Beauty in the hell that was ...

I've begun reading the book Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society, by Jason Locy and Timothy Willard.  It explores the false-faces we put on to cover up the person that we truly are deep, deep down inside.

That 'person' is often scarred, wounded, tired, tested, and refined.  That 'person' has been - at times it feels - to hell and back in life.  Is it possible that good can come from those times?  Is it possible that beauty can come from it?

This quote exploded off the page at me, speaking to these very questions ...

True Beauty, some say, resides at the threshold of pain.  This is why we can call the crucifixion beautiful.  Not because we are barbarians, but because there`s an inherent truth and goodness in it.  Christ lays his life down for all of humankind, past, present, and future.  This is good; he is good.  And his goodness points us to truth, truth of redemption, truth of coming restoration, truth of forgiveness.

This is why we can look back on pain in our lives and call it beautiful.  It wasn`t beautiful then; it was hell.  But from that hell grew a shoot, and from that shoot a leaf, and life sprang up where hell resides; that is beautiful.  God makes it so.

These truths are reflected in the song Beautiful Things, by the band Gungor.  Enjoy the video and may you learn to see beauty in the pain as you find restoration through the work of God in you.

Prayer: Level Up?

I'm currently reading "After You Drop Them Off" by Jeramy Clark (a book written to parents from a youth pastor about the heart of youth ministry), and came across an unique listing of "levels" of prayer.

It's not the first list like this that I've seen.  TV Thomas, a friend and teacher I greatly respect, had developed a similar progression of prayer that I've used in the past when teaching on the topic.

The "levels" are best seen as stepping stones toward maturity in the discipline of prayer, rather than a measure of some type of accession in mastery as might be implied by the title.


Here is the list Clark presents:

Level One: Prayer as "Wishing"
- like throwing a coin in a fountain

Level Two: Prayer as "Hoping"
- a confidence that God might be listening

Level Three: Prayer as "Believing"
- a trust that God will do something when we pray

Level Four: Prayer as "Overcoming"
- we trust God's work and know His will is perfect


Progressions like this are helpful when we talk time to consider how we might currently describe our understanding and/or practice of prayer.  They are also helpful when we take time to reflect where we've been and where we expect to grow to in our disciple of prayer.

How do you feel about this type of list?  Where would you fall in the continuum?

Youth Culture Missionary

A couple of years ago I wrote an endorsement for a friends book that was about to be published.

He asked me what 'title' I wanted to go after my name.  You know how this works: you want to have acquaintances who are 'impressive people' endorse your book.  There was one obvious title he suggested, but I knew I wanted something else to be listed also.  I just wasn't sure what that was.

I thought about it for a while.  What describes what I do, but also what I want to be?

I chose the title, "Youth Culture Missionary".

I look back and still think it was the right choice.  It is what I do ... at least in part ... every week.  I have the privilege of rubbing shoulders and running in the midst of many, many teenagers who are both actively engaged in the growth of their Christian faith, and those who aren't.  Some who aren't are still exploring spirituality and specifically Christianity, but many are not and really don't care to at this point.  But that is ok, because I know that God is still interested and, therefore, so am I.

I may not be an 'impressive person' to many, but it's what I do and what I want to be.

A note to a middle school kid about the Holy Spirit ...

I've been talking with a middle school kid during the last week about the Holy Spirit.  It's been a great conversation.  I though the thoughts given might be helpful to others too.  Enjoy.

Dear ____________,

I’m really glad that you’ve had the chance to read through the verses in Romans that I passed on to you. I’m also glad that they helped you! The best source of truth is to go to the Bible, because it IS the truth for those of us who have decided to follow Jesus in our life as Christians.

So you’ve discovered that you don’t have to have “felt” the Holy Spirit in an emotional or some physical why in order to get to heaven or be called a Christian. The verses that you read have shown you that. But here is the cool news: when you become a Christian (when you’ve accepted his forgiveness for sin and embraced the Lord as the god of your life) Jesus gives a gift to you ... the Holy Spirit! There are a few bible verses that will help you understand this: John 15:23-26, John 16:26 and Ephesians 1:13,14.

