So here’s the 30 day challenge that we’re taking at Seneca Creek. Spend the next month bringing the power of prayer to focus on what is important to God. What are HIS plans and purposes? Since he created us, maybe he knows what’s really important. And if we can understand what’s important to God, then we’ll be able to see what’s important for us. To help do that, we’re encouraging everyone to use the following prayer, based on Colossians 1:9-13

God, I pray that you would fill me with the knowledge of your purposes & will. I pray you would do this so that I could live a life worthy of you, and please you in every way. I pray that my life be characterized by good deeds, by personal spiritual growth, by godly strength to patiently endure, and by joyful gratitude

This prayer could start a revolution in your life! So why not give it a try? What do you have to lose? I can’t wait to see what God will do.

It happened again. I was reading a very familiar story from Jesus’ life. And I saw something I’d never seen before. And in that moment God spoke into my life. Not with a “voice from heaven” like in the movies, but clear and unmistakable nonetheless. The story is where Jesus feeds the 5,000 with two fish, and five barley loaves from one little boy’s lunch. It’s actually the only one of Jesus’ miracles that occurs in all four of the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). And as John is telling what happened, he points out that the disciples distributed this little lunch and everyone had as much as they wanted. Then comes the verse I’ve missed for 50 years.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” (John 6:12)

Let nothing be wasted. I suppose you could argue that Jesus was the ultimate environmentalist, or conservationist. You could say he was being green. You could say he was thinking about all the starving children in Africa. But I think there’s something else going on here. I think Jesus was more concerned about wasting the impact of his miracle (and his message) than about wasting the leftover bread. That bread was now going to go back to thousands of homes. And the stories would be told for days to come. People would invite all their friends and neighbors. “Come, look at this piece of bread…come see the evidence of this man called Jesus!” And the story would be told again and again. And people would be drawn to Jesus. And the miracle would not be wasted in any way. “Let nothing be wasted.”

You probably haven’t experienced a work of God quite like the feeding of the 5,000. But when I talk with people just like you and me, I realize that God is working. He’s changing attitudes. He’s changing priorities. He’s healing relationships. He’s answering prayers. He’s providing hope and joy. He’s deploying your gifts into the world. And in each of these situations, I think Jesus would say the same thing he did 2,000 years ago: “Let nothing be wasted!”

The work God has done in your life can help encourage someone else. It can inspire others to hang in there. To pray another day. To step out in faith. To serve despite their fears. To start a conversation without having all the answers. Don’t let your story be wasted. Who you gonna tell?

A guy in my dorm at college used to sleep with the window open during the Chicago winters to simulate “missionary training.” (He did other crazy things I won’t mention here.) He’s one of the few people I know who did NOT subscribe to the principle that “Comfort is king.” When we’re honest, we kinda LIKE that principle. We LIKE being comfortable.

But I don’t think God subscribes to that principle very often. Last Sunday at Seneca Creek was an example. Thanks to the International Justice Mission, we heard about the injustice around the world in the form of bonded slavery, child prostitution, and more. And we were brought face to face with the very UNCOMFORTABLE reality that WE are God’s plan to bring down the barriers which make it difficult for people to believe that there is a God who cares about them. It made me (and probably everyone there) uncomfortable to see the kind of oppression and injustice that is occurring in 2009. If you missed last Sunday, check out the recording here.

I think God uses those kinds of uncomfortable moments to help us move to action. Let me ask you this: When was the last time God disturbed you? When was the last time your comfort zone was pierced by the prompting of God? If you can’t remember when that was, I challenge you to remove the “Do Not Disturb” sign from your life. Here’s how to do that. Pray the following prayer every day for a week: “God, please change me.” Then get ready, because God will answer that prayer. He will “disturb” you. Your life will never be the same. And you’ll never regret it for one second!

I can understand why people were surprised when Jesus was born. I mean really…God, in a feeding trough? You can’t be serious! Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

But Easter is different. It’s different because, well, Jesus kept announcing what was going to happen! Consider this dialogue…

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” (Luke 18:31-33)

Seems pretty clear, doesn’t it? No surprise here. But catch the next verse:

“The disciples did not understand any of this…” (Luke 18:34)

It’s easy to snicker at the disciples. “Not the sharpest knives in the drawer,” and all that. But then I wonder if I’m much different. Oh, I believe the story…I could recite it to you. But it continues to surprise me. God, hanging on a tree? For me? It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t coincide with reality as I experience it every day. It’s not natural. It’s supernatural. Actually, it’s shocking. In the words of a song I like to sing, “Amazing love. How can it be that you, my God, should die for me?” How CAN it be? I don’t understand any of this.

