“In Luke 11, we have his version of the Lord’s Prayer. To introduce the prayer, Luke tells us the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them how to pray.

I’ve always been fascinated with their request.

For one thing, I’m not sure it’s what I would’ve asked Jesus.

Knowing me, I would’ve asked Him to teach me to walk on water (we know how that worked for Peter) or to raise the dead. I would’ve gone for something impressive, something flashy.

But this isn’t what the disciples wanted.

Why?I think they could tell there was something powerful yet intimate in the way Jesus prayed. Things happened when Jesus prayed. People changed when Jesus prayed.

And the disciples knew if they could learn to pray like this, they would be able to do more than they had ever imagined.

Too many times we treat prayer casually. It’s something we do before we go to sleep or before we eat, but we rarely pray knowing there’s potential in our prayer to change the world, to change someone’s life.

This is what the disciples wanted to learn how to do.It’s what we in the postmodern church need to learn as well.

– See more at: http://mikeglennonline.com/learning-pray/“

Prayer is one of those things I’ve been doing for quite a while, but I’m still not very good at it. My thoughts tend to wander, my attention span goes away, and I forget what I’m doing.

I guess it’s a good thing that the Apostle Paul doesn’t tell us to pray perfectly. He doesn’t say, “Pray well.”

What he does say is “Pray without ceasing.”

Pray all the time, even if you feel like you can’t concentrate for more than a minute at a time. Pray, even when your brain feels like an internet browser with 50,000 tabs all open at the same time.

Pray when you feel the need. Pray when you don’t. Pray when God is near, and pray when He seems nonexistent.

Just pray.

Peanut’s claim to fame is that she has one foot that’s different from all the rest. She has one tan foot (or if you like, one peanut butter foot).

I had already named her when I discovered this little eccentricity. It took until she had already come home with me and been hanging out with me for a bit that I noticed.

But as you’ll probably notice from the picture, she’s quite proud of her little mismatched foot. Often, she’ll have it on prominent display where anyone can see it.

Sometimes, it’s good to celebrate those little quirks and foibles that make us different. Normal is boring, but unique is special. Don’t let anyone look down on you or treat you differently because you look or act or speak or think different.

Peanut also likes her naps. Any place where she and her peanut butter foot can sleep in comfort is a good spot. The feline life is a good life.

I like going back through my Facebook memories to see what I posted a year ago, two years ago, five years ago, etc. It’s interesting to find out what made me laugh or made me think. Sometimes, I run across words that affected me deeply then and still affect me now:

“I think most of us begin our Christian journey with this simple truth.

I’m broken. I need Jesus. The end.

However as we launch out on this new journey it doesn’t take long before we begin to hear this growing and incessant whisper that says, ‘Try harder, do more.’

Sing more.
Memorize more.
Journal more.
Preach more.
Pray more.
Evangelize more.
Serve more.

This approach can look quite spiritual to those around us; however, it’s often rooted in a inner conviction that our worth as a Christian is dependent upon our ability to outperform those around us. Behind this spiritual facade is a fragile and insecure heart desperately attempting to get God to love us more. We know God loves us but we’re afraid He may still be disappointed in us.

The cross isn’t something we start with and then move on from.
The cross isn’t just the starting line of our faith, it’s the centerpiece. Grace isn’t something we need just for salvation, it’s like air for the believer.

So today when you hear that whisper in your head that says ‘Try harder, do more,’ go back to this:

I’m broken. I need Jesus. The end” (Pete Wilson).

You’ll never outgrow your need for the Gospel. The End.

“Everything about which we are tempted to complain may be the very instrument whereby the Potter intends to shape His clay into the image of His Son–a headache, an insult, a long line at the check-out, someone’s rudeness or failure to say thank you, misunderstanding, disappointment, interruption. As Amy Carmichael said, ‘See in it a chance to die,’ meaning a chance to leave self behind…” (Elisabeth Elliot)

Or maybe how bout the entirety of 2020 up to this point? It has been one long disappointment for many, with so much delayed or denied. But to the one who knows and trusts Jesus, it could very well be a chance to die to self and find transformation and new hope again.

Instead of complaining, which is the normal human default, learn how to give thanks– even in the most difficult circumstances when the words are hardest to speak– because gratitude is God’s will for you, and because God still works ALL things together for good. Even 2020.

“O God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we hope in thy Word. There we see thee, not on a fearful throne of judgment, but on a throne of grace, waiting to be gracious, and exalted in mercy. There we hear thee saying, not ‘Depart ye cursed,’ but “Look unto me and be ye saved, for I am God and there is none else'” (Not by Me).

Here’s something you didn’t know you needed . . . until now. You’re welcome.

Peanut chose to spend her latest Caturday doing what she loves best — napping.

I know people always talk about cat naps, those short siestas that are supposed to be rejuvenating and invigorating. Peanut has very different ideas about cat naps.

Her idea is to nap as much as possible and to be awake for as little as possible. If cat naps are 15 minutes long, then she people naps. Her naps go on for hours and hours.

I love watching her sleep. She looks so serene and peaceful, like she doesn’t have a care in the world. And truly she doesn’t. Her only concerns are the next meal and the next nap. Oh, to lead the life of a feline.

Naps are good, especially on gloomy rainy Saturdays like today. I think Peanut has taken the nap to the level of an art form. I hope this little gal gets many more years to perfect her art form.

“When you are thinking of the grudge you owe someone, let the Spirit of God bring back to your mind how you have treated God” (Oswald Chambers, in Run Today’s Race from The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers).

I’m still stunned at the loss of Eddie Van Halen. It still doesn’t seem real. I still think that at some point someone will uncover the hoax and Eddie will be alive and well and working on the next Van Halen album.

One beautiful discovery for me was learning that toward the end of his life, Eddie and Sammy Hagar mended fences. They had been on bad terms for years– decades even– but had finally reconciled as friends again.

There’s nothing more beautiful than reconciliation. Nothing else points toward the selfless and unconditional love of God quite like it. It’s the rare happily ever after ending.

Who do you need to reconcile with? Is it a father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter? Is it a friend or a spouse– even an ex-spouse?

The question isn’t whether or not they deserve forgiveness, but whether you deserve peace. You will never move forward toward wholeness without reconciliation. You will hinder the flow of God’s blessing in your life by denying forgiveness.

Most of all, one day you will wish you could go back and reconcile. As painful as it is to put aside your pride to forgive the one who hurt you, it’s more painful to live with the regret of not being reconciled before it was too late. Once it’s over, you can never go back.

Jesus said that your forgiveness from God depends on how you forgive others.

“For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15, AMP).

As much as it is in your power, seek to forgive and be reconciled.

Today I ran across something a friend of mine posted several years ago. It’s a short prayer that sums up everything I want in my faith-walk: “Lord, make the things that are important to you, important to me.”

I want that to be my prayer. Whatever is important to God, whatever is on His heart and His mind, I want that to be important to me. That and nothing more. Amen.

I’ve been telling just about everyone about the new series called The Chosen. It’s the first ever multi-season series following the lives of Christ and the apostles.

So far, I really love how they’ve fleshed out each of the characters while remaining true to the original Gospel accounts. Plus for once, Jesus doesn’t have blond hair and blue eyes.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I do think some of the best standout portrayals of characters have been of Mary Magdelene and Nicodemus. But to see the Gospel stories come alive is worth seeing.

I usually cringe at the acting in a lot of Christian movies. It’s normally not the best. But this series has some of the highest production values and quality acting that I’ve seen from a faith-based production in a long time (and maybe ever).

Here’s the link if you want to check it out for yourselves.

https://studios.vidangel.com/the-chosen