If I can end on one final point, this is it. John Piper has written a book, "Don't Waste Your Life," and that theme has just really stuck with me ever since I read the book. It was the theme of FCA this year, it is a title of an often-played Lecrae song, and it also shows up on many of my shirts. But if we could scale that down a little bit, I would encourage you to not waste your day, or not waste your hour. In my situation, I knew that I had one last meeting with coach, and I don't know how I could have handled it if I had wasted it. I guess I did have a slight advantage knowing that it was my last one. But maybe you have an opportunity at school, or at work, or in the Kroger checkout line. You don't know what will happen tomorrow. Maybe this is your last encounter with this person. My prayer is that you won't look back on that situation one day with regrets, but rather you will look back praising God that He gave you that opportunity and you made the most of it. In this life, nothing else matters. If only we can just finish the course that God has set out for us. We have one life to live. Let's not waste it.
"But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."
Welcome to the Todd McClure story. Some of you may know these details and some of you may not. But I am going to fast-forward through my life to get to my main point. I have no intentions of dwelling on my past or even bringing attention to myself, but rather my goal is to show what the LORD has truly done in my life...
Growing up, soccer was my dream. I even remember coloring a picture in kindergarten and telling my teacher that it was my dream to play professional soccer. God and family were always a big part as well, but soccer was my passion.
In high school, I won two state championships. I also received numerous awards and as a result, I was contacted by many different schools, some offering scholarships and others offering the opportunity to play Division 1. The latter was too good to pass up. After visiting Marshall University and speaking with the head coach, I knew this is where I was supposed to be.
I often look back and wonder what it was that drew me to Marshall. To be honest, soccer is the only reason I came here and well, that hasn't exactly flourished. I guess I could go into more details with that. I had aspirations of being the star, but coach never put me on the roster. I had dreams of being the leading goal scorer, but really, I was never given a chance. I wanted to have my jersey retired one day, but instead, I have bounced around from number to number, depending on who was injured. Ironically, the one thing that brought me to this school hasn't exactly worked out. There are a lot of other things that have happened, many of them illegal, and so I cannot post that sort of material on this site. Point being, however, soccer really wasn't all that I had hoped it would be.
Following each semester, players had individual meetings with the coaching staff. Mine always consisted of coach suggesting that I transfer and me simply just turning that talk into motivation. However, no matter how hard I worked, or how hard I tried, I felt as if I was invisible. And if you looked at the Marshall record books, I was invisible.
In the meantime, I was a part of Campus Crusade for Christ and Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was growing daily in my walk with the LORD. But one day in particular struck me more than any other day. It was at the 2008 Campus Crusade Winter Conference and Chad Young was speaking on going to the "deepest, darkest parts of campus to share the love of Jesus." He suggested scenarios such as going to the the fraternities or the sororities, but for me, I knew that it was a call to go to my teammates and to the rest of the athletic teams on campus. For the first time, a vision was implanted in me and I knew that I had to go.
That spring, several of my teammates came to Christ. This was not because of my own doing but it was because the LORD was simply just answering prayers and allowing me to be a part of it. In addition to this, several football players, including a former roommate of mine, also made professions of faith. What a miraculous event all of this was! We were seeing the athletic department won to Christ!
A lot of times, people have stories of the past, but mine is still present. You may notice that we are now more than a year from that original event, but God is still leading people to Christ throughout the whole athletic department. In fact, we have seen our FCA grow from about 6-7 people my freshman year to more than 50 people this year! God really is at work.
However, over the past year, I have known that my main mission is to share Christ with my teammates and my coaches. My teammates were easy, as those that had come to faith were also assisting me in that mission. However, the coaching staff was a different story. I had tried to talk to the coaches, particularly the head coach, multiple times a year. But the more and more that I tried, the higher and higher the barricade went. Multiple times I was asked to leave his office or he simply just walked away as I was trying to share the love of Christ with him. But I knew that I had to keep trying. He was the last one on my mission.
I knew going into this spring that it would be my final semester on the team. The coaching staff had made that very clear and offered me the opportunity to quit right away, but I told them I didn't want to do that. After another semester of trials and hardship, I was finally given another opportunity to meet with the coaching staff, this being my final meeting.
When I was praying before my the meeting, I thought back to Esther 4:14 when Mordecai suggests that Esther was raised up for "such a times as this." Again, I often look back to my reasons for coming to Marshall and I knew that it felt so right. So could it be that I had come for such a time as this as well?
The meeting started and, as predicted, I was told that my career was done. But (prayers answered) he then asked if I had anything to add, which I did...
"Coach, looking back over the years, I haven't really moved anywhere on the depth chart. And each time that we have met, you have suggested transferring or quitting, but I have continued to ignore you. And so with that, I must be extremely stupid, or extremely determined..."
With that, he made his point as to why I appeared to be determined, shown by my motivation on the field. However, I responded...