So the Holy Spirit is a gift that Jesus gives us when we are saved. He is a deposit in us of what is to come.

When the Holy Spirit fills our life he does things in our life (like leading us to the Bible so that we can learn more about obediently following Jesus, like convicting us of our sin so that we repent, and like giving us boldness to speak about Jesus when we lack courage).

When the Holy Spirit fills our life he changes who we are so that we act more like Jesus. He causes “fruit” in our life that changes our character and how we act. You can read about these things in Galatians 5:22-26.

When the Holy Spirit fills our live he also can bring “gifts” for us from Jesus and the Father. These gifts can be all sorts of different abilities both in how we are able to act and treat others (like in serving people or being a better leader or a great helper) and also in supernatural ways (like prayer languages, able to heal, able to speak prophecy). Holy Spirit does not give every gift to every person, but rather just a few to each of us that we can then mix with the gifts He has given to others in our church in order to be unified and complete. You can read about some of these gifts / abilities in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28 and Ephesians 4:11 to name a few.

So in summary, if you have embraced Jesus as your God and your rescuer from sin (and it seems you have), Jesus has already given you the gift of the Holy Spirit! He is alive in you! The presence of God is already at work in your life (He’s probably responsible for causing you to ask all these questions, because He knows if you do you will grow in your faith!!)

You may not “feel” like the Holy Spirit is in your life, but it is a fact! Sometimes you will, indeed, “feel” him, and that is cool too!

So first pray and ask Jesus and Holy Spirit to lead you to understand the Truth. Then read all the verses above. Then thank God for what you learn.  Then we can talk more if you like.

Peace,

::danKing::

Mary Poppins and Biblical Context ...

They say that the most important thing to consider when making a real estate purchase is the location.  You've probably heard the saying, "Location, location, location"!!

There is a similar saying by those who are students of theology and the Bible that has everything to do with the context of a passage of Scripture: "Context, context, context"! 

Imagine, for example, the person who picks up the Bible and randomly flips it open to a page while looking for "advice from God".  They point there finger to no particular sentence and read the words, "... and Judas went out and hanged himself ..."  Yikes!

Then, in an effort to give the exercise a second chance, more pages are flipped and the finger is thrown to some area of the open book.  The words now read, "... go and do likewise ..."  Ouch!  The future may not be so bright for this guy!!

Understanding the context of what we read in the Bible is a massive part of comprehending not only what it trying to be communicated by the author, but on the implications and applications of it in our lives here and now.  It's one of the reasons that reading entire books of the Bible (it is made of of 66 of them) is a really healthy discipline to get into.

I saw this very fun, fan-made, preview trailer for the old Disney movie, Mary Poppins, earlier today.  It is all actual clips from the movie, but put together in a "creative way".  It makes the classic children's film look like a horror flick and, in doing so, reminds us of the importance of looking at Scripture in light of the larger context, rather than flipping pages and pointing as a means of trying to learn and grasp what the Bible has to say ...





I hope the point is clear ... go grab a Bible and trying consuming entire books within it this summer, rather than nibbling at random bits and pieces.

Kill Your Television ...

Back in the 20th Century, I had this shirt that I wore almost every time I went to the public schools.

"Why?", you ask.

Simple ... it started conversations like no other t-shirt I have ever owned before or since.  And these were not short, ten second sound-byte conversations.  These were not, "So, how is school going?" kind of conversations.  These were the real deal.  They were honest, reflective conversations with teens that often had significant emotion wrapped up in the dialogue.

Let me tell you what the three words on the t-shirt were (in case you haven't guessed from the title of this posting):

kill

your

television

Three words that got everyone talking.

In the 21st Century, the shirt might says, "Kill Your Cell" or maybe "Kill Your Computer", but I'm not sure it would get such a deep reaction.  There is something about TV.

Check this out:


Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

In the past people have said, "Time is Money".  In some places and for some moments, this might be true, but there is a greater truth that is overshadowed by this statement:

"Time is Limited"  

How you and I spend our time tells a story about our souls.  What we give our focused time to can leave a legacy or vaporize like mist.

The clock is ticking ... what is directly in front of you?

.

