Let Us Pray

I've been listening to a certain song by my best friend Steven Curtis Chapman lately (ask Kelsey), and it's all about prayer! Basically I think it's a really great song about what prayer should be like. I'll just post it here so you all can read for yourself. It has quite a few words, so prepare!

I hear you say your heart is achin'
You've got trouble in the making
And you ask if I'd be praying for you please
And in keeping with convention
I say yes with good intentions
To pray lately making mention of your needs
Since we have this moment here at heaven's door
We should start knocking now so what are we waiting for

Let us pray, let us pray
Everywhere and every way
Every moment of the day
It is the right time
For the father above
He is listening with love
And he wants to answer us
So let us pray

So if you feel the spirit movin'
Prompting, prodding and behooving
There is no time to be losing let us pray
Let the Father hear us saying
What we need to be conveying
Even while this song is playing let us pray
And just because we say the words amen
It doesn't mean this conversation needs to end

Let us pray, let us pray
Everywhere and every way
Every moment of the day
It is the right time
Let us pray without end
And when we finish start again
Like breathing out and breathing in,
Let us pray

Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence
As our prayers draw us near to the one who knows our need
Before we even call his name

Ok, so I have a few favorite lines, the first one is when he says:
Since we have this moment here at heaven's door
We should start knocking now so what are we waiting for
In prayer we have an exciting connection to God Himself! That is amazing if you really stop and think about it. We, who are lowly and pretty much insignificant little specks in the vastness of all the universe, are loved by God so much that He gave us a way to petition Him at any time. Christians are literally keyholders to God's throne room, and I think Steven really hits it when he says "what are we waiting for?"

For the father above
He is listening with love
And he wants to answer us
So let us pray
There's no good reason for us not to want to talk to God! He is the most beautiful, loving, attractive, holy, and powerful being in the universe and He wants to talk to us. That's extremely exciting to me.

The next part that really stuck out to me was this section of the chorus:
Let us pray, let us pray
Everywhere and every way
Every moment of the day
It is the right time

The Bible contains many exhortations for us to pray "without ceasing" and it's so encouraging to me that this song does too! I'm really not sure what I can add to that, those lines pretty much say it all. However, if thats not extreme enough for you, read this next line:

Even while this song is playing let us pray

Wow! Now that is hardcore! Even while his own song his playing he encourages us to pray to God, to worship Him in that way. We have that privilege and that ability. That might seem difficult, even impossible, but if we strive for it, where will we fall short? If we are seriously seeking to fill every full moment with prayer, how much more will we be filling those unused moments of our day with it? This also seems to be a serious help in times of temptation. Then again, if we are constantly talking to God, what time is there to be tempted? There's just no room for it! This is indescribeably exciting to me! Our victory over sin is all about running towards God and wrapping our arms around Him, completely focused on His face...
Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence
As our prayers draw us near to the one who knows our need
Before we even call his name

We can come to God with assurance that He will answer, after all the Bible says that those who come without faith are double minded and should not expect anything from God anyways (James 1:6-8). This verse also asserts that praying to Him will draw us closer to Him. Now, it really isn't all that magical. The thing I love about Christianity is the fact that it's based on reality! Religion will not get anyone closer to God. It's like this: If you want to get to know someone, if you want to have a truly intimate relationship with them, you talk! You don't do a little dance and expect to know them. You don't go to war for someone and therefore know them any better! You talk to them! You get to know them, and then perhaps you'll do an amusing dance for them, or go fight for them. Prayer is talking to God. When we sing worship songs to God, we praise Him for what we know about Him. We don't know about his love because we praise Him, we praise Him because He has let us experience His love! At least I think that's the way it should be.

Let us pray without end
And when we finish start again
Like breathing out and breathing in,
Let us pray
This is the last part of the song that really stuck out to me. Again, the pray without ceasing theme. Our prayer's should be always happening, and if we ever do finish a prayer, no problem, just start praying again! It's like breathing, always starting and ending, always happening, without it we suffocate. I've experienced this before. I had neglected to pray for a certain amount of time and during that time my emotional state started going down hill. I couldn't really be happy with anything, and I couldn't figure out why! If anyone ever feels depressed I encourage you to ask yourself: Have I been talking to God and letting Him talk to me, devoting my whole heart to Him. I have never found a time where I was depressed and this answer was "Yes" at the same time. It is so obvious and convicting that it's annoying! The flesh so desperately wants to be able to be happy without God, but it just doesn't work that way, and I know it!

