Tag Archives: prayer

OneCry, A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening

Posted on by

A blogging friend asked me to promote OneCry, and I gave them 2 sentences in the Read & Share posting yesterday.  I feel I can do better than that.

I grew up in a series of small, fundamentalist churches.  We read the King James Bible and abstained from “mixed bathing.”  The men wore pants, the women wore dresses, and no one wore shorts.  And twice a year we ran revival.  I could empathize with Michael Spencer when he described a very similar experience growing up, and got what he meant by evangelicalism and revivalism.  The need for revival is great, but I get a little uneasy when people talk about having one.

The  difference between Revival and Revivalism

There is a certain revival culture that exists among evangelicals, particularly among fundamentalists.  I have come to believe that you cannot “schedule” revival twice a year just because you book an evangelist for a week and meet every night at 7 p.m.  If an evangelist is preaching every night, and you hope to see lots of people walk the aisle and get saved, then that’s not really a revival anyway.  Revival would involve Christians already in the church being spiritually awakened, or recommitting to being about our father’s business.  There was certainly an evangelistic thrust in all of my childhood revival meeting experiences, but every church member was expected to be there every night also.  Maybe that covers all the bases.  If you want to schedule an evangelist to preach for a week at your church, by all means please do so.  But call what it is. Continue reading →

Tebowing

Posted on by

Okay, so here’s one more Tim Tebow blog post.  How can I talk about media saturation and then write another article?  Well, if it helps, it isn’t really Tim Tebow I’m ranting about/worshiping.

These kids are in trouble for Tebowing in their school hallways.  Some Christians are up at arms over rights of expression.  Some athletes are ranting about Tebow getting media coverage for either winning games and/or for being a Christian while their accomplishments and faith are overlooked.  My beef is this: kneeling on one knee and bowing the head is now called Tebowing.  Who gets the glory there? Continue reading →

See You at the Pole

Posted on by

The nationwide See You at the Pole event is next Wednesday, Sept. 28th.  Below is a short video.  The theme this year is “Converge.”

…

The See You at the Pole website (syatp.com) says the event began in 1990.  I swear I remember doing this in middle school in the late 80’s.  Must have been a local thing.

I teach at a private Christian school.  We have daily chapel, and my wife and I sponsor BCM.  Our students frequently worship together and hear the gospel message.  We still observe See You at the Pole because on that day thousands of students nation wide – and now even worldwide – meet together to pray.  At our school staff and students can meet and pray together, but in the public school setting the events are entirely student led.  We wouldn’t miss the chance to agree with those kids in prayer for anything.

*BCM is Baptist Campus Ministry.  The name changed in 2005 from BSU, Baptist Student Union.

See You at the Pole

Posted on by

I remember going to See you at the Pole in middle school, but according to Wikipedia the first meeting took place in Burleson, TX in 1990.  At any rate, See You at the Pole has since become a nationwide event, and takes place on the fourth Wednesday of each September.  That will be next Wednesday morning, September the 22nd.  The theme this year is REVEAL.  More at SYATP.com.

There is Much to Pray For

Posted on by

I noted at church this morning there seems to be more things to pray about than usual.  We’re in one of those seasons that “casting our cares upon him” takes a little more time and effort, but seasons change and this too shall pass.

Pray for the people of Hatti, as well as those who will go there bringing relief and doing what they can to help.  I know a group of church pastors personally who make regular trips to Hatti, and even now are gathering donations and preparing to go.  Let’s ignore the Pat Robertsons of the world who claim this is God’s judgment, and mobilize to give aid and live out the Gospel.  I don’t think Jesus would sit around saying “I told you so.”  He touched the sick, ate with sinners, washed the disciples feet, and told us to do the same.  We have blessed with much so that we can bless others. Continue reading →

The Discovery of the Short Post

Posted on by

timeI was warned when I started blogging about writing posts that were too long.  Shorter posts stand a better chance of being read.  Well, I’ve recently been trying to get our youth involved in some online discussion on their Facebook page.  I tossed out what I hope will be conversation starters, and realize that I don’t have to say everything I know in order for a post to be good.  Here’s an example, titled Jesus Read the Bible and Prayed:

 

There are sometimes tough choices to make when deciding how a Christian should act or what one should do in certain circumstances. What’s easy to understand is that we should be imitating the things that Christ did.