Here is a Crayon ... Now be Creative!

"You must first understand your boundaries

if you are to color outside the lines."

                                                   - Dan King

As I continue to read Seth Godin's new book, Linchpin, I have been thinking on the topic of creativity more and more.  He says,

"In the face of an infinite sea of choices, it's natural to put blinders on, to ask for a map, to beg for instructions, or failing that, to do exactly what you did last time, even if it didn't work.  Linchpins are able to embrace the lack of structure and find a new path, one that works.

"Work is a chance to do art.  Good art is useless and banal.  No one crosses the street to buy good art, or becomes loyal to a good artist.

"If you can't be remarkable, perhaps you should consider doing nothing until you can."

Add to that a quote from Kurt Johnston's blog this week on creativity,

"A New Definition of Creativity:

Most people think being creative means inventing something out of nothing, or coming up with an idea that has never been thought of.  I like to define creativity as simply being willing to think differently and try something new.  That’s it. 

 

"When faced with a project, an opportunity, a challenge, a problem etc. most of us will typically default to our normal pattern of addressing such things; usually patterns that have found success in the past, so we assume they will bring success again, and they often do.

 

"Creativity is simply the willingness to take our normal patterns of thinking a step or two farther by thinking differently and trying something new when faced with life’s scenarios."

 I want to do more than just "good art".  I want to create the space in my life so that I can do things beautifully and masterfully different.  Not simply for the sake of doing it different, but because different can completely reshape how something is seen, understood, and received.  I want to have creativity in all that I do as a celebration of the Creator of all things in my life.
.

Flatland, Atheists, and "Something More" ...

One of the songs that I love to sing when our student ministry gathers together is called, "Consuming Fire".  The lyrics that catch eyes and stir curiosity are these:

There must be more than this
O breath of God, come breath within
There must be more than this
Spirit of God we wait for You
Fill us anew we pray ...

The song captures that notion that life viewed from the perspective that, "what we see exists and there is really nothing spiritual - nothing more than the physical", is lacking.  It captures the hopes that you and I actually have meaning to our lives and a destiny that is more than just the survival of the fittest.

And yet, for some of us this is a hard pill to swallow.  The idea that there is a God who has been involved in shaping history is tough to believe.  Some of us are "prove it and I'll believe it" people who have just enough skepticism that nothing could really ever prove it!

Now, to be fair, people who believe there is a God don't always make this easy, do they?   Take this idea of the Trinity, for example:  "God is One, but made up of Three unique and distinct personalities in such perfect relationship to each other that they are actually One".  Pardon?  "How does that make any sense?", the atheist would say.  Hmmmm ...

I've been reading a great book called, No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come as You Are Culture in the Church.  In it, John Burke, the author, explores exactly the questions and problems that I've mentioned above.  Both John and another author named Rob Bell have made use of a concept called "Flatland" to help us wrap our minds around the mystery that is "the More of God" (my term).

Check out the clip below and see how Bell explains this very helpful concept during his speaking tour called "Everything is Spiritual" ... I think, whether you fall into the category of 'Christian', Atheist, or something in-between, you will find it helpful.

Comments?

The Worship in Design ...

Got some shots of the staging that my wife, Charlene, and the design team she is a part of put together for the church gathering this weekend.   They did a great job!  The stone in the tomb set (below) was as it appears during the Good Friday service and then rolled to the side with some incredible yellow and white lighting radiating from the inside on Easter Sunday  ...  Shawn and I also did some re-working of all the spotlighting for the stage.  We've got much better control of the stage as a result ... just some blinders and gels to add for the future and we are off!! 

Creativity as worship is a big deal for me ... others sing or play instruments or preach (and I do some of that too), but design and excellence in art is a significant worship language for me.

We also used a smashing little video clip to open the gathering ... again, it's a wonderfully creative and well designed piece with colors that meshed with the rest of the media elements used and a crisp look at celebrates excellence!

"I've Never Heard a Parent Talk Like That Before ..."