The more I think about Easter, the more it surprises me. But I’m so glad the Easter surprise is true!

I met a woman this week whose life has not gone well. She developed a debilitating illness. She hovered half-way through death’s door. And then when it became clear she would not regain full health, her husband decided he just couldn’t spend the rest of his life caring for her. So he divorced her.

She struggles with some of the basic things many of us take for granted. Her body is in full blown revolt. Her prognosis is for continual physical impairment. Her job options are seriously minimal. She has almost nothing. And yet…she has almost everything. As she poured out her life story, she uttered these words, “God has been so faithful to me.” Say what? That’s right…she was able to offer genuine gratitude to God in spite of the harsh experiences she has lived through. I was blown away.

I couldn’t help but think of so many people who “have it all.” Health, wealth, status, leisure, family, you name it. Yet they are miserable. They still haven’t found what they’re looking for. But she has. I was looking at the real thing. Real faith, real love, real life. She’ll never be famous. She’ll never speak to thousands or write a book. Which is too bad, because a lot of us could desperately benefit from listening to her for an hour…or a weekend. Her life is a silent testimony to all of us who are furiously chasing things that Jesus told us to forget about. I thank God for bringing this woman into my life. And yours.

It didn’t make sense. The experts agreed. What this man was asking was unreasonable. There was every reason in the world to turn and walk away. To do what they thought best. After all, they were the experts. They’d spent all their wisdom, all their creativity, and all night trying to get the job done. But to no avail. And along comes this guy who knows better. “Try this,” he suggests. “We’ve already tried it!’ they respond. Probably tried it a hundred times.

But what happens next is a shocker. They try it. They do what the outsider says. Which is not nearly as shocking as the reason WHY they do it. It’s captured in the simple phrase, “because you say so.” Because you say so, we’ll do it. Sounds like blind obedience. Or maybe it’s something more. Maybe it’s not a mindless, blind reason at all. Maybe it’s a reason based on seeing what others failed to see. Maybe it’s the ultimate reason. Maybe it’s a reason based on seeing that the one telling them what to do was wiser than they could imagine. Turns out, he was also right.

Read about it here, in Luke 5:1-11.

So here’s the question. When is the last time you responded to Jesus with these words, “because you say so”?

Ever meet someone who does what you do, but does it so well you think, “Why do I even try?” For me, John Ortburg is one of those people. He is gifted in so many ways. And he uses those gifts to encourage and inspire untold thousands of people. Me included. Here’s a link to one of his recent articles, entitled “The Good News Amid the Bad News.”
Enjoy it.

Started going through Mark’s gospel for Lent. And there in chapter one is this comment, “he saw heaven being torn open.” What in the WORLD must that have looked like? (Actually, it probably didn’t look like ANYTHING in this world!) Jesus saw the breach between heaven and earth starting to rupture. I think he saw the beginnings of what he would eventually usher in in a whole new way. It was heaven – God’s domain – breaking into this darkened world. The next words Mark records from Jesus are these, “The time has come…the kingdom of God is near.” I imagine he was thinking back to the rupture…the tear in heaven. It started leaking out into our world. “Thy kingdom come…” Bring it on.

Tonight a line of severe storms passed through the area. I found out by checking the online radar loop. It had already gone by me. I had several emergency emails – which I read after the storm had passed. It must have been a doozie. And I kinda like storms.
But I missed this one because I was in the basement. Actually, I missed it because while in the basement, riding on the trainer, I was listening to a podcast on cycling. It’s a fun hobby. But in this case, I got so close to my hobby/interest that I completely missed the big event that was happening around me.

Step back. There is a big event passing by us right now. It’s the work of God. It’s setting off emergency alarms all over the place. It’s way past being a doozie. But are we missing it? Am I? Do we get so close to our interests, pursuits, hobbies, etc. that we are literally deaf to what is going on? Do we only learn about the work of God by reading about it online?

Maybe we could at least take out one earbud.