spirituality

The Purpose of Prayer

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“Every time we pray our horizon is altered, our attitude to things is altered, not sometimes but every time, and the amazing thing is that we don’t pray more” (Oswald Chambers, in The Place of Help).

Oswald Chambers also said something else that I’ve thought a lot about over the years. He said that prayer doesn’t so much change the things around me as it changes me and I change things. I think maybe I’d say that when I pray for God to change my circumstances, what I really want is a shortcut out of the difficult season. God wants me to endure the season so that I am changed by it.

It’s like the old story of the cocoon and the butterfly. If you “help” the caterpillar out of the cocoon rather than watch it struggle, you deprive it of the strength it needs to fly. When we pray for God to take us or those we love over an obstacle rather than through it, we are robbing ourselves of sweetness of learning to know God deeper through the struggle and coming out of it more like Jesus.

I don’t think my problem is not praying enough as much as it is praying the wrong way. I still pray to God like I used to write to Santa Claus back in the day. I have my list of what I want, and when the list is over, I’m done. But prayer really is so much more than getting from God as it is getting to know God. And getting to know myself in the process.

“Prayer is not getting things from God. That is a most initial stage; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God: I tell Him what I know He knows in order that I may get to know it as He does”(Oswald Chambers, Prayer: A Holy Occupation).

Vintage CCM Vinyl

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I wrote a year and a half ago about how I love collecting all the old CCM (that’s Contemporary Christan Music for the uninitated) vinyl, especially from the 70s and 80s. It seems almost sacrilegious that in Nashville of all places these records could be so criminally undervalued and underappreciated. I mean, Nashville is supposed to be the center of the Bible belt in the United States of America.

But that’s where we are. Most people even the churches around Nashville, have no knowledge or appreciation for the history of Christian music. Most have no idea that it even exists. But for those select few who know and grew up around it, their childhoods were awesome.

I still love going to record stores and thrift stores around town to hunt for vintage CCM. There’s nothing more fulfilling than flipping through the bargain bins and pulling out one or two classic Christian artists from back in the day.

Better yet, when I drop the needle and some of those great songs hit me from the speakers, I am instantly back in time to when I first heard them. I can vividly remember what I was thinking and feeling at the time. I can usually remember all or most of the words.

I consider myself a child of the 80s because that’s when I really discovered music. I heard a lot of CCM music from my church youth group days and with much thanks to my youth pastors who went out of their way to introduce me to a better faith-based alternative to the music of the day (most of which seems tame compared to music these days).

I remember the kids I knew used to say their first concerts were to artists like U2 or Motley Crue or Ozzy Osbourne. My first ever concert was Sandi Patty. I know, I know, there goes my street cred, but there it is. That was my music growing up. I distanced myself from it for a bit, but I’ve come full circle again to loving the music that taught me so much about God and the Christian life. So much of my theology is from those songs.

I’m thankful for the music that made me who I am. I love how even though some of the artists aren’t in music anymore and some have even passed away, their music still lives on and still speaks a better word. May that be our legacy as well.

Turning the Wine Back into Water

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“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).

I’m guilty all the time of looking at people like they’re ordinary. I think that’s the default setting for the human race. We rarely if ever see anyone and see the image of God in him or her. We just don’t take the time to see beyond the surface labels of pretty, plain, fat, skinny, tall, short, etc.

I wonder what would happen if we could see people the way Jesus saw people. He didn’t see a stereotype or a caricature. Every time, He saw a unique individual with a story like no one else’s. He created each person with a one-of-a-kind purpose and plan that no one and nothing else can do.

He looked at you and me and thought we were worth dying for. Even at our worst moment in those times we wish we could take back or do over, Jesus still chose to go to the cross and lay down His life for us. While we were still sinners, the Bible says, Christ died for us.

I’ve been guilty of prejudging people before I’ve even had the chance to get to know them. Sometimes, I see the way they interact with others or maybe the expression on their faces. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I’m also sure glad that Jesus didn’t judge me like that. He saw the absolute worst version of me and still loved me.

I wonder what would happen if we loved people like that. Maybe we wouldn’t have to hunt high and low for gospel conversations and opportunities to share our faith. Maybe people would seek us out and want to know more about this Jesus they see in us, even if they can’t put a name to what they see.

In the Furnace

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“One day we took the children to see a goldsmith refine gold after the ancient manner of the East. He was sitting beside his little charcoal fire. (‘He shall sit as a refiner’; the gold- or silversmith never leaves his crucible once it is on the fire.) In the red glow lay a common curved roof tile; another tile covered it like a lid. This was the crucible. In it was the medicine made of salt, tamarind fruit and burnt brick dust, and imbedded in it was the gold. The medicine does its appointed work on the gold, ‘then the fire eats it,’ and the goldsmith lifts the gold out with a pair of tongs, lets it cool, rubs it between his fingers, and if not satisfied puts it back again in fresh medicine. This time he blows the fire hotter than it was before, and each time he puts the gold into the crucible, the heat of the fire is increased; ‘it could not bear it so hot at first, but it can bear it now; what would have destroyed it then helps it now.’ ‘How do you know when the gold is purified?’ we asked him, and he answered, ‘When I can see my face in it [the liquid gold in the crucible] then it is pure’ (Amy Carmichael, Gold Cord).