I try and get over the the high school and help serve hot lunch to the students on as many Thursday afternoon's as I can each month.  It gives me a chance to serve the students that I pray for and it's also a chance to say hello to teens I haven't seen in a while.  Plus, there are some really hard working parents and teachers who make the lunch program possible and if I can cheer them on and support them in their efforts, I am jazzed to!

Today, one girl who came early to grab a bite to eat and was visiting with some of the adults who she knew.  Someone introduced me to the girl and mentioned it had been my birthday this week.  She asked what I did to celebrate and I said that I had spent the day with my wife and kids.  Her response was apologetic and almost a matter-of-fact when she said, "Oh, you have kids, that sucks.  I am sorry for you."

Wow.  What do you say in response to that?  I just told the truth:

"Actually", I replied, "I have two absolutely amazing kids.  My boy is 12 and my daughter 10 and they are incredible.  It is a joy to be their dad!"

She stopped eating.  She looked me right in the eye and said, "I have never in my life ever heard a parent talk like that about their kids.  You mean you like them?"

At first I thought maybe she was joking, but realized she wasn't.

I wrote about the power of our words earlier this week.  Today I was affirmed that our words matter.  I could have joked and made a goofy statement about my kids after her initial comments, but chose not to.  If I had joked, this girl may not have come face-to-face with the fact that it is possible for a parent - a father - to love and appreciate his children.

Our words do matter and I hope I get a chance to visit with this girl again and hear her story.  Maybe she'll ask me to share more of mine. 

"He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
   and the hearts of the children to their fathers ..." 

- Malachi 4:6

When the Church was Young ... part one

"The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members." 

- William Temple (Archbishop of Canterbury, 1942-44)

Right now in the Sunday evening gatherings at the church my family is a part of, my friend Paul is teaching / preaching through the Bible book called, Acts.  It's been a great journey so far.  It's a book about the very first church communities working out their identity, their mission, and the role of the Holy Spirit in it all.

We're just three weeks into what is sure to take a good part of the year, but even now as the journey begins, my mind and soul have been spinning as I am reminded of some fantastic truth.  Stuff like:

"On one occasion, while [Jesus] was eating with them ..."

* I was reminded that Jesus, after being resurrected from the dead, was not some ghost.  He was resurrected as a human being again.  Granted, he could move through walls and appear and disappear, but he also ate. I don't understand this at all, but am so intrigued by it.  At the core, Jesus was a deep friend and leader to his disciples and followers.  He could have been so many other places declaring the good news of God's salvation, but the guy is hanging out with his friends, encouraging and teaching and speaking into their lives. So good!

"For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

* God's Kingdom is a supernatural one.  Everything is seeded, born, and sustain by God.  If the Church tries to function our of physical strength and an understanding of the world based on mere human paradigms, the Church will miss the point ...

" ...  and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 
* I love that I get to be a witness to the things that the Lord has done and is doing here in Parksville, at the end of the earth.  I live at the end of the Western World.  No less than two hours to the west and there is no more west!  After Tofino there is only Asia and "The East".  So cool!!

With all of this spinning in my mind, I was caught by this video and the way that it aligns with what I'm learning ... check it out and tell me what you think ...

Star Gazing ... The Mystery of Life (and Death)

I love this song by Andy Hunter (see the video below) ... it has a mood of mystery and majesty in it.

Psalm 147 says,
 ³ He heals the brokenhearted
       and binds up their wounds.
 ⁴ He determines the number of the stars
       and calls them each by name.
 ⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
       his understanding has no limit.

I attended the funeral/memorial service for a friend today.  I was reminded that life can be simply a breathe, and that even though there is great mystery in this thing called life (and in death) that there is something more ... there is understanding behind it all.

the rest of God ...

Grabbed a book called, The Holy Wild, off the shelf last night for some light reading before bed. It's a book about trusting in the character of God. In the background, The Kingdom of Heaven was playing on the TV, depicting the defending of Jerusalem against the Muslims in the 12th century.

The character of God set against the character of the people of God - interesting contrast.

The chapter I re-read was one on rest entitled, The Gift we Refuse. Here are some highlights:

"One of the triumphs of the cult of busyness is that most of us feel guilty for stopping. Efficiency is our fetish, production our worship. If you are not producing, and quickly, what good are you? How can you justify your existence without busyness? How can you account for your being if not on the ledger of your doing?"

