neighbors

An Evangelistic Prayer

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“DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
Lord Jesus, reign in the hearts of our young children, of our husbands, wives, brethren, friends, and families. Lord, rule in the hearts of our neighbors. Lord Jesus, save London! Lord Jesus, look at this United Kingdom [and United States]. Look at all the kingdoms and republics of the earth. May the whole earth know you, exalted one. By the merit of your passion, we beg the Father to glorify you. Father, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you. And unto Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever, world without end.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
The most earnest and faithful minister of the gospel must ever remember that humbling truth. He has this precious treasure of the gospel entrusted to his charge; he knows he has it, and he means to keep it safely; but, still, he is nothing but an earthen vessel, easily broken, soon marred,—a poor depository for such priceless truth.
If angels had been commissioned to preach the gospel, we might have attributed some of its power to their superior intelligence; but when God selects, as he always does, earthen vessels, then the excellency of the power is unquestionably seen to be of God, and not of us.”

Maybe this coming year of 2025 is when all believers commit to praying earnestly for their lost family, friends, and neighbors. Maybe this is the year that all of us (including me) will pray for opportunities for gospel conversations wherever we live, work, and play. I have a small group of people that I’m praying for that they’d come to know Jesus in a saving way. I’m sure you do, too.

The older I get, the more I am convinced that what we need is spiritual and not political. As much as we want to believe it, another Republican president isn’t going to fix what’s wrong with the country or the world. Only Jesus can do that. And only Jesus can fix the hurt and brokenness in each of us.

So I’m praying more than ever in 2025 for a mighty work of God in those who don’t know God. But first, we need a mighty work of God for those who DO know God so that they can be the earthen vessels to convey the gospel wherever we go whenever we go to the very ends of the earth.

The Lost Art of Porch Sitting

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I think in my twilight years I want a house with a front porch. It doesn’t have to be a big house. It can even be one of those tiny houses as long as there is room enough in front for a rocking chair and/or a wicker swing.

I see houses all the time that have front porches of all sizes and types and shapes, from wraparounds to those that barely stretch past the entry. But I very rarely see anyone sitting on those front porches. Most people are too busy and have lost that art of being able to sit on their front porches.

I think it’s a lost art. It’s one thing to be physically present on a front porch but be mentally elsewhere, whether it be on social media via all the devices or with thoughts that are a thousand miles away. Sometimes, all you need is a front porch, a rocking chair, and a good book. Or even just the front porch and rocking chair on a beautiful sunny day.

We’re so addicted to our devices that 15 minutes without them can seem like 15 years. It’s easy to spend all that time wondering what you’re missing out on or what breaking news you haven’t heard about. But all that can wait for a few moments of hearing the hum of a creaky porch swing or the song of the cicadas.

People did that back in the day. They’d spend afternoons and evenings on the front porches, visiting neighbors and sharing sweet tea and their lives. They didn’t have devices. Further back in the day, they didn’t have television. Those front porches were their social media, their grapevine, their community all rolled up into one.

Back when I was little, I’d sometimes curl up on a porch swing and fall asleep to the creaky swaying rhythm and gentle breezes blowing. I’m sure that life can’t be THAT simple again, but I wonder if we don’t overcomplicate our lives with too much stuff and too many activities and not enough margin. We can choose to say no to things to have room for rest and reflection.

I want to get good at front porch sitting, not doing anything other than waving at neighbors and being in the moment and hearing the small still voice of God.

RIght Living and Right Speaking

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Occasionally, the creative well runs dry and I end up “borrowing” from other great writers. One of my favorites that I’ve quoted many times in the past is Henri Nouwen (who along with Brennan Manning are probably my two favorite authors).

Here’s what he wrote that again struck me so powerfully:

“To be a witness for God is to be a living sign of God’s presence in the world.  What we live is more important than what we say, because the right way of living always leads to the right way of speaking.   When we forgive our neighbours from our hearts, our hearts will speak forgiving words.  When we are grateful, we will speak grateful words, and when we are hopeful and joyful, we will speak hopeful and joyful words.

When our words come too soon and we are not yet living what we are saying, we easily give double messages.  Giving double messages – one with our words and another with our actions – makes us hypocrites.   May our lives give us the right words and may our words lead us to the right life.”

Right speaking comes out of right living. People will sense the authenticity of your words when they see what you say lived out. Your faith will be more caught than taught, and if your words don’t match your actions, then people will dismiss the words and not the actions.

If I speak and act out of a need to be liked or thought well of, then what I say and do won’t be as effective as if I speak and act as one who knows who he is and who knows that he is the Beloved of God. My identity informs my authenticity.

