The Conditional Prayer

"Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

 I have been intrigued by the fact in the prayer Jesus taught as the model prayer of praise and petition has a condition in the middle of it. The petitioner asks don't do something unless I do it to others. Is God really so picky that he forces us to pray not to forgive us unless we forgive others?

The answer is no. Jesus isn't just offering a trade you forgive and then I will forgive you. God knew what science has recently proven and common sense has known for years; if you are full of unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger your life will be miserable. I might add the lives of those around you too.

One of the reasons, Jesus gives us this reminder in the middle of this prayer is because if we are going to know the freedom found in forgiveness then we have to forgive others. He isn't saying we pretend people did no wrong. He is saying that we can not hold on to the anger and bitterness and have a good life. So in this prayer, he places this reminder, if we are going to know the freedom that comes from forgiveness of our sins, we have to be willing to forgive others.

So let's find the greatest freedom God has and forgive. He never said it would be easy but God doesn't ask us to do anything he will not give us the grace to do. 

 

How do you cook, denominations?

 

How do you cook, denominations?

No! I'm not saying we should cook denominations. I want to look at how cooking and denominations are the same. Indulge the chief if you will.

There are people who will claim that their denomination is right and everyone else is wrong. They may even say that others are of the devil. It sounds crazy sometimes but consider cooks or if you prefer chefs. Ask one what makes spaghetti and you may get meat, sauce, and pasta. Another may say you only need pasta and a sauce. Another may claim it's only pasta and marinara if there isn't meat, or if the sauce isn't made a specific way. In fact, you might get some die-hard foodies into a fight over the matter and this isn't even touching what makes a pizza. 

I think you get an idea. Chefs, cooks, and foodies often have criteria of what makes a specific dish that dish. The problem comes when different people want a perfect definition or when people think they have a perfect definition. What sometimes happens is our preference becomes our perfect definition. If someone wants to add red pepper flakes to our spaghetti, some may claim it's false, or pasta heresy. (It's neither, but it is strange) 

Is there food heresy? YES. If someone claims it's an all-beef burger made with turkey. It's not an all-beef burger, it's a turkey burger perhaps with beef flavor, but it is not beef. I'm not saying turkey burgers are bad, they usually aren't but they aren't beef.  

 I don't think anyone would say raw pasta is spaghetti, or a pound of cooked ground beef is spaghetti sauce, but then again we all know some people who would want to, if only so they can argue. We have to decide what is real and what may be a preference.

People can really get heated up on this issue, but then ask them about changes in the rules of their favorite sports and I bet the debate will get even more heated. The disagreement doesn't make them bad people just perhaps a little immature, but we all have areas we need to grow so give grace.

HOWEVER? 

What if someone claimed only McDonald's was real food? or only food created by Julia Childs? We would say they are crazy. 

On the other hand, I think that we could all agree that pasta with a tomato-meat sauce laced with cyanide isn't food, it's poison. 

This is where denominations come in. Some, I might say, most denominations are variations on a recipe in the Bible. Some emphasize some points others don't. It doesn't make them wrong only different. The problem comes in when an entire vital doctrine/s are left out or if poison is put in. You may think red pepper flakes are poison but they aren't, hemlock is. 

If something is wrong there is a time and a place to point it out. People's spiritual, eternal, lives are on the line. On the other hand, let's give grace to a change in the recipe. 

Perhaps, also give grace to those who only see grandma's secret recipe as the only right way. Because ultimately, the great creator chef will teach them when the time is right. 

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash 

LCD or GCF

Which do we want?

I don’t know about you but when I was learning math I had a difficult time trying to remember if I needed the least common denominator or the greatest common factor. Luck for both of us is this is not what I’m going to talk about today. I am thinking about where we put our focus. What are the least or the greatest things we have in common?

For some, the idea is that a church should be a place for everyone, and in some ways that is exactly true. However, in the church are we focusing on what is the least or the greatest? For some, it seems to me (this is my post after all), that they want to focus on the least. The ideas that I see in the modern church, in the least category are; we all believe in a God, we want to feel good about ourselves, we want social change (for either side of the debates), etc. These may be good things but is this what a church should focus on? I don’t think so.

The church that Jesus established was to be focused on Him and it was seen in the apostles (Acts 4:13). This church’s greatest common factor was Jesus himself, his life, his teaching, and his promise not just to save us from sin but to transform us into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18). We may not all agree on some of the minor details (food, holidays, etc) according to Paul but we all need to agree that the purpose of the church is to teach the life-transforming message of Jesus. If we aren’t doing as Jesus said, “making disciples”(Matthew 28:19-20) then are we really part of Jesus’ church?

I understand that people in the church aren’t perfect. The church as an institution has made mistakes, however, are we now trying to be what Christ wants us to be? First as individuals and then once we deal with that (get the beam out of your own eye, Matthew 5:7), then we need to ask ourselves, how do we help our church be a place where Jesus’s mission is being carried out?

Reviewing Goals

With moving this year I realized just how much stuff I have and maybe a reminder of what I need to throw out. In the middle of all of this stuff, I found a laminated paper of my 4-year goals from 2017. (I'm deleting 2020 as a year for my goal list)

After a quick look, I wanted to throw it away as there were several things on it that were not even close to being completed. Getting a complete understanding of basic Spanish just didn't happen. Being in perfect shape for my age, no, going to ignore that. I didn't hit the New York Times bestseller list but then I didn't get published traditionally either so, I missed that too.