"You see my motivation on a really shallow level. If you don't mind, I would like to introduce you to a deeper level of my life, and this is where my motivation lies. As you know, I am a member of FCA and am a follower of Christ, and the only reason that I have stuck around this long is because sports gives you a platform. With that platform, you are surrounded by 25-30 guys every day, a coaching staff, and a community that looks up to you. Now you can either use that platform to glorify yourself or you can use it to glorify something greater. And I use it to glorify Christ. You see it as me sticking around simply just to try to earn playing time. But I want you to know that the only reason that I have stuck around for so long, despite all the opposition, is to show my teammates the love of Christ, to show you all the love of Christ, and to show the community the love of Christ."
He responded a lot better than expected, "Todd, I have noticed that you have always been on a mission...And whether you know it or not, you really have had a great impact on the lives of your teammates, and, I say this humbly, you have made a great impact on my life as well..."
Much more took place in that meeting and much more was said, but that is a conversation that must be shared with you in person. However, I left that office feeling like I had accomplished something. I left with all weight removed from my chest. And I left without any regrets.
I came to Marshall with the goal of playing soccer, but God took that and literally made me one of "the least of these" (1 Cor. 1:27). From that position, He gave me the mission of proclaiming Christ to my teammates and to my coaching staff and for the first time in my life, I can finally say that I have completed that task. I don't say that boastfully because the majority of times in my life, I fail in carrying out the mission that God gives me. However in this situation, I can say that I have done it. And that does not mean that my ministry is done. Rather, the door has actually been opened to a lot more Gospel conversation with many individuals, including my coach.
If I can end on one final point, this is it. John Piper has written a book, "Don't Waste Your Life," and that theme has just really stuck with me ever since I read the book. It was the theme of FCA this year, it is a title of an often-played Lecrae song, and it also shows up on many of my shirts. But if we could scale that down a little bit, I would encourage you to not waste your day, or not waste your hour. In my situation, I knew that I had one last meeting with coach, and I don't know how I could have handled it if I had wasted it. I guess I did have a slight advantage knowing that it was my last one. But maybe you have an opportunity at school, or at work, or in the Kroger checkout line. You don't know what will happen tomorrow. Maybe this is your last encounter with this person. My prayer is that you won't look back on that situation one day with regrets, but rather you will look back praising God that He gave you that opportunity and you made the most of it. In this life, nothing else matters. If only we can just finish the course that God has set out for us. We have one life to live. Let's not waste it.
"But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Ministry of Reconciliation
Many of you may remember my post from awhile ago titled, "A Message of Love." It was all about how I was given a message from Colonel's mom to pass on to him. The message was, "I love you." Given such an incredible message to share, I couldn't wait to find him. I ended up passing on that message and I feel like so many doors were opened in my relationship with Colonel. Well this past Wednesday, another incredible event took place.
I saw Colonel on Tuesday night after coming home from FCA. Luke, Chris and I stood out by the dumpster and visited with him for a little bit. I shared with him that his mom had called me a couple of days ago to just ask how he was doing. I then asked him if he wanted to talk to her. He immediately responded yes. It was sort of too late to call at that time, so we planned to meet the following evening at 8:30 pm, sharp.
I walked out of my apartment at 8:29, and there was Colonel, leaning on his can-filled buggy, waiting for me. He complained that I was a minute late, but I explained that his watch was actually two minutes fast. We quickly got through that dispute and he asked, "Can I call my mom?" I grabbed my cell phone and dialed her number and it rang a few times before the answering machine picked up. I hung up and kept trying over and over for the next fifteen minutes until his mom finally answered the phone.
I then passed off the phone to Colonel and he got to talk to his mom for about 25 minutes, the first time they had talked in nearly 2 years. You could see the joy on his face! He asked her all about his sisters, and nieces, and cousins. He found out a lot about how everything back home had developed in the last 30 years and how he had kind of missed out on all of it. He got to tell his mom all about Huntington, WV and about the "scrap metal business that he runs". And with each exchange of words, you could see how welcomed he felt by his mom.
Afterward, Bobby (one of his partners) asked if he, too, could use my phone. He preceded in calling his uncle and talking to him for the first time in nearly two years as well. I have no idea how he remembered the phone number. But in both conversations you could see how delighted they were to get in touch with their family. Especially in Colonel's eyes, you could see how he went from a feeling of anxiousness and fear (not knowing how he would be accepted, or even if he would be accepted) to a feeling of love, knowing that he was accepted by his mom.
In the last blog post about this topic, I talked about how it reminded me of how God, also, has given us a message of love. He has given us the Gospel to take to all the nations. Well this night reminded me even more of it...
Before my eyes, I witnessed two men who were being reconciled to their family. They had left under harsh circumstances and hadn't talked to their families in many years (Colonel hasn't seen his mom in over 30 years). They were once extremely close, yet now they have been separated from their family. But we were given the opportunity to reconcile them.
The same is also true with God. In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Paul writes of how we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. He writes in verse 16 that we are to "regard no one from a wordly point of view," but rather we are to see everyone as Christ sees them. I think often of how we are so moved by seeing the reconciliation of families, but rarely are we moved when we see a sinner reconciled to Christ. We are moved by the fact that Colonel has been reconciled to his mom, but in reality, it doesn't matter unless he also becomes reconciled to Christ (which is a daily prayer from his mom).
