One Day at a Time

I remember my mother putting a bumper sticker on her car whenI was a kid that said “One Day at a Time.” Of course this is one of the popular slogans of AlcoholicsAnonymous.  At the time, I didn't reallythink of it as anything helpful for my own life, but I could see it washelpful for her.  It wasn't until later that I realized the slogan came from the words of Jesus in Matthew6:34 when he says “don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry aboutitself.”  

In other words, one day at a time.

Jesus was talking about battling worry, but hiswords can be used to battle just about any human frailty.  It’s really hard to defeat a struggle whenyou think of having to defeat it every single day, all the time, for the restof your life.  It’s a big relief to realize that you don’t have to beat your struggles everyday.  You just have to beat them this day.

So try it.  Strugglingin a particular area?  Add Jesus’ wordsto your arsenal against that struggle.  Only pray that God will carry you through yourstruggle this day.  You will see, like so many others, thattaking things one day at a time is the way to go.

The one thing you need to get right

I was at the Catalyst conference the other week, and this guy named Jon Tyson said this remarkable thing. It has stuck with me for days; I can’t get it out of my head. He said, “If you only get one thing right, get prayer right.”
Love that. It’s the kind of thing I would expect Jesus to say. Like this fictitious conversation:

“So, do you mean Jesus, that I should care less about my weight and more about prayer?” “Yes”, he says. “I don’t really care too much for skinny jeans.” “Do you mean I should care less about whether or not I got my 30 minutes on the elliptical in today?” “Umm, also yes.” “But I am really worried about my work. I haven’t finished everything that I need to get done this week. Still Prayer?” “Yes, still prayer. I want to ease your burdens.” “But what about my family, Jesus? I thought you always say that family should come first. Does prayer trump family?” “Silly question," he says. “Prayer will only help your family. Get prayer right.”

When we get prayer right, so many pieces of our lives start to fall into place. Worry, doubt, fear…all seem to wash away. Issues that seemed so burning a moment ago…not so much after prayer.

Jesus becomes clearer with prayer.

God becomes closer through prayer.

Needs become blessings by prayer.

Life becomes meaningful with prayer.

Worry becomes worship by prayer.

Try it out. Find a quiet place. Pour your heart out to God. Breathe him in. Feel the therapy of prayer.

Get prayer right.

There are no words

I was wondering what we would say when we met Matthew’s mother. (Matthew is our just adopted child.) We had a list of questions that we wanted to inquire about. What was Matthew’s father like before he passed away? What did she do for work? How was her health? It occurred to me sometime during the 6 hour drive into the Ethiopian countryside that it probably didn’t matter what words came out of our mouths. After all, I didn’t want our one-time encounter to feel like some kind of awkward job interview. Instead I realized that what Matthew’s mother needed was beyond words. I wanted her to know how deeply we respected her. I wanted her to know how honored we felt to raise her child. And I wanted her to be able to ask us any questions that she had about us.

Her name was Marta, and she was a small, pretty woman on whom life had obviously taken its toll. She wore a lime green shawl over a purple dress, undoubtedly her best outfit. She had no shoes. We sat down with her in a small room with two translators (Walatina to Amharic to English and then back again). I took her hand and bowed my head to show respect. She bowed lower, so I bowed lower. She bowed lower still. I found myself unable to outdo her courtesy. The conversation started out uncomfortably quiet. No one really knew what to say. My wife suggested we give her the photo album we prepared for her. We were told to include pictures of our family, our home, and some pictures of us with Matthew. She started flipping through the pictures and at first she was unmoved. But when she saw her son Matthew she burst into tears. She began to kiss every picture of him. Her tears were contagious. Unexpectedly, hers were tears of joy. She told us that the last time she saw her son, he was very frail and had yellow hair from malnutrition. In the pictures he was smiling and healthy. She was overjoyed. She began to bless us profusely. “God Bless you,” she said and, “to God be the glory.”

Eventually she asked us some questions, and one thing she wanted to know was if we were “Protestant Christians.” This was surprising since most Ethiopians are either Orthodox or Muslim. She rightfully wanted to know how her son would be raised. She was assured to know that we were of the same faith. (Although I hope I didn’t scare her by adding that I was actually a pastor in such a church.) She blessed us some more. She said “God bless your journey home” and “may you be safe.”

The whole encounter was beautiful beyond words. We saw yet another glimpse of God’s glory. Our perspective had changed once again. We began to wonder if our response to adoption was simply God answering the prayer of this Christian widow on behalf of her son. He is so gracious and so loving that it seemed likely to be so.

Why we pray "in Jesus name"

One of the side effects of being a pastor is that people look at you as a professional at prayer. You get paid to pray, so that makes you a pro. Last night I was playing ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of awesome young adults, and as we gathered around at the end, sure enough, they asked me to pray.

I always pray “in Jesus name,” as the Bible says we should come to the Father through the Son. But sometimes, if I’m completely honest, I say those words in a rote way. I tack them on the end of a prayer the way a political commercial tacks on the endorsement message. “This message is brought to you by the people (who for some reason) supported Ross Perot.”

But in a way, we don’t really even have to say the words if we mean them in our hearts. Coming in the name of someone simply implies the source of your authority. If I come in the name of the President of the United States, you know who sent me and what kind of authority I have. The name I come in also tells you my motivation. If I come in the name of peace, you know I mean you no harm. If I tell you to “Stop…in the name of love,” you know that I am just about to “break your heart.”

So as we come before the Father, the name that we invoke—first in our hearts and then on our lips, is Jesus. He is the one that gives us access to the throne. He is the one that motivates us to pray. He is the one who bought us at a high price. And through him we are guaranteed an audience with the one who made us.

So the next time you pray, try mixing it up. Try beginning your prayer in Jesus name. Use different wordings so that it doesn’t become a ritual. But most of all, let the words permeate your prayer in a way that has God sit up and take notice. Because he most certainly will.

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What's wrong with the sinner's prayer?

I first heard of the so-called “sinner’s prayer” when I was just a kid. Someone said I needed to ask Jesus into my heart, and so I did. I meant every word, and it stuck. However, countless amounts of people through the years have been told the same thing…but it doesn’t seem to always…stick.

You know what I mean.

The prayer formula goes something like this: “Dear Lord, I confess that I am a sinner. I ask forgiveness for all of my sins. I ask that Jesus would come into my heart and take those sins away. Fill me with your Holy Spirit…Amen.”

There are many varieties, but that is the gist of it.

The problem with the prayer is that it is not always from the heart. Since it is often repeated or said in a group, the person repeating it doesn’t have to mean it. They may be feeling no different than the way Jack felt when he acquired a handful of magic beans.

But there is a bigger problem still. People who have prayed this prayer have often been told that they are eternally saved—that they need not fear because “once saved always saved,” and “anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Now while I believe these sentiments, I do not like how they are applied to the magic prayer. Why? Because I know too many people holding onto this prayer as if it is a kind of “get-out-of-jail-free” card. They feel that since they prayed the prayer, they no longer have to worry. The problem is, their lives remain unaffected. The Spirit of God has not entered in. Nothing has changed. There is no fruit which would reveal a transformed heart.

There’s nothing wrong with helping people pray to Jesus and even giving them the words to say. But if you are in a position of spiritual power, please think twice before you sell magic beans with the promise to take people into heaven…the Kingdom of God is so much more than that!

Another post on prayer...