This song was based on a few verses which I will list here (NIV):

"Pray continually" ~ 1 Thess 5:17

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." ~ Col 4:2

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers an requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." ~ Eph 6:18

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." ~ Heb 4:16

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." ~ Rom 12:12

I hope this entry has encouraged you to pray always without end! And if you ever finish, start again!

1 Corinthians 8

All right. It's been a little while since I last posted, over a week, so I'm getting one of the posts up that I wrote while I was on my vacation in Mexico! And here it is:

The first time I read through this chapter of 1 Corinthians I wasn't sure how exactly I was going to apply it to real life. It's about food sacrificed to idols. No one (that I am aware of) sacrifices to idols these days, so you can see my dilemma. This passage is, however, a great example of an appropriate time to take a principle and apply it to other areas of life, so let's do that.

In verse one, Paul says: "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." That in itself is enough to write a book on, but I'll sum it up as best I can. Without love, knowledge only makes us arrogant and self-righteous, consequently tearing others down and making them feel inferior. This is the antithesis of love, which by definition builds others up and encourages them. We can see this from our life experience as we examine the reactions of people and see that this is obviously true. People like being loved. They crave it. No one looks forward to anyone making them feel lowly and ignorant, which is what knowledge will do without love. Simple enough, right?

Now, why is Paul telling us this? It's because he's giving us a reason to prefer love, so that the consciences of the weaker brothers are not violated by what those with stronger consciences do. In the case of the Corinthians, it was over which foods they could eat, but it could be appled to a multitude of other situations. A specific example eludes me at the moment, but I'm sure you all are intelligent and can think of an example from your own life. Perhaps it is over decided whether to send one's child to public or private school, or deciding whether to go to Christian or secular college. Oh! Dancing, now there's a grey area if I've seen one. Some people's consciences are pierced by doing this, whereas other people have no problem with it. The point is that as Christians we can have a great freedom in the things we do (v.8) bar sinfulness, so long as it doesn't violate our consciences or anyone else's (v.9).

The idea here is that if you cause a defiled conscience, you have sinned against your brother and against Christ. If we excercise our freedom without concern for our brother, it can have very serious remifications (v.11). This destruction is the opposite of love and what Christ calls us to, therefore it is sin against that person, and consequently against Christ (v.12). Paul further explains how serious the matter is in verse 13 when he says: "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." we see here that Paul is completely devoted to his fellow Christians, regardless what the cost is to himself.

We need to strive to be like Paul, as he strove to be like Christ in this way. Christ was always looking out for the good he could do for us, and was willing to pay any penalty for that good. All the way up to death on a cross, as well as the numerous other pains he endured prior to that so that we can be saved. This especially applies in light of Bobby's message today concerning the family. We can always be looking out for how we can prefer them over ourselves, and I'm confident that we won't have to look long to find an opportunity to do this good work that God has laid before our feet.

"But the man who loves God is known by God." ~ 1 Corinthians 8:3


P.S. Christa's pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Repentance

What if I told you today that I was no longer going to post. I am not inspired to write anymore, I don't have time. School (although it hasn't started) is practically taking over my life. I went to the library and bookstore today and picked up a few books that when put together are as long as the Bible. So I would have to make a tradeoff. Sorry guys.

HAH! What a bunch of bularky. If I told you that today, I would be a dirty liar. A Cretan if you will. ;-) Read my post on faithfulness. My posts seem to be fewer and further between, but what can I say? I really am busy, and for a good number of weeks out of the year I'm away from internet access. I'll be going to Mexico this coming week, and then Survival Camp 2 weeks after that. Don't have a heart attack, though. I'll always come back, and that's what matters.

It reminds me of a certain spiritual area with which most people seem to have problems: that being repentance. Now, I'm coming into this blind, so let's see what I can scrounge up in the way of verses while we walk through this subject. It seems to me that most people take either 1 of 2 extremes on this subject.

The first extreme being that repentance is a safety hatch for all sin that you may or may not do. That meaning that I can go out and do whatever I want with the idea in mind that I can just go back to God and He'll forgive me. Now, although it may be completely valid that we are not at all powerful enough to "out sin" God's grace and that this implies a certain freedom with our actions, if we are sinning blatantly without scarring our conscience, this could be a big red flag saying: "Hey stupid! Wake up and smell the coffee! Salvation means a changed heart, not a license to sin!" If salvation means being rescued from the power of sin, and then we go back to the sin we were saved from, what was the point?! Paul puts it quite nicely in the first two verses of Romans 6. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" We cannot die and live at the same time in the same sense. I cannot be brain dead and brain alive at the same time. I cannot be dead to sin and living in it at the same time.