I share this post for three reasons:
1) I wanted to update you on what has happened in that story. It truly has been incredible to witness. And please understand that it is nothing by my own doing, but rather, it is God at work. So give Him all the glory!
2) I want you to pray for him. Pray for his reconciliation to the true Father. Join his mother in praying for him daily.
3) I want you to think about how you can reconcile others to God. You have been given the ministry of reconciliation. And when I saw how welcoming Colonel's mom was, I couldn't help but think about how much greater the welcome from God will be (just read the story of the prodigal son).
Maybe it is you who needs to be reconciled to God. Maybe you are the one who has left God and are now digging in the "trash" of this world. If so, please get in touch with me. I would love to talk more with you about how to get things right with God. Or even if you don't need my words, please just let me know how I can pray for you. God is waiting patiently for you to come home, ready to welcome you with open arms.
I want to leave you with the final verse of the 2 Corinthians passage to just meditate on for a little while. It truly is incredible:
"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
I saw Colonel on Tuesday night after coming home from FCA. Luke, Chris and I stood out by the dumpster and visited with him for a little bit. I shared with him that his mom had called me a couple of days ago to just ask how he was doing. I then asked him if he wanted to talk to her. He immediately responded yes. It was sort of too late to call at that time, so we planned to meet the following evening at 8:30 pm, sharp.
I walked out of my apartment at 8:29, and there was Colonel, leaning on his can-filled buggy, waiting for me. He complained that I was a minute late, but I explained that his watch was actually two minutes fast. We quickly got through that dispute and he asked, "Can I call my mom?" I grabbed my cell phone and dialed her number and it rang a few times before the answering machine picked up. I hung up and kept trying over and over for the next fifteen minutes until his mom finally answered the phone.
I then passed off the phone to Colonel and he got to talk to his mom for about 25 minutes, the first time they had talked in nearly 2 years. You could see the joy on his face! He asked her all about his sisters, and nieces, and cousins. He found out a lot about how everything back home had developed in the last 30 years and how he had kind of missed out on all of it. He got to tell his mom all about Huntington, WV and about the "scrap metal business that he runs". And with each exchange of words, you could see how welcomed he felt by his mom.
Afterward, Bobby (one of his partners) asked if he, too, could use my phone. He preceded in calling his uncle and talking to him for the first time in nearly two years as well. I have no idea how he remembered the phone number. But in both conversations you could see how delighted they were to get in touch with their family. Especially in Colonel's eyes, you could see how he went from a feeling of anxiousness and fear (not knowing how he would be accepted, or even if he would be accepted) to a feeling of love, knowing that he was accepted by his mom.
In the last blog post about this topic, I talked about how it reminded me of how God, also, has given us a message of love. He has given us the Gospel to take to all the nations. Well this night reminded me even more of it...
Before my eyes, I witnessed two men who were being reconciled to their family. They had left under harsh circumstances and hadn't talked to their families in many years (Colonel hasn't seen his mom in over 30 years). They were once extremely close, yet now they have been separated from their family. But we were given the opportunity to reconcile them.
The same is also true with God. In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Paul writes of how we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. He writes in verse 16 that we are to "regard no one from a wordly point of view," but rather we are to see everyone as Christ sees them. I think often of how we are so moved by seeing the reconciliation of families, but rarely are we moved when we see a sinner reconciled to Christ. We are moved by the fact that Colonel has been reconciled to his mom, but in reality, it doesn't matter unless he also becomes reconciled to Christ (which is a daily prayer from his mom).
I share this post for three reasons:
1) I wanted to update you on what has happened in that story. It truly has been incredible to witness. And please understand that it is nothing by my own doing, but rather, it is God at work. So give Him all the glory!
2) I want you to pray for him. Pray for his reconciliation to the true Father. Join his mother in praying for him daily.
3) I want you to think about how you can reconcile others to God. You have been given the ministry of reconciliation. And when I saw how welcoming Colonel's mom was, I couldn't help but think about how much greater the welcome from God will be (just read the story of the prodigal son).
Maybe it is you who needs to be reconciled to God. Maybe you are the one who has left God and are now digging in the "trash" of this world. If so, please get in touch with me. I would love to talk more with you about how to get things right with God. Or even if you don't need my words, please just let me know how I can pray for you. God is waiting patiently for you to come home, ready to welcome you with open arms.
I want to leave you with the final verse of the 2 Corinthians passage to just meditate on for a little while. It truly is incredible:
"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Don't Be Normal
In the first paragraph of the final chapter of the book, "Forgotten God" (which I highly recommend), Francis Chan writes:
"My hope and prayer for you, the reader, is that church people don't try to normalize you. What I mean is that we often try to calm people down who are just too passionate or too sacrificial and radical..."