Some of you are in the furnace right now. It might be the furnace of affliction, suffering, and pain. It might be the furnace of rejection and loneliness. Or it might be the furnace of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Whatever it is, you can probably think of a million places you’d rather be than in that furnace.

But remember in the furnace is where you’re purified and sanctified. As much as I want it to be true, holiness doesn’t come from happiness. All those glorious spiritual mountaintop experiences aren’t what make you more like Jesus. It’s trudging through the valley where you learn and grow and become who God made you to be.

In one of my favorite books, Hinds’ Feet on High Places, the main character Much Afraid is sent out on a quest by the Shepherd and given two companions to help her on her way. Their names are Pain and Suffering. At first, she recoils and almost rejects them, but after some thought and reflections on the goodness of her Shepherd, she accepts their guidance. In the end, they are as much transformed as she is.

God takes what the world means to destroy us to strengthen us. He takes what was meant to set us back to move us forward. He takes what the enemy meant for evil, and He turns it for good (as the worship song goes). He’s working all things together for your and my good (even the crappy sucky stuff we’d rather move past and not have to deal with).

The end goal is for Jesus to see His likeness in us. For God to see His reflection in us and for the world to see God’s reflection in us as well. Then we know that we are truly being purified.

Known by Name

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The old saying goes something like this: Satan knows your name but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin but calls you by name.

We live in a world that preaches a watered-down god that tolerates anything and everything but has no real power to do anything about real evil. In such a culture, it’s easy to take for granted that God loves me.

But when you look at the real God from the Bible who knows every single thing about you including all those hidden sins and secret pasts, and He still loves you? And not only that, but this love isn’t a benign and vague feeling but a love demonstrated in Christ laying down His life for us.

That is an infinite love. It means He loves each and every one of us as if we were the only ones to love. He loves us with a purifying love that doesn’t merely tolerate us and cover over what’s wrong with us. His love transforms us and removes anything that is unworthy of God’s holiness or keeps us from being who God made us to be.

If we really understood and believed in that kind of love, we’d live different. We’d be different. The ones who get the love of God are the ones who love God and others well. They seek to know and do what Jesus says, not out of obligation but out of adoration. Their lives are a testimony to others and a kind of thank you back to God.

“My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19, The Message).

Worship Music

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Back in the day, the debate was whether to use hymns or praise choruses in church. Lately, a lot of churches have decided that it doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. You can do both.

As a child of the 80s and 90s, I have a nostalgic love for all the old praise choruses, but lately, I seem to be drawn back to hymns. I really love when you can take a hymn and give it a little more modern arrangement. That really makes the powerful words stand out even more.

I will say that if you pay attention to the rhyme scheme of the old hymns, they were always dead on. Every line rhymed exactly. Praise choruses? Not so much, but at least it was close most of the time. With the later modern worship music, not so much.

I really like some of the new songs, but I have to confess that some of the rhymes are really forced and don’t really rhyme at all. But that’s probably me being a little OCD. Besides, that’s not really the point of a worship song.

C. S. Lewis said that a good worship service is one where you were so focused on God that you don’t remember the sermon or the songs as much as you know that God was there. I’d add that a true worshipper knows that worship is more than just singing songs. He or she can truly sing from a heart of gratitude and praise, regardless of whether the song is an ancient hymn or a recent worship song because what matters isn’t the style or the arrangements but the God we’re singing about.

Maybe next Sunday will be another 90s throwback worship set. Maybe it will be all hymns. Or maybe it will be a blend of new and old. Regardless, I want my eyes to be on Jesus, not the setlist. That’s what truly matters, after all.

The Books that Built Me

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I had a random thought just now. Maybe I’d list some of the books I’ve read that challenged and changed me the most. It’s nowhere near a comprehensive list because I’ll think of one or two more that I should have added at 2 or 3 am.

But here is a list coming straight off the top of my head (including some series):

  1. The Valley of Vision – a collection of Puritan Prayers
  2. Hinds’ Feet on High Places – Hannah Hurnard
  3. The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee
  4. The Divine Conspiracy – Dallas Willard
  5. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
  6. Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
  7. My Utmost for His Highest – Oswald Chambers
  8. 1000 Gifts – Ann Voskamp
  9. The Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis
  10. The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien
  11. The Space Trilogy – C. S. Lewis
  12. The Book of Common Prayer
  13. The Calvary Road – Roy Hession
  14. Any of the Mitford books by Jan Karon
  15. Foxes’ Book of Martyrs
  16. The Mark of a Man – Elisabeth Elliott
  17. Evidence not Seen – Darlene Deibler Rose
  18. Morning and Evening – Charles Spurgeon
  19. Telling the Truth – Frederick Beuchner
  20. The Princess & the Goblin/The Princess & Curdie – George MacDonald
  21. The Hiding Place – Corrie ten Boom
  22. Gold by Moonlight – Amy Carmichael
  23. Imitation of Christ – Thomas a Kempis
  24. The Return of the Prodigal – Henri Nouwen
  25. Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning
  26. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire- Jim Cymbala

If I tried really hard (and really wanted to), I could have made this list ten times as long. I could probably name at least twice as many books that altered the course of my life and forever changed the way I think. But one that I left out on purpose but see as the ultimate #1 book is the Bible. Every other book influences me by how it restates and translates biblical themes in a new and fresh way.