I looked over the failures and wanted to throw it out. However, I didn't. I stopped and looked at it again.

So I didn't get Spanish down, but truth be told it was a wish and never made a real priority, so it shouldn't have been on the list. 

Find accountability, yes. 

I didn't publish a fiction book but I did write 4 and instead of publishing one non-fiction, I got 10. My estimate is I wrote 400,000 words for books in the last 5 years. Yes, this was a win. 

I helped more than 3 people get published.

I did all that I was asked on the district I was part of.  

I didn't get in perfect shape but I have lost 50 pounds so that is a win.

I could go on but when I finished going over the list I hit half of them and made a real dent in half of the rest. In fact, the only ones I missed were the ones I mentioned at the beginning of this blog. So where is the failure in this list?

I should be rejoicing. Yet, even as I write this I'm still fighting shame. We are really dumb sometimes, aren't we? We have great victory and yet we focus on the misses.  

NOT THIS TIME! I'm here to say that though the last few years haven't turned out how I hoped they have been victorious! 

With God's help, I WON! and I bet you have to if you really take time to look. 

A Command to Hold

 It seems to me, the western church lives in a culture predisposed to action: do, act, grow, move… Yet, I have wondered if there are times when God’s will is actually for us not to be active? There is clearly direction for taking times of sabbath, which is absolutely a time of non-activity. When I read again the words Jesus spoke to the church of Thyatira (Revelation 2:24-25) I was again brought back to the idea that there are times when action is not the correct decision.  

Jesus said, “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’” NIV

Hold on? Is that it, Jesus? What!? No, take the castle, drive out the devil, or be victorious in Me?

“Hold on to what you have” was his command. Now there is action is keeping what you have but the command doesn’t sound like a battle cry. It’s more like a command to hunker down until the storm is over. This to me is a reminder (as well as other examples in scripture) that there are times when God’s people aren’t called to be active beyond keeping their faith. Even for a time, Elijah was ordered by God to hide. Perhaps we need to remember that working for God isn’t always a victory march.

John Wesley's Covenant Renewal Prayer gives God permission to set us aside if that is his will.  Therefore, we shouldn’t feel guilty if God sets us aside for a time to rest or to take shelter. I would add that we shouldn’t make others feel guilty if God has set them aside for a time. It is God’s will we want, not our preconceived idea of what we or others ought to be doing for God.

I wouldn’t use this as an excuse to be lazy, but I conclude there are times when God tells us to just hold on, period. At least until He comes and changes things.

Dream Team (this post is for me)

 DREAM TEAM

 

In the book, Talent is Overrated, author Geoff Colvin pointed out that many “Dream Teams” had two people. Being a great team required trust and a willingness not to seek to be first at another’s expense. This showed forth that many of the teams Colvin noted had a person who stood out and was known and a second who was content to stay in the background supporting that person and, in a way, point people to them.

I am considering that if I want Sam (the head pastor I work for) and I to be a dream team, I must do all I can to be the person in the background. I need to remember not to seek my glory or recognition, but to point, of course, to Jesus but them to Sam. It is after all his faith in me that has opened this job. He put his neck on the line for me with his board recommendations. So, I must let him be the lead, the one in the spotlight. Besides, no church has ever grown with people saying, I like the associate better than the pastor. Thus, if I want to see God’s mission in this church done, I must decrease.

It is also true that if I keep this attitude, then Sam will be able to trust me as I take up his vision for the church.

Finally, or at the least the last point I will make, I believe Jesus called us to be servants. Sam is the servant to the church, and I am to be the servant to him. Though he is Sam, I need to be Samwise (if you don’t know Lord of the Rings, let’s say a dedicated servant).  

Time to Think Differently (or not)

 I don't know how many advertisements for leadership training begin with "It's time to think differently" or "Grab a Great New Paradigm." By the way, I'm not sure they know what Paradigm means because what most of them are selling/teaching is just different versions of the same thing. That isn't what I want to talk about today. 

What gets me is what if the way you are thinking is correct? What if your worldview is just as God would have it right now? Do you really want to change if you are not wrong?

Now I do want to say there are lots of times when we need to change the way we see things. When you get married you need to stop looking at anyone other than your spouse as (you know, enough said). When you grow in Christ and all of a sudden you see a need that you didn't before because God is laying it on your heart to deal with it. It could be when you're holding on to prejudice and you need to see others as God does. 

Let's just say there is a time we absolutely need to change the way we see the world.

There is also a time when we need to perhaps see new options. If you are running a business and the cheese danishes aren't selling and everyone is asking for fruit. You don't change your way of thinking about preparing food (unless it's bad), you do change the menu. I really like seedless raspberry by the way. 

When the community demographic has changed and now 95% of the population is over sixty then investing in a youth pastor is probably a less than a wise idea. Okay, it is a complete waste of money. You don't quit reaching out to people. You have a different demographic to consider. Yes, I do understand some people have a gifting to reach a neglected or underserved group, but let's not get distracted more than I already am. Your mission is still to reach and help others but the methods and focus change, not your thinking. 

My concern is that we are so focused on changing our way of thinking to accomplish some good thing that we open ourselves up to changing things that should never be. It's something to consider.