Possibly, a situation is already coming to mind. Maybe you were the one living passionately and your church tried to calm you down, or even worse, they did calm you down. Or maybe you were on the other side of the situation, and you were the one trying to calm someone else down. This is quite a contradiction to the early church (found in Acts 4). Peter and John were living radical lives and were preaching with boldness, even under arrest. Those around them were astonished because they could see so much of Jesus in their lives (4:13). Right after their release, they returned to the other believers and prayed for even more boldness (4:29), and the church joined them in that. THE CHURCH JOINED THEM IN PRAYER. THEY DID NOT TRY TO CALM THEM DOWN!
What is going on with the church today? I have had several experiences where I have stepped out of my comfort zone and tried to live passionately and some church people have tried to pull me back. Thankfully I also have a lot that are encouraging me to press forward and are promising to pray for me. But I can't help but to think of those who try to pull me back or calm me down. I have also seen this happen with many other people. How dare we try to destroy the passion that God has given them! Who are we? What authority do we have?
The most common excuse that people give is that you need to start thinking about your future. But what about those who don't have a future? What about those in Cambodia who will die of starvation unless we help them? What about the orphans of Haiti who aren't even old enough to fend for themselves? What about the young girls in Poland who will be sold into prostitution? Or what about the little boys in India who will be forced into child trafficking? Or let us not forget about the homeless in the very streets of America who aren't even promised a meal tomorrow. Who will offer them a future? Who will fight for their rights? Who will give up their future so that others can have one?
I know a few people who barely live above the poverty rate, yet they still give everything they have to the poor. Some declare them to be irresponsible with the gifts that God has given them. But why do you think that God has given them those gifts? To buy a new TV? To get a new car? If you are one who lives this way, keep doing it! Don't let the church normalize you. Be like the widow, in Luke 21, who gave all that she had. Your money has been given to you for that very purpose: to give to others. If we were to go back to the model of that first church, we would see that everyone shared everything they owned (Acts 4:32). Live this way! Live radically!
A personal one that struck me the hardest was this, "Why risk your life in going overseas? Can't we just let the locals do that?" Do you realize that there are still 6,642 unreached people groups in the world that have practically zero access to the Gospel!? What local is going to tell them? Most of those countries won't even permit a Bible in their country, nor will they allow you to view any Christian material online. The only way to get the Gospel to them is to take it to them yourself. And if I may backtrack a bit, what sort of message would it be if we simply just sent a message to them and weren't even bold enough to show our faces. Is the Gospel not worth it? Personally, I would gladly die for just one unreached person to hear the Gospel for the first time.
And this last one is probably the most pathetic: "You are making us look bad." Well who's fault is that? I once heard someone say, "I want to live a life the makes other Christians feel intimidated." Oh, how I love that statement! I don't think that person meant that his goal was to simply intimidate others, but rather his goal was to magnify Christ so much in his life that others would feel convicted and be urged on to do the same. So what if you suffer persecution? So what if you sometimes you are the only one standing? So what if you are mocked? I want to be like David who responded to critics in 2 Samuel 6 that one day he would be "even more undignified than this."
Have you ever performed on stage before? If so, you may remember what it is like to have the spotlight on you. You have no idea whether that theater is empty or full, because all that you can see is the spotlight. Well the goal of my life is to live in the spotlight. By that statement, I don't mean that I want others to see me (that would be the perspective of the audience). But rather, I want to be so focused on that spotlight that I can't see anything else (the perspective of the performer). I want to be so focused on God and so passionate about living for His glory, that I wouldn't even see what the rest of the world is doing.
I wish I was a better writer, or that I could convey this message better. But it is what it is. My prayer is that this message would connect with you where ever you are. If God has given you a passion, run with it! Never let the flame die! Surround yourself with people who will support you in prayer and in whatever other means you need support in. Live a life that is radical. Live a life that is passionate. Be who God has called you to be. And lastly, don't be normal.
"My hope and prayer for you, the reader, is that church people don't try to normalize you. What I mean is that we often try to calm people down who are just too passionate or too sacrificial and radical..."
Possibly, a situation is already coming to mind. Maybe you were the one living passionately and your church tried to calm you down, or even worse, they did calm you down. Or maybe you were on the other side of the situation, and you were the one trying to calm someone else down. This is quite a contradiction to the early church (found in Acts 4). Peter and John were living radical lives and were preaching with boldness, even under arrest. Those around them were astonished because they could see so much of Jesus in their lives (4:13). Right after their release, they returned to the other believers and prayed for even more boldness (4:29), and the church joined them in that. THE CHURCH JOINED THEM IN PRAYER. THEY DID NOT TRY TO CALM THEM DOWN!
What is going on with the church today? I have had several experiences where I have stepped out of my comfort zone and tried to live passionately and some church people have tried to pull me back. Thankfully I also have a lot that are encouraging me to press forward and are promising to pray for me. But I can't help but to think of those who try to pull me back or calm me down. I have also seen this happen with many other people. How dare we try to destroy the passion that God has given them! Who are we? What authority do we have?