We know from the New Testament that Jesus was frequently found in the temple and synagogue reading the Hebrew scrolls. He is the Word of God, and he also read the Word of God. Jesus also spent serious time in prayer. Not just reciting the Lord’s Prayer, but we might say Jesus was hardcore in his prayer time. He often got up well before sunrise to pray, and on occasion prayed all night ’till sunrise. In Gethsemane, he prayed until Luke says his sweat was like great drops of blood.

Sometimes we get the mistaken notion that the closer we get to God, the less we need to pray. The opposite seems to be true; you can’t get closer than Jesus.

Open Door Policy

Posted on by

open door Summer is the season of mission trips, Vacation Bible School and Backyard Bible Clubs.  I would like to share a personal experience that I find especially encouraging. 

Our church is hosting a large number of volunteers this week from Lynchburg, VA.  Their mission team is doing a few construction projects and running several Backyard Bible Clubs in different locations.  One of them is at the small country church I frequently preach at.  This is an old church, and does not have central air.  During the day we open up the windows and turn on a couple of fans.  We’ve been leaving the front door standing open, just to move some air.  Well, this morning a young couple was driving by and noticed the open door.  She has been looking for a job, and everyone knows what that is like right now.  She felt the need to stop in and pray.  They entered the back of the sanctuary, and listened to the children’s Bible lesson that was being taught.  When the kids went downstairs for snacks and crafts, we had the chance to listen to their story and pray with them.  We invited them to join us tomorrow, and certainly for service on Sunday. 

They stopped at the church to pray because they saw the front door open.  We often (I hope) invite people to church, but how inviting is our church?  How many others would stop and pray, ask questions or just talk to us if they saw the door open?  This happened at 11:00 on a Thursday morning.  There’s a lot of hurt, a lot of need, a lot of fields white for harvest out there.  It may be a stretch just to imagine people with problems wanting to be anywhere near “church people.”  Imagine if more churches had open doors and people waiting to pray with those passing by.  Just a thought.

Thoughts on Holy Week: Jesus’ Prayer from the Cross

Posted on by

jesus_crossIn his first sermon (Mark 1) Jesus offers a simple message: “Repent and believe the gospel.”  As he hangs on the cross some 3 years later, what is Jesus doing?  We have only a handful of words spoken by Jesus during the crucifixion, but there are some powerful lessons to be shared in them.

As he hangs on the cross, he was in between two thieves.  One of them mocked Jesus, but the other asked to be remembered by him.  Jesus replied that he would be with him in paradise.  Even while dying on the cross, Jesus won a convert!

But even more amazing: Jesus said the prayer of intercession for the very people crucifying him that day. Not just of the Roman soldiers, but for those really responsible, including the Jewish people, the priests and the Sanhedrin.  “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  He prayed for the very people taking his life.  Taking the form of a servant is one thing.  Washing feet is another.  Praying for those that despitefully use you is another entirely.  But none of those compare to asking forgiveness for the very people that are nailing you to a cross, where you will slowly bleed and die.

When All Else Fails…

Posted on by

“When all else fails, pray.”  Have you ever heard that?  Maybe you’ve said that.  If we pray before everything else fails, maybe it won’t fail.

Thank You to All Who Have Prayed For Us

Posted on by

jan-5-09-ultrasound-imageAll we can do is say “Thank You” to any and all who have been praying for us. Regular fans and readers will recall being asked to pray for Teresa and our unborn child some weeks back. In 2002 and 2004 we had early term miscarriages, and were uncertain about this pregnancy from the very start. Pictured at left are two ultrasound images, the top from Jan 5 (9 weeks) and the other from Feb 2 (13 weeks). The baby is now 6.51 cm, with a fetal heartbeat of 162 bpm. It is too efeb-2-09-ultrasound-imagearly to determine gender, and atour next appointment (17 weeks) we will probably still have to wait.

If you click on the thumbnail image it will open full size. They were scanned at only 200 dpi so they could be uploaded more easily.

In December I asked Christians to please pray, and so I wanted to update my readers of our progress. The doctors say everything is perfect. The due date is August 10th.  You can keep tabs on us by checking the Journal page of My Other Blog from time to time. I blog theology and religion on The Master’s Table, with the goal of being God honoring, Christ Centered. Check out My Other Blog for news, humor, politics, funny pics and videos, and the events of my life.

UPDATE: 1) Johannah Lorelai was born August 11 (my wife’s birthday) 2009.  You can read more here.  2) There is no longer a journal page on My Other Blog, but the above link still goes to the home page.