I hope and pray that from this point on I will speak only what I live, and I will live only what God has already spoken about me.

 

It’s That Camel Back Day Again

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Do you miss those Geico commercials about the camel who gets all excited about it being Wednesday? Neither do I.

I’d like to update you on what I’ve been listening to lately. Most of it has been in my car commuting to and from work, but some of it has been on those nights when I’m not as sleepy as I thought I was when my head hit the pillow.

1) Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon: I used to fall asleep to this album every night. It’s good for when you’re up at 1 am in your dark bedroom (if you’re me). It could probably also be used on Halloween to scare the neighbors.

2) The Wailing Jennys- Firecracker: this music takes me to a happy place in my soul. Plus, it fulfills my quota for pitch-perfect three-part harmonies for the week.

3) Willie Nelson- One Hell of a Ride: I used to think I didn’t like country music, but I discovered that it’s the newer stuff that I (mostly) don’t really like. I love the old-school classics.

4) The Bill Evans Trio- Since We Met: It may not be a 5-star classic album, but it sooths the savage beast within. I think both my uncles would be proud that I’ve broadened my musical horizons so much.

5) The Spin Doctors – Pocket Full of Kryptonite

6) April Wine – The Nature of the Beast: I don’t know much about this band, but I like their sound. I do think a new CD with remastered sound would sound a lot better.

7) Joni Mitchell- The Studio Albums 1968-1979: this will very shortly be in my car and keeping me sane on those sllllloooooowwww drives home after work. Especially the song “Both Sides Now.”

That’s not everything, but it’s everything I could think of at the moment. I seem to have gone in a retro direction with my music. I like new music and new artists, but I find myself going back in time (as in before my time) more as I get older. But my tastes still haven’t mellowed all that much.

More to come at a later date.

 

 

 

Love in General

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“This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves” (1 John 3:16-20).

I heard something today in a sermon that struck home. The pastor, Aaron Bryant, basically said that many of us are so concerned about loving people that we neglect to love the person in front of us at any given moment. We can get so caught up in the theoretical idea of love in a general sense that we fail to love our neighbor in a very practical sense.

It’s one thing to talk of loving people, but quite another to love that difficult co-worker or that annoying neighbor. Maybe it’s a brother or sister that you don’t get along with and haven’t spoken to for weeks or months.

God does have a sense of humor. When you ask God for patience, He will send you to a situation or a person who will try what little patience you have. When you pray for someone to love, often He confronts you with someone who while not completely unlovable is far from easy to love.

Remember in those times that you were once that unlovable person. In loving you, God made you lovable. Maybe when you love someone else with that kind of love, they will become lovable as well. The most effective testimony is loving people well, especially those of the faith. The calling card of the early Church was how well they loved each other.

How can you love not just in general but specifically and practically? It starts with making time for that person. Making a phone call, sending a text, paying a visit, meeting that person for coffee, or making them feel welcome when they move into your neighborhood.

There’s a word for people who claim to love God but don’t love His people– hypocrites. If you say one thing and live another, you automatically invalidate your message.

As the Apostle John said, let’s love not just in word or speech or in theory but in deed and truth.

 

 

Palm Sunday

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image

“Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” (from The Book of Common Prayer).

We celebrate Palm Sunday today.

On this day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem a hero. The crowds greeted Him with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

I doubt anyone could have guessed at that point that a week later those very same people would be shouting again, but this time for Him to be crucified as a common criminal.

Jesus knew. He alone knew what was really in their hearts. He wept over Jerusalem, the city who had the very Messiah they had so longed for in their very midst, but refused to recognize Him. The very ones who murdered the prophets sent by God Himself.

Jesus knew that not too long after that, Jerusalem would hardly be recognizable. In fact, it would be a ruin. The Romans, true to the prophecy, would not leave one stone standing on top of another.

I wonder when was the last time I wept for Nashville? Or my neighbors. Or the people around me who don’t know this Jesus, who don’t know that there’s a hope of a better life and a better future awaiting them?

Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours. And then spur me to do something about it.

Things I Love 50: The Last Farewell

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island hammock

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift” (Albert Einstein).

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself” (Tecumseh).

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness” (John Keats).

“Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on” (Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are).

This is the last one. But as C.S. Lewis wrote in The Last Battle, the the end of history was not the end; history itself is but the title page and preface, and after that begins the real story which goes on for ever and where each chapter is better than the previous one. That’s how it is with joy. There really is no end to joy and its gifts for those with thankful hearts and wide-open eyes.

1,551) The good tired feeling after mowing the lawn.

1,552) Hugs from my grandmother.