The most common excuse that people give is that you need to start thinking about your future. But what about those who don't have a future? What about those in Cambodia who will die of starvation unless we help them? What about the orphans of Haiti who aren't even old enough to fend for themselves? What about the young girls in Poland who will be sold into prostitution? Or what about the little boys in India who will be forced into child trafficking? Or let us not forget about the homeless in the very streets of America who aren't even promised a meal tomorrow. Who will offer them a future? Who will fight for their rights? Who will give up their future so that others can have one?
I know a few people who barely live above the poverty rate, yet they still give everything they have to the poor. Some declare them to be irresponsible with the gifts that God has given them. But why do you think that God has given them those gifts? To buy a new TV? To get a new car? If you are one who lives this way, keep doing it! Don't let the church normalize you. Be like the widow, in Luke 21, who gave all that she had. Your money has been given to you for that very purpose: to give to others. If we were to go back to the model of that first church, we would see that everyone shared everything they owned (Acts 4:32). Live this way! Live radically!
A personal one that struck me the hardest was this, "Why risk your life in going overseas? Can't we just let the locals do that?" Do you realize that there are still 6,642 unreached people groups in the world that have practically zero access to the Gospel!? What local is going to tell them? Most of those countries won't even permit a Bible in their country, nor will they allow you to view any Christian material online. The only way to get the Gospel to them is to take it to them yourself. And if I may backtrack a bit, what sort of message would it be if we simply just sent a message to them and weren't even bold enough to show our faces. Is the Gospel not worth it? Personally, I would gladly die for just one unreached person to hear the Gospel for the first time.
And this last one is probably the most pathetic: "You are making us look bad." Well who's fault is that? I once heard someone say, "I want to live a life the makes other Christians feel intimidated." Oh, how I love that statement! I don't think that person meant that his goal was to simply intimidate others, but rather his goal was to magnify Christ so much in his life that others would feel convicted and be urged on to do the same. So what if you suffer persecution? So what if you sometimes you are the only one standing? So what if you are mocked? I want to be like David who responded to critics in 2 Samuel 6 that one day he would be "even more undignified than this."
Have you ever performed on stage before? If so, you may remember what it is like to have the spotlight on you. You have no idea whether that theater is empty or full, because all that you can see is the spotlight. Well the goal of my life is to live in the spotlight. By that statement, I don't mean that I want others to see me (that would be the perspective of the audience). But rather, I want to be so focused on that spotlight that I can't see anything else (the perspective of the performer). I want to be so focused on God and so passionate about living for His glory, that I wouldn't even see what the rest of the world is doing.
I wish I was a better writer, or that I could convey this message better. But it is what it is. My prayer is that this message would connect with you where ever you are. If God has given you a passion, run with it! Never let the flame die! Surround yourself with people who will support you in prayer and in whatever other means you need support in. Live a life that is radical. Live a life that is passionate. Be who God has called you to be. And lastly, don't be normal.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Who Am I?
Who am I? That is a question that has been on my mind a lot lately. This question is not centered around my purpose or my future. I know that God already has those things taken care of. But in this big story that He is writing, who am I?
When I look at the world today, and I am sure that it has always been this way, people care so much about their image. They care about their outward appearance. They care about their financial status. They care about their athletic/musical/artistic reputation. They care so much about how the rest of the world perceives them, but in the big story of God, who are they? Who am I?
I think back over my past and I can recall sin after sin after sin. I could probably tell you of how I have broken every one of the Ten Commandments in just the past week alone. The first part of Isaiah 64:6 summarizes my life when it says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." When you study the original language of this passage, you find that by "filthy rags", Isaiah is literally meaning "menstrual cloths". And some people think that we can get to Heaven by works alone? What are you planning on giving God? Your menstrual cloths?
Or let's think about it this way. If we were to number our sins each day, I am sure that we would all be in the double, triple, or even quadruple digits. But for easy math sake, let's say that we sin only 3 times a day. That's pretty good, huh? Well if I could use myself as an example, I am 21 years old. Let's multiply 3 times the total number of days I have been alive.
3 x 365 (days in a year) = 1095 sins in one year
1095 x 21 (years old) = 22,995 sins by my 21st birthday
I will exclude all the days since my birthday. Imagine now that you died tonight and you were standing before God and He asked, "Why should I let you into Heaven?" Can you imagine handing God that sort of resume? What would you expect Him to say? I would absolutely dread each day of my life if I knew that my salvation rested upon my works.
I say that last sentence as if it doesn't apply to me because, well, it doesn't apply to me. My salvation is NOT based off of works, it is based off of grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "By GRACE you have been saved through faith, it is a gift of God, not by works..." By grace, God provided His Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins. It was as if Jesus met me in Heaven with my resume and claimed it as His own. And then He gave me His, which was a completely clean, sinless list. It was a gift from God that was so undeserved.
But just like any gift, you are not forced to receive it. In fact, you have to make a decision as to whether you want that gift or not. Do you want grace or do you want to take your chances? Do you want Jesus or do you want your resume? Which do you think God will accept?
I have somewhat gone off on a tangent, but I will come back to where I started. In light of all that has just been said, who am I? Who am I to stand before my Savior and think that I am anybody? Who am I to stand before the Creator of the universe and think that I am anybody? Who am I to stand before the all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal God and think that I am anybody? My righteousness is like filthy rags.