The second extreme is this: repentance is a one time thing that happens when we become a Christian, and since God has forgiven us, we need not worry if we ever mess up. This is not any closer to the truth as the last extreme. We are supposed to repent of our sin when we realize we have done wrong. David did this when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. When confronted with His sin, David immediately confessed (2 Samuel 12). Now, perhaps the problem is not with how often we should repent, but with what actually defines the word. I think that this is what people don't understand. Repentance means confession and a rejection of the confessed sin. I'm not so sure that it necessarily implies a plea for forgiveness (the initial request does. We have to accept God's gift before it's actually ours), since indeed Christ has already forgiven us for all our sin. It does however demand a brokenness over our sin, and an honest desire to seek after Christ and kill the sin that once entangled us.

What then? The idea I'm trying to convey is that neither the power nor the importance of repentance should be taken away. I know that often times I either lean towards one side or the other of these views of repentance. We should not forget to constantly be trying to close the gap between us and God by removing the sin that is in the way, knowing the infinite nature of God's grace. Let's not be afraid of coming back to God knowing our depravity means we are not perfect. Let's not be afraid that God might not take us back this time, that He's fed up with us, that we've sinned one too many times. Let us not forget this, but let us not forget God's anger either. God will NOT tolerate unrepented sin. Evil CANNOT win. God won't let it, and I pity the man who "takes advantage" of God's grace, all the while thinking he's going somewhere he isn't.

I'm having a tough time concentrating right now, but I think that's quite enough to chew on for today hmm? Enjoy. And leave me lots of comments!

Empty Praise

I meant to get this post up on the day it claims to be posted, but was not able to finish until after my high school missions trip, which ended on the 10th of July. This was posted the 11th. Read it as if posted June 30th.

Tonight I had the opportunity to go with the Sullivans and some of their friends to go see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. It was very good singing, especially considering the fact that every single one of them is a volunteer, and there was a great amount of coordination involved. Their claps were all on beat and the scariest part was when they would put their hands down, because they did it... really... slowly... like... this...

Anyway, the eeriest part was when they sang "worship" songs that I like to sing to my God. They sang these songs and I suppose I was expected to appreciate their spirituality for it. Well, I didn't . That singing was only deceptive. It was empty praise. If they were worshiping at all (and not performing), then they were worshiping a false god. I talked to a Mormon once and said that her teachings didn't line up with my Christian teachings, she insisted that Mormons were no different from Christians. That wasn't difficult to discount, but that experience only convinced me that the purpose of the Mormon religion was deception. That's why I couldn't appreciate what they were doing.

They were good, yes. But it didn't mean anything. It was just empty.

The God we worship doesn't care that we sing the greatest hymns or most powerful worship songs, he doesn't care how well we sing them or how many people we sing them in front of. We don't even have to sing in order to worship God. He cares about the heart. His Word says He is seeking "true worshipers" who "will worship the father in spirit and in truth." - John 4:23 I need to be careful, though. Just because I am a Christian doesn't mean I can't be presenting empty worship to God. It can be just as easy to sing the words of the song without meaning them, or doing good works in order to get something other than Christ. I need to constantly remind myself of God's attributes and worship Him for those, realizing how low I am and how much He really deserves it.

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night"
~ Psalm 92:1-2

1 Corinthians 7:17-40

All right. The last time I tried to write this, it got lost. That was Sunday evening. It's Tuesday afternoon now. Hopefully the bad "luck" has passed by now. But perhaps it was not simply a case of bad luck. When I wanted to continue writing this on Monday, I had already spent an hour on it and just wanted to finish it and move on. Well that should be a red flag right there. That kind of apathy is unacceptable, and will not help us to continue move closer to Christ. Now, the fact that I try to do this on a regular basis could have the effect of making it a routine and numb me to doing it, but is that any reason to stop doing it? I think not. Reading our Bibles every day could get routine, however that does not in any way imply we should not do it every day. This last Sunday at Bible study, Bobby brought up a great point. This is a relationship! As such, it should have all the aspects of a successful and exciting relationship... Like spontaneity! A schedule should be there to guide you, not control you!