1,553) Great music from Coldplay and Radiohead.

1,554) Freshly clipped toe nails.

1,555) How perfectly cold water quenches my thirst.

1,556) The Living Water than never runs dry and never leaves me thirsty ever.

1,557) People who “get” me.

1,558) The freedom that comes with forgiveness.

1,559) Finding out that being broke doesn’t mean the end of life as I know it.

1,560) My friend Wendy who is just a facebook message away at all times.

1,561) That post-shower feeling.

1,562) “God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God-of-Angel-Armies protects us” (Psalm 46:1,MSG).

1,563) Jesus’ promise of rest to those who are weary and exhausted.

1,564) God making me and loving me just the way I am.

1,565) Catfish and hush puppies, all fried.

1,566) Relaxing in a jacuzzi.

1,567) Liking me for me and being good with being a nice guy.

1,568) Knowing when to hold ’em, knowing when to fold ’em (like Kenny Rogers sang).

1,569) My very sleepy yet very comforting feline therapist yet again at her job.

1,570) iCloud automatically transferring pictures from my iPhone to my iPad and my iLaptop (just kidding, it’s a Sony Vaio).

1.571) How much better typing out one of these lists makes me feel.

1,572) My dad’s goofy but totally lovable dog, Molly.

1,573) My goofy and random sense of humor.

1,574) My impressive t-shirt collection.

1,575) People who wait until they are married before living together (which is so rare these days).

1,576) Planning up a Delilah playlist of cheesy love songs on my iPhone.

1,577) The safe recovery of that 16-year old girl Hannah who had been kidnapped.

1,578) All news stories that have happy endings.

1,579) Friendly neighbors.

1,580) Credence Clearwater Revival.

1,581) The photo frame option on my iPad that turns it into . . .wait for it. . . one of those electronic photo frames.

1,582) Stepping out of a muggy summer day into air conditioning.

1,583) People who not only speak their faith but live it out.

1,584)  The car KITT from the old TV show Knight Rider.

1,585) Seeing pictures of healthy newborns from friends and family on Facebook.

1,586) Taking a spoonful of local honey that’s supposedly good for my allergies but so good to me.

1,587) That girl’s smile in the picture that I used for one of my blogs. I’ll probably never see her again but I won’t ever forget that smile.

1,588) John Mayer’s lyrics.

1,589) Checking out the newest smart-phones in the stores (even though I’m perfectly content with my iPhone 5).

1,590) Looking forward to my next coffee and conversation outing.

1,591) Knowing all my family and friends are safe and sound for the night.

1,592) Real and authentic conversations about life and faith.

1,593) Having all my needs supplied out of God’s glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

1,594) Perfect love casting out fear.

1,595) That Jesus isn’t safe, but He’s good.

1,596) One day going overseas on a mission trip.

1,597) Having no regrets about following Jesus.

1,598) “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

1,599) Having many local coffee spots to check out in the next few months.

1,600) Every second I’ve spend writing these lists over the last couple of months.

I hope these lists have inspired you to start list of your own where you name those things you’re thankful for that you love. Not necessarily the monumental or earth-shaking things, but even the tiniest of things that make you smile or make your day a little brighter. It has been so much fun writing these and I thank you for reading them. God bless.

A Kairos Challenge

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Tonight, Mike Glenn spoke about the disciples on the road to Emmaus and how they failed to recognize Jesus because so often the last place we look for Jesus is right where we are. Jesus showed the highest compliment to his disciples when he called them friends and proved it when he laid down his life for these friends.

We are called to do the same. We are called to walk alongside people and be their friend, not for any gain or for any return, but simply for the sake of friendship. Even if the other person shows no inclination toward your viewpoint and wants nothing to do with your God, you are still called to be a friend.

The example Jesus showed us is that a friend is a friend, regardless. I can never give up on a friend because Jesus never gave up on me even though he had plenty of opportunities and reasons to do so.

We’re also called to be neighbors. Not in the sense of location, but in the sense of hospitality. The Good Samaritan parable shows us that the definition of a neighbor is someone who has a need that we have the power to meet, regardless of whether that person looks like us, acts like us, or believes us. Regardless of whether that person is likable or not.

I can’t remember where I heard it before and I’m sure I’ve shared it before, but I love the idea that Jesus is the ultimate neighbor. I was the one lying beaten and bloody on the side of the road, half dead. Jesus was the only one to stop and help me. He was the only one who paid for my care.

So, the challenge tonight is to be a friend and a neighbor. Not necessarily to shove my faith down anyone’s throat or prove the existence of God and the Bible. Just to love people where they are for who they are just like someone once loved me.

That’s all.