Did you catch those two contrasting words in the last sentence?

"Being" and "Doing"

This chapter is all about "Sabbath": the setting aside of time (a day a week biblically) to give attention to our being rather than our doing. Buchanan, the author of this book and a guy who lives about an hour away from me at the moment, goes on to say, "Sabbath is imitating God's own rest in order that we might become more like God and yet know that we are not God."

We get this backward, don't we (well, I get it backward anyway). We refuse to rest because we want to be God. He rested to model what we need because we are not.

One last quote:
" 'Take a day off!' is the message of Sabbath. Relax. Sleep in. Take a midday nap. Play. Party. Eat. Dance. Be like children."

One last thought:
I leave tomorrow for two weeks in Montréal. I'm really looking forward to taking 8 students along for the adventure.

I'll see friends, meet new people, speak a bit at the training, eat well, laugh large, probably be broken by some of what I see, sit in wonder more than a few times, get up early and go to bed late. I will be "doing" a lot.

Yet in the midst of it, please pray that I give attention to "being more and more like Christ" in my activity of rest (yes, rest is active and takes work ... but that is am exploration for another time).

"on the land" at the skatepark

Spent an hour or so hanging out at the local skate park here in Parksville last Friday afternoon (see photo).

No one was really around, but I did have one guy stop to ask if I had any weed to sell ... I didn't. I spent time journaling some prayers for the kids that call the skate park their home away from home. Also walked around the parameter asking God to raise up someone to invest time into these kids. I know I'm not the guy to do it (hey, I'll be available, but anything more than basic skateboard activity would end me up in the hospital) but someone is ...

What is the significance of "praying on the land"? By this I mean physically being on the piece of real estate that you are praying about.

Last fall I was researching the beginnings of what is now the City of Kelowna. I had this huge desire to pray for the churches of that city, the political leadership (the mayor, etc.) of the city, and the future of the city. Everything within me wanted to jump on a plane and fly there and walk the city streets and go to the site (which is still standing) of the very first home built there, beside the very first church building (the third building was a 'mess hall' of sorts I believe).

I didn't ...

I prayed from a distance. I didn't feel like I was disobeying God by not going, but I didn't feel like I was obeying Him by staying home either.

Is there something about "being present on the land"? Abraham walked on the land that was promised to him life-times before his people received it. How significant was that? Charlene and I took two days to "walk the land" here on Vancouver Island back in 2001 because we both felt strongly that God was calling us to live here and invest in the lives of the people here. It took 7 years to actually walk into that, but we walked it out in prayer first.

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"
[Isaiah 52:7]

prayers and pilgrims ...

Last week my friend Kirk posted this comment on his blog:

Pilgrimage is one of the greatest gifts we can give our kids. Besides our absolute devotion to they're becoming truly human and fully alive in Christ, we want our kids to grow up amidst the nations... here, there and everywhere in Jesus' name. And what Dar and I are noticing is that we don't have to be in the nations for the nations to find us. It's like breathing. Our home is a place of peace... a place connected with the contemplation of heaven on earth... a portal of sorts... and they find us, those who are with him end up with us - the one's that he directs our way...

It reminded me that the comings and the goings of God and his people are so fluid. Like Luke, the writer of the book of Acts says, "For in him we live and move and have our being".

When Charlene and I were dreaming about the kind of home we would like to have, the standard stuff was all in there, but there were some "bonus features" too. One was that the home we would eventually land in would have a spare room that could be used as both a permanent prayer room in the house, and serve as a guest room for visitors and pilgrims from around the world that would stop in and rest with us for a while.

The home that we are now hoping to see as our own (if all works out it will close on April 30th) has just that space in it. In fact, the window of this future prayer / pilgrim room actually looks out over a park across the street where literally dozens of high school students gather in the morning, at lunch time, and after classes to hangout, visit, smoke, laugh, and relax.

This home is positioned looking over the one of the key gathering places of the youth culture of our new city. So sweet!