This blog is supposed to be all about 1 Corinthians, but that did not stop me from taking a day to write my post about Faithfulness. After that I got right back onto my "schedule." Bobby and Christa's marriage (or any other marriage for that matter), he said, could be completely planned with a bunch of nice activities to do together, but how predictable! There's no room for emotion or surprise, and I doubt anyone would like their life or relationships to be like that. Sure, a plan is nice sometimes so you have some idea of what you want to do, but when that plan decides what you do instead of you planning what you do, well, that just sounds dangerous. At that point apathy can hit, and you will have no power to resist it, since you have completely committed yourself to doing something you no longer want to do.

On that note, let us dive in to the last half of chapter 7. Verses 17-24 are pretty straightforward, and seem to just be a continuation of the theme of contentment. Paul says that we need not worry about changing our social status simply because we are saved. The Lord has a place for each of us, and that place is where we should walk and serve the Lord (v.17). He reassures us that religious status and social status is nothing, "but keeping the commandments of God is what matters" (v.19).

On a side note: It seems that Paul has a tendency to repeat himself a lot, perhaps he got that from the Old Testament. I seem to remember it happening there quite a bit too. Verses 17,20, and 24 are very similar. I would not even start to accuse him of being a bad writer (we always learn not to be repetitious in English class at school), since he may have felt this was necessary. These Corinthians were hard-headed and proud, so he may have felt that it would take a few times to really make his point

In verse 25 Paul decides to give advice rather than a commandment, since he knew of no command from the Lord (Christ or the Old Testament) that he could give. He advises people to stay as they are, if single to remain single, and if married to remain married. He does say that if one decides to get married, that is perfectly legitimate, although marriage will inevitably produce some conflict. He again wishes that men could be like him, and not have to worry about the troubles of a marriage (v.28).

In verse 29 Paul makes a little shift, encouraging the Corinthians to seek the Lord fully. He says that "those who have wives should be as though they had none" (v.29). This is not to say that marriage is not important or that physical needs should not still be met, but to say that the marriage should not take away from one's service to the Lord. This is not a problem if the one we marry encourages us toward that end in the first place! This is an urgent message, too, to be started immediately, not put off until some future date, because the "time is short" (v.29).

Paul urges that there be no distractions coming between us and the Lord (v.32). Marriage is not inherently a hindrance, although it does bring up potential distractions that could get between us and God. One of these is seeking to please our spouse (vv.33,34). That could be an encouragement to humble oneself and be Christ-like and more of a servant, or it could dominate our thoughts, and become an obsession taking higher precedence in our lives than God. Single people need not worry about this distinction, because they can simply focus on seeking the Lord and keeping themselves holy in body and spirit (v.34). At the end of this paragraph Paul once again reiterates that this counsel is not meant to hinder them, but to encourage them to remove distractions from their life in whatever way possible (v.35).

Verses 36-38 are Paul's advice on what to do in the case that the father had dedicated his daughter to lifelong chastity. If histhe man's daughter had a problem with this, and wanted to get married, he should not feel that breaking his vow would be sinning. It is no sin to allow one's child to marry. However, if the daughter was not bent on marrying anyone, he should not feel compelled to have her marry. Keeping her as a virgin would not be wrong. This was simply a matter of preference, not a choice between wrong or right.

Verses 39-40 are about the wife and restrictions on marriage and remarriage. Basically, the commitment lasts until one person dies, at which point the living spouse may remarry if they please (v.39). Paul says that he thinks they would be happier staying single, and for many that may be true, then adds (and this is actually funny, as it would seem obvious) that he thinks he has the Holy Spirit in him.

This passage at a first glance may seem somewhat dry, focused on an aspect of human living that does not specifically apply to me, but distractions are anything but missing from my life! The idea that we should "be without care" (v.32) and "serve the Lord without discation" (v.35) still apply! Jesus Christ once told us to be radical about dealing with distractions and sin. He told us we should cut off any inlet it has into our lives, so that we can serve Him perfectly without worrying about other things. He used an analogy of eyeballs being plucked and hands being severed. That is how radical I should treat these things that are getting in my way of serving Christ and getting to know Him better (Please note that it was just an analogy ~ He was not condoning self mutilation). What I can continue to do at all times is search for ways to destroy those sinful desires that creep up to take away from the joy I have in this relationship with my Lord.