Prayer for Union with Jesus

Prayer for Union with Jesus

Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.

I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.

I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.

When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.

-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994

Hitters and Pitchers

Hitters and Pitchers

My mother-in-law, Edrea, is a Mariners fan. Whenever there is a game on, she will most likely be watching it. I enjoy watching her and my wife, Jan, interact as they watch the games together. It provides me with some very entertaining moments as they cheer the Mariners on and discuss pessimism vs. optimism. There is something to be learned from watching the games – the difference between hitters and pitchers.

Now, Hitters or batters really do not seem to have much of an agenda other than, “swing at the good balls and create the best hit they can and if they are fortunate they will hit a home run.” No one gets angry or blames the hitters when the pitcher has is throwing with what we call a hot hand.  If the pitcher is really hot he throws a no hitter.

The Pitchers, well, their work is to decide what’s going to happen next in the game. They set the pace of the game, plan the strategy, initiate the mood instead of react.

When our lives are in reaction mode, we’re allowing the outside forces to decide what happens next in our lives. We may have freedom from the hard work of setting an agenda, the give-and-take is we dance when the urgent situations arise and say dance. Sometimes it is all we can do to say, “I did the best I could with what was thrown at me...”

Following Christ takes guts in this world today. It is antithetical (a fancy word meaning mutually incompatible with God) and it is hard whenever you sense others judging, criticizing, or condemning you for your faith. When we decided to follow Christ, we decided to allow him to set the agenda for our lives (this is called the Lordship of Christ) and when we really allow him take control over our time and our efforts it is a game changer. The responsibility for what happens next belongs to both Christ and ourselves. 

Hitter or Pitcher – Jesus is Lord of all.

Live like Jesus? Really?

Jesus was an itinerant Jewish Rabbi in the First Century AD/CE who lived in Israel/Palestine during the period it was under Roman occupation. Many a pastor, including myself are preaching we are to live out the way of Jesus. I do not this is an inappropriate teaching or calling for followers of Jesus the Anointed One (Christians). The issue is people are interpreting the message we are preaching as we are meant to live exactly like Jesus.

     Jesus is the really the supreme example in the scripture (Bible) on how to live according to the will of God. Even though he is this supreme example this does not mean we are to live and act exactly like Jesus. It is not recommended that we attempt to replicate the life of Jesus within our own. Some might say at this point you are contradicting your teachings Dr. Doug.

     There is a reason why this is not possible to accomplish. We live in different times, different cultures, and we are definitely facing different world issues – or the same issues in different clothing. The First Century in Palestine was a very dangerous place and it is still today.

     We are not able to exactly follow the example of Jesus. What we are supposed to do is learn from him. How he lived and loved people, where he frequented, whom he ate and partied with, and from there we are able to follow his example and live in similar ways within in our own contexts and times and place and culture. 

     Here is what I believe Jesus desires of us as his followers: We are to live his way, like him, as much as if he were living in our times, our context, our place and our cultures.

     The fact is Jesus is already doing this – living within our times, our context, our place and our culture. He is ahead of us, leading us into encounters with those he is drawing to him through his prevenient grace. If you are a believer in Jesus, a follower of Jesus the Anointed One, then you are to be Jesus in the world.

What will you do – I recommend listen for the nudge of the Holy Spirit. What would Jesus have us do?

Christian Hospitality

New Decisions are called for in New Times - Series

Christian Hospitality

Moving towards a true Christian concept of “hospitality”

The way Christian hospitality often functions in most churches today is that every once in a while, some people in the church invite other members of the church over to dinner. They eat a meal, share some stories, and then the guests go back to their own home. But this is not really hospitality. This is entertaining. Most Christian hospitality is little more than Christian entertaining.

There is nothing wrong with entertaining. Entertaining is a form of fellowship and is a great way to get to know other people. My wife, Jan and I “entertain” all the time, and we thoroughly enjoy it. Christian hospitality, however, is quite different.

True Biblical Hospitality

In biblical times, hospitality involved allowing newcomers in town to stay in your house while they were there. It involved giving itinerant prophets a place to live. It included taking people in from the street where they were likely to get hurt. It may even include giving food and lodging to those who were too poor or too sick to care for themselves.

The common theme to hospitality, it seems, involves meeting a physical need of someone else, especially in regard to food, lodging, and safety.

It meant taking those who were in some sort of need or danger and providing them with food, lodging, safety, and security. It meant making your home their home.

Hospitality begins with a willingness and desire to share what you have with people in need. Maybe it is your food. Maybe it is a spare room. Maybe it is clothing.

Then hospitality takes place when God brings people to our attention that have needs, and we seek to meet those needs with what God has given us. God nudges us to serve him in the least of these. God desires for us to be a blessing to the world by being good news to others.

Hospitality, as someone has defined it, is making someone else “feel at home.” How can we, as followers of Jesus, help others “feel at home” when they are in our presence? How can we put them at ease, serve their needs, give them comfort, safety, healing, and rest?

Hospitality is not true hospitality unless it makes us less comfortable and someone else more.

Do you have examples of how you or a friend showed hospitality to someone else? Do you have suggestions or tips on how people can develop hospitality? Share your stories and ideas in the comment section below.