For some reason, God has chosen to make me His son (Romans 8:12-17). He has chosen to give me salvation (John 3:16). He has chosen to give me His Spirit (John 14:16-19). And all of this is so amazing to me because who am I? Who am I that God would look down upon me and send His only Son to die for me? Who am I?
Really, based on my outward appearance, and my financial status, and my athletic/musical/artistic reputation, I have nothing to offer you. I have nothing to offer the world. I am just a sinner saved by grace. I have failed at every area of my life, but God has still given me salvation. And in that, I have everything to offer. I have faith, I have hope, and I have love. I have been given the Gospel (literally, "Good news") of Jesus Christ, and that is what holds me together (Colossians 1:17). As I have pondered the question of who I am, I have found my answer in Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:7 says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." What a beautiful description of who we really are. We are all jars of clay. Some jars are older than others. Some jars are more broken than others. But in reality, there is no value in any of us. But there is a treasure in some that gives it infinite value. And there is enough treasure to spread to every other jar, to every other soul on this earth.
When I travel the globe to share the Gospel, or when I stand before my church, or when I share my life with anyone, it is not because I see myself as valuable. It is because I see what I have as valuable. I have been given a treasure from the living God, and this treasure brings salvation. I could care less about my image. I could care less about my reputation. If only you could see past this jar and see the real treasure...
When I look at the world today, and I am sure that it has always been this way, people care so much about their image. They care about their outward appearance. They care about their financial status. They care about their athletic/musical/artistic reputation. They care so much about how the rest of the world perceives them, but in the big story of God, who are they? Who am I?
I think back over my past and I can recall sin after sin after sin. I could probably tell you of how I have broken every one of the Ten Commandments in just the past week alone. The first part of Isaiah 64:6 summarizes my life when it says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." When you study the original language of this passage, you find that by "filthy rags", Isaiah is literally meaning "menstrual cloths". And some people think that we can get to Heaven by works alone? What are you planning on giving God? Your menstrual cloths?
Or let's think about it this way. If we were to number our sins each day, I am sure that we would all be in the double, triple, or even quadruple digits. But for easy math sake, let's say that we sin only 3 times a day. That's pretty good, huh? Well if I could use myself as an example, I am 21 years old. Let's multiply 3 times the total number of days I have been alive.
3 x 365 (days in a year) = 1095 sins in one year
1095 x 21 (years old) = 22,995 sins by my 21st birthday
I will exclude all the days since my birthday. Imagine now that you died tonight and you were standing before God and He asked, "Why should I let you into Heaven?" Can you imagine handing God that sort of resume? What would you expect Him to say? I would absolutely dread each day of my life if I knew that my salvation rested upon my works.
I say that last sentence as if it doesn't apply to me because, well, it doesn't apply to me. My salvation is NOT based off of works, it is based off of grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "By GRACE you have been saved through faith, it is a gift of God, not by works..." By grace, God provided His Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins. It was as if Jesus met me in Heaven with my resume and claimed it as His own. And then He gave me His, which was a completely clean, sinless list. It was a gift from God that was so undeserved.
But just like any gift, you are not forced to receive it. In fact, you have to make a decision as to whether you want that gift or not. Do you want grace or do you want to take your chances? Do you want Jesus or do you want your resume? Which do you think God will accept?
I have somewhat gone off on a tangent, but I will come back to where I started. In light of all that has just been said, who am I? Who am I to stand before my Savior and think that I am anybody? Who am I to stand before the Creator of the universe and think that I am anybody? Who am I to stand before the all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal God and think that I am anybody? My righteousness is like filthy rags.
For some reason, God has chosen to make me His son (Romans 8:12-17). He has chosen to give me salvation (John 3:16). He has chosen to give me His Spirit (John 14:16-19). And all of this is so amazing to me because who am I? Who am I that God would look down upon me and send His only Son to die for me? Who am I?
Really, based on my outward appearance, and my financial status, and my athletic/musical/artistic reputation, I have nothing to offer you. I have nothing to offer the world. I am just a sinner saved by grace. I have failed at every area of my life, but God has still given me salvation. And in that, I have everything to offer. I have faith, I have hope, and I have love. I have been given the Gospel (literally, "Good news") of Jesus Christ, and that is what holds me together (Colossians 1:17). As I have pondered the question of who I am, I have found my answer in Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:7 says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." What a beautiful description of who we really are. We are all jars of clay. Some jars are older than others. Some jars are more broken than others. But in reality, there is no value in any of us. But there is a treasure in some that gives it infinite value. And there is enough treasure to spread to every other jar, to every other soul on this earth.
When I travel the globe to share the Gospel, or when I stand before my church, or when I share my life with anyone, it is not because I see myself as valuable. It is because I see what I have as valuable. I have been given a treasure from the living God, and this treasure brings salvation. I could care less about my image. I could care less about my reputation. If only you could see past this jar and see the real treasure...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Prayer Causes Things to Happen
Have you ever thought about what prayer really is? I mean, I think a lot of us realize that it is a means of talking to God. But why was it given to us? And why did Jesus pray? If Jesus was God, why did he have to pray? What is so special that Jesus spent hours upon hours in prayer (Matthew 26:39, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, John 17, Luke 22:44)?