In the three days since we've announced that our offer for the home has been accepted, we've had a half-dozen people already confirm with us that they will be coming to stay in our home before the end of the summer! So cool! Charlene and I love what is unfolding!

"Lord, would you teach us about hospitality in this next season of life? Would you cause us to grow in our desire to pray for friends from near and far who come into the home you are giving us? Would a gravity be established in this home that attracts those wide-eyed pilgrims on the hunt for the deeper things of God. Most of all, Lord Jesus, would this home be a place where your Spirit dwells not only in the lives of the occupants, but on the very ground itself."

Amen!

(the new diggs)

surprised by joy and grace ...

Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them. 3-6The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.

Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?"

"No one, Master."

"Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."

(John 8.1-11)

Have you ever been caught off guard by the kindness of a stranger or, for that matter, the kindness of a friend?

Have you ever braced up your body - you know, stiffened up for the emotional outburst or a particular response that you felt was imminent for someone - only to be joyfully relieved that you could relax and enjoy the experience?

I love moments like that ...
being surprised by joy where I expected turbulence.
finding grace where I was sure that 'karma' would abide.

I love when the predetermined scenarios that I've so carefully crafted fall like straw to the ground and I am forced to simply smile, or laugh, or cry instead.

I really love being the instigator of that joy ...
I delight in being the harbinger of enormous grace ...

What if joy and grace were water-balloons?

How did Willow Creek Church miss THAT!?!

I've heard this story a few times in various conversations around "water-cooler" types of locations, but today I came across it in print (online) ...

Bills Hybles (pictured at right), senior pastor of the massive Willow Creek Church in Chicago, reflecting on a study that they did on the impact their church programs have on building "fully developed followers of Christ" ...

The results shocked them, but left many of us going: "DUH!!" ... you can actually watch it all on the Reveal blog, too.

Speaking at the Leadership Summit, Hybels summarized the findings this way:

Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually, when the data actually came back it wasn’t helping people that much. Other things that we didn’t put that much money into and didn’t put much staff against is stuff our people are crying out for.

Having spent thirty years creating and promoting a multi-million dollar organization driven by programs and measuring participation, and convincing other church leaders to do the same, you can see why Hybels called this research “the wake up call” of his adult life.

Hybels confesses:

We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between service, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.

In other words, spiritual growth doesn’t happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships. And, ironically, these basic disciplines do not require multi-million dollar facilities and hundreds of staff to manage.

From SJ

the dreamers of the day ...

It was Lawrence of Arabia who wrote,

"All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."

* from 'awakening cry', page 203.

Shattering Stereotypes ....

Hebrews 5:7 says …

"During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission."

It’s a verse that not only gives us a picture of the intensity and the passion of the prayer life of Jesus Christ, but also teaches us what the bottom line was in his prayer life.

Take a moment in your mind’s eye and picture what Jesus might have looked like while praying. You know, maybe during the early morning prayer get-away that Jesus took in Mark chapter 1. He sneaks away while his new friends are still sawing logs and gets some quality time in with his Father before the business of the day starts. What does Jesus look like?? Is he on his knees, hands folded with his eyes closed in the "traditional” prayer pose?

Too many of us dismiss the vision of Christ not only shedding tears as he looked over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41, but weeping for the city that was blind to who he truly was. We argue off the intensity of Jesus’ prayer in the garden that saw him sweating what appeared to be drops of blood, saying that he was just under a lot of stress. That may be, but I’ve prayed in times of stress before and haven’t even perspired.

This verse tucked into Hebrews 5 reveals that passion and intensity cannot be explained away from Jesus’ prayer life because of “special circumstances”. He was a man who prayed and petitioned God with loud cries and tears. He was driven and ached with a sense of urgency as he prayed. What about you and I? Would we label ourselves as “driven” and “aching with urgency” when we pray? I know that I’m not there yet. But the thought of it has caused me to re-evaluate my prayer times, asking the question: am I doing this prayer thing because I think it’s a good thing to do, or because I know the power of calling out to the One who has saved me from death and holds that same hope for my friends??