Maybe one day, I’ll do another list. Or maybe I’ll list all the music and movies that influenced me. I’d love to hear some of the books that changed you for the better. I’m always looking for a new read, so maybe I’ll add your suggestions to my ever-growing list of books to read.

Heading South

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I finally got around to it. After months of thinking about it and finally deciding to make it happen, I visited the latest regional campus of Brentwood Baptist Church, The Church at West End in Columbia.

It was a bit of a drive from Brentwood to Columbia. Even on a Sunday, it took 45 minutes. But it was so worth it. I loved seeing this congregation worshipping and celebrating the Lord’s Day together.

I love how each of the campuses has a unique flavor and how each fits the community very well. Each one is a different expression of what a biblical Church should look like.

Several years ago, my goal was to visit each of the current campuses of Brentwood Baptist. At the time, there were 8, but I managed to get to each one. Now, I’m thankful that I’ve been to all 9. Maybe at some point, there will be another for me to visit.

I’m praying for the Church. It seems like more and more these days, the true Church that holds to the true faith will have to be more united than ever to survive. We will have to cross denominational lines and work together. We have to see other churches not as rivals or competition but allies and fellow saints.

God is at work. Whether it’s a massive structure that hosts thousands or a small room with a handful of people, God is present in the midst of them. People are getting saved and baptized. God is calling out faithful men and women to the ministry and the mission field.

Lord, keep us faithful to your true gospel. Bring back Your wayward churches and denominations that have strayed from Your truth. Bring back the prodigals that have wandered away and deconstructed. May we be true to all that You ask of us, and may we be one just as You, the Holy Trinity, are one.

Good Words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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“Do not worry! Earthly goods deceive the human heart into believing that they give it security and freedom from worry. But in truth, they are what cause anxiety. The heart which clings to goods receives with them the choking burden of worry. Worry collects treasures, and treasures produce more worries. We desire to secure our lives with earthly goods; we want our worrying to make us worry-free, but the truth is the opposite. The chains which bind us to earthly goods, the clutches which hold the goods tight, are themselves worries.

Abuse of earthly goods consists of using them as a security for the next day. Worry is always directed toward tomorrow. But the goods are intended only for today in the strictest sense. It is our securing things for tomorrow which makes us so insecure today. It is enough that each day should have its own troubles. Only those who put tomorrow completely into God’s hand and receive fully today what they need for their lives are really secure. Receiving daily liberates me from tomorrow” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

That reminds me of something Jesus taught His disciples to pray. It was something about God giving us each day our daily bread. Something like that.

Of course, I jest a bit. We are told to ask daily for daily bread. Just like the manna in the desert for the children of God, we can’t stockpile or horde our daily bread. We only get enough for today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

Worry doubts tomorrow’s provision. Worry doubts the heart of God. Worry forgets about all the days up to this one where God provided. But faith trusts not in the daily bread but in the Bread of Life.

Lord, give me today exactly what I need for today. Help me to trust you in the present and leave tomorrow’s troubles until tomorrow. Help me remember that you are already there and have already made provisions for me there. Amen.

An Evening Prayer

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“Lord, we come to You not because you are our last hope, but because You are our first love.

We’re not waiting to come to You only when we think there’s nothing else we can do. We’re coming to You *before we do anything at all* because waiting on You is *wisest* of all. We trust You to work all this out in Your good time — because that will be the best time, and You are only good and You hold all time. *Kneeling the most lets us stand the bravest.* Tonight we kneel and lay our painful problems in Your hands and thank You for the perfect peace You put in our hearts.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. #EveningPrayer#RestinginHisWord” (Ann Voskamp).

Lord, I confess that I only come to You when I need something. Often, You are my last resort. I acknowledge that when everything is going well, I simply don’t see my need for You. It’s only when life gets difficult and stressful that I finally manage to look up to You.

Thank You for being patient with me. You have shown me more mercy than I deserve. If You treated me the way I treat You most of the time, I probably wouldn’t be here. I’d definitely be a lot worse off than I am.

But Your word says that You are faithful even when I’m faithless. You continue to work in me even when I don’t work at all. You honor Your promise to complete what You started in me even when I make promises to You that I don’t keep.

I know that I can look back and see growth. I can see change. I can see that in the past, my lackadaisical faith wouldn’t have bothered me nearly as much as it does now. I can see that I am more committed to You than I was last year or in the last decade.

Lord, make me more like You. Period.