This whole idea of prayer is something that has been working on me a lot over the past year. All throughout the Bible, we see such a heavy emphasis on prayer, but why is it so absent from the Christian body today? Why is it that we have resorted to repetitive, thoughtless prayers before dinner? Why is it that we struggle to stay awake when praying before bedtime? Why is it that we simply just throw up one or two sentences when someone asks us to pray for them? Jacob wrestled with God and said, "I will not let go until you bless me" (Genesis 32:26). When is the last time you said that to God? When is the last time that you wrestled in prayer?
When doing research on prayer, I have discovered a lot of why's, when's, and how to's. But I will leave out all of that research right now and challenge you to do that on your own. But I do want to bring up one reason for praying that I see as extremely important and often overlooked:
I have been studying Systematic Theology and have recently reached the point of studying the attributes of God. One attribute of God is that He is unchanging. If you need evidence of this, check out Psalm 102:25-27, Malachi 3:6, and James 1:17.
However, there are instances where it appears that God changes His mind. In Exodus 32:9-14, He withdraws His threatening judgment to the Israelites after Moses successfully intervenes through prayer. In Isaiah 38:1-6, God states that Hezekiah will die, but then He adds fifteen years to his life after Hezekiah pleads with Him in prayer. In Jonah 3, God states His plan to destroy Nineveh (vs. 4), but He relents after they repent and plead in prayer (vs. 10).
So what is my point here? My point is that God's attribute of being unchanging is an attribute of character, not an attribute of intention. In these times where He relented, His character did not change, only His intentions did. God stated that He would send judgment, and that was a true statement, provided that the situation remained the same. But with the intercession of prayer (Moses and Hezekiah) and the repentance (Nineveh), the situation changed, and therefore God's intentions also changed.
Hopefully I haven't lost you in my train of thought. But if I have, come back in for my conclusion:
God obviously responds to prayer. This was just evidenced in the passages above and is referenced all throughout scripture (ex. 2 Chronicles 7:14). And though it is not possible to change the character of God, nor is it possible to change the overall intentions of God, it is possible to change the present intentions of God through prayer. In fact, that is why prayer has been given to us. Prayer has been ordained to cause things to happen that would not normally happen if it wasn't for prayer. Why else would Jesus pray? Why else would He teach so much about it?
Some may wrestle over this fact because they may think it calls into question the sovereignty of God. Easy solution to that objection: maybe God has appointed the blessings to occur only if and when you pray for them.
So what generated this blog post? As you all know, recently, a major earthquake struck Chile. As a result, large tsunami waves were generated throughout the Pacific Ocean and were on route to destroy many other nations. I received a text message Saturday afternoon, asking me to pray for Hawaii, as they were supposed to be the first ones to get hit. According to news reports, waves up to 15 feet were supposed to destroy the shores of Hawaii, and it was past "Tsunami Watch" and was already declared "Tsunami Warning". What were we to do? It was at that time that myself and many others joined corporately in prayer. My specific request was that the Tsunami would miss Hawaii, if that even be possible. Several hours later, the headline read, "Hawaii Tsunami Warning Cancelled". What an incredible answer to prayer!
However, the storm was not done. It was headed to Japan and the same sort of damage was expected. Again, I called a few of my friends and asked them to join me in prayer for Japan. We specifically prayed that the storm would die out before reaching shore, recognizing that it would be impossible for it to just simply miss Japan without hitting another area. Sunday morning I woke up to read the headline,
"Japan Breathes Sigh of Relief as Tsunami Passes". I read more of the article and the expected 10 foot waves came in at only 4 inches! This was another incredible answer to prayer!
I am sure that many of you are reading this post and are pretty skeptical about the result of our prayers for the tsunami. In fact, I am sure that you are skeptical about prayers in general. A lot of people have resorted to the idea of "whatever happens, happens" or "whether I pray or not, it is still going to happen." My response to you: I will pray for you.
However, if you are skeptical, go back and watch some of the newscasts on CNN and other networks (they still exist on Youtube). They were declaring definite states of emergency in each of the areas that were supposed to be hit. People were evacuating, buildings were closing, the storm was getting bigger...yet it never hit. When studying the storm itself, it seems to deny all scientific reason that the storm never hit Hawaii, or Japan, or New Zealand, or Russia. It goes against all probabilities. It is a miracle!...literally.
Again, Prayer causes things to happen that would not happen if it wasn't for prayer. This revelation about the power of prayer has radically changed my life. I can't wait to get to Heaven and see the results of all of our prayers. Prayer is powerful and effective if used for the intent of which it was given to you. In faith, prayer moves the Arm that moves the world. Just think what this world would be like if all Christians would pray in this way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krzwmhDMvv8
Don't take my word for it. Study the Scriptures to see the power of prayer in Bible times. Apply it to your life to see the power of prayer today. Determine for yourself what the purpose of prayer really is. But in all these things, just pray!