The other insight into the prayer life of Jesus that this chunk of Bible holds is what I’ve called the bottom line. It’s the fact that in the midst of all the intensity and passion, that Jesus was heard because of his “reverent submission”. This throws the idea out the window that Jesus was heard by God because he prayed like some type of stereo-type Pentecostal preacher who yells all the time. In the end, it was not about the shouts or the tears. Rather, it was about his heart condition as he approached the throne of his Father.

Let’s journey back to the prayer session in the garden where the sweat appeared to be like drops of blood. After Jesus had prayed all that was in his mind and spirit out to the Father, he ended with the line, “yet not my will, but yours be done”. This is a line that changes everything. It teaches us that prayer can never be “me” driven. Although it may be full of personal thoughts, prayers and petitions, in the end, it is all surrendered to God’s will being done. It’s prayed with the understanding that God sees the entire puzzle and that his wisdom and his timing far outweigh our own. This is reverent submission, and that is why Jesus was heard. It truly is the ultimate bottom line.

So, shake your world and pray to the Father with all your soul, your strength and your mind, becoming a humble servant to God’s will in the midst of it!

my own personal fight club ...

"All right, if the applicant is young, tell him he's too young. Old, too old.
Fat, too fat. If the applicant then waits for three days without food,
shelter, or encouragement he may then enter and begin his training."
- Tyler Durden, in the movie, Fight Club

"We Christians need not be ashamed of showing a little impatience,
longing, and discontent with an unnatural fate, nor with a considerable
amount of longing for freedom, earthly happiness, and opportunity for work."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I've only ever been a participant in one street fight in my life. I don't even know if it occurred on an actual street ... it may have been on an avenue, but I do know that it was a real fight.

It happened when I was in grade 6 and I was traveling home on my bike after school. I remember that I had been yelled at by some kid earlier that afternoon on the school yard and basically chosen to ignore him, only to discovered that he and his two friends were following me as I pedaled toward my house.

I recall that they were yelling something at me too. Now, I'm not at all clear what they were yelling, but I am sure they were terrible things that stirred me deeply inside or at least bothered me enough to stop my bike and take a stand against these "evil doers" (for, without a doubt, they were evil doers and I was but an innocent victim of their rage who had done nothing to prompt their anger - *grin*).

Anyway, the fight couldn't have lasted more than a minute or two, because as quickly as it had started it was finished and the three of them rode off and left me alone to continue my journey.

Who won? I think it was a draw. He threw a few good punches, but I don't think any of them landed. I was actually taking these Karate classes at the time (yeah, yeah, laugh it up!!) and at least knew how to defend myself. I do remember the fight ending immediately after I gave the boy a swift and hard roundhouse kick to his butt though. I guess I kicked his *@%!!

Well, here's my question ... what are the things that you are willing to fight for in your life? I'm obviously looking beyond vengeance for someone calling your mamma ugly or something here. I'm wondering about the stuff that pushes you to say, "Enough is enough!!" and causes you to take a stand despite the kick-back (pun intended!). If I'm not mistaken, I heard Bill Hybels ask this type of a question in a speech he was giving one time, and he called it something like a "holy discontent": the thing that is, for you, the final straw that stirs you to action.

"Bring to the Lord a heart wholly discontent with standing still,
and He will make you a runner worthy of the prize."
- Bill Hybels

I'm wondering this for a couple of reasons. First, I'm thinking about it because I'm doing a little bit of a preach on Sunday around a Bible passage found in the book of Galatians, chapter 5. It's a chapter that talks a lot about standing for freedom and fighting to oppose those selfish desires deep in all of us that want personal gain, and instead, chasing after selfless expressions of care and compassion for others.

The other reason I'm thinking about this is that this week I came face to face with my "Enough is enough!" trigger (well, one of them anyway). It had to do with my family and its health and stability. I'm sure I'll share more about it in the months ahead, but, for me, it was the beginning of a fight and although I know it will be tough slugging in the weeks and months ahead, I know it is for good and that it is right. It all has me feeling alive and purposed.

In a world where we so often drift from day to day in a simple existence, I wonder what would happen if we allowed ourselves to be stirred to action more often? How much good would come of it? How many lives would be effected? How would our worlds be changed?

So what is your "Enough is enough!" trigger?