This whole idea of prayer is something that has been working on me a lot over the past year. All throughout the Bible, we see such a heavy emphasis on prayer, but why is it so absent from the Christian body today? Why is it that we have resorted to repetitive, thoughtless prayers before dinner? Why is it that we struggle to stay awake when praying before bedtime? Why is it that we simply just throw up one or two sentences when someone asks us to pray for them? Jacob wrestled with God and said, "I will not let go until you bless me" (Genesis 32:26). When is the last time you said that to God? When is the last time that you wrestled in prayer?
When doing research on prayer, I have discovered a lot of why's, when's, and how to's. But I will leave out all of that research right now and challenge you to do that on your own. But I do want to bring up one reason for praying that I see as extremely important and often overlooked:
I have been studying Systematic Theology and have recently reached the point of studying the attributes of God. One attribute of God is that He is unchanging. If you need evidence of this, check out Psalm 102:25-27, Malachi 3:6, and James 1:17.
However, there are instances where it appears that God changes His mind. In Exodus 32:9-14, He withdraws His threatening judgment to the Israelites after Moses successfully intervenes through prayer. In Isaiah 38:1-6, God states that Hezekiah will die, but then He adds fifteen years to his life after Hezekiah pleads with Him in prayer. In Jonah 3, God states His plan to destroy Nineveh (vs. 4), but He relents after they repent and plead in prayer (vs. 10).
So what is my point here? My point is that God's attribute of being unchanging is an attribute of character, not an attribute of intention. In these times where He relented, His character did not change, only His intentions did. God stated that He would send judgment, and that was a true statement, provided that the situation remained the same. But with the intercession of prayer (Moses and Hezekiah) and the repentance (Nineveh), the situation changed, and therefore God's intentions also changed.
Hopefully I haven't lost you in my train of thought. But if I have, come back in for my conclusion:
God obviously responds to prayer. This was just evidenced in the passages above and is referenced all throughout scripture (ex. 2 Chronicles 7:14). And though it is not possible to change the character of God, nor is it possible to change the overall intentions of God, it is possible to change the present intentions of God through prayer. In fact, that is why prayer has been given to us. Prayer has been ordained to cause things to happen that would not normally happen if it wasn't for prayer. Why else would Jesus pray? Why else would He teach so much about it?
Some may wrestle over this fact because they may think it calls into question the sovereignty of God. Easy solution to that objection: maybe God has appointed the blessings to occur only if and when you pray for them.
So what generated this blog post? As you all know, recently, a major earthquake struck Chile. As a result, large tsunami waves were generated throughout the Pacific Ocean and were on route to destroy many other nations. I received a text message Saturday afternoon, asking me to pray for Hawaii, as they were supposed to be the first ones to get hit. According to news reports, waves up to 15 feet were supposed to destroy the shores of Hawaii, and it was past "Tsunami Watch" and was already declared "Tsunami Warning". What were we to do? It was at that time that myself and many others joined corporately in prayer. My specific request was that the Tsunami would miss Hawaii, if that even be possible. Several hours later, the headline read, "Hawaii Tsunami Warning Cancelled". What an incredible answer to prayer!
However, the storm was not done. It was headed to Japan and the same sort of damage was expected. Again, I called a few of my friends and asked them to join me in prayer for Japan. We specifically prayed that the storm would die out before reaching shore, recognizing that it would be impossible for it to just simply miss Japan without hitting another area. Sunday morning I woke up to read the headline,
"Japan Breathes Sigh of Relief as Tsunami Passes". I read more of the article and the expected 10 foot waves came in at only 4 inches! This was another incredible answer to prayer!
I am sure that many of you are reading this post and are pretty skeptical about the result of our prayers for the tsunami. In fact, I am sure that you are skeptical about prayers in general. A lot of people have resorted to the idea of "whatever happens, happens" or "whether I pray or not, it is still going to happen." My response to you: I will pray for you.
However, if you are skeptical, go back and watch some of the newscasts on CNN and other networks (they still exist on Youtube). They were declaring definite states of emergency in each of the areas that were supposed to be hit. People were evacuating, buildings were closing, the storm was getting bigger...yet it never hit. When studying the storm itself, it seems to deny all scientific reason that the storm never hit Hawaii, or Japan, or New Zealand, or Russia. It goes against all probabilities. It is a miracle!...literally.
Again, Prayer causes things to happen that would not happen if it wasn't for prayer. This revelation about the power of prayer has radically changed my life. I can't wait to get to Heaven and see the results of all of our prayers. Prayer is powerful and effective if used for the intent of which it was given to you. In faith, prayer moves the Arm that moves the world. Just think what this world would be like if all Christians would pray in this way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krzwmhDMvv8
Don't take my word for it. Study the Scriptures to see the power of prayer in Bible times. Apply it to your life to see the power of prayer today. Determine for yourself what the purpose of prayer really is. But in all these things, just pray!
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