There is an article in today's Chicago Tribune about a Illinois poll on belief in God and prayer. In the state of Illinois only 27% believe that God's Word is true and while the majority of people in claim to pray, a minority of people claim that their prayers are answered.
My first thoughts turned to Romans 10:14 where it says "How can they call on the one they have not believed in?" There is no promise in God's Word that he will hear and answer the prayer of someone who does not believe in him. This poll does not surprise me in the least. Answered prayer is a gift and a promise for believers alone. Without faith prayer is nothing more than talking to yourself and a great waste of time.
As believers we have access to God's throne of grace. God will hear and answer our every prayer. Out of love for those who do not have a relationship with God it is important we pray for those who cannot pray for themselves.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Crosstown Classic
I have been a Cubs fan all my life. Last night I had two first time experiences. It was my first time to sit on top of a rooftop at Wrigley. Actually, we stood on the rooftop. It was also the first time I have attended a Cubs vs White Sox game. It was definitely a lot of fun.I am amazed by the passion of those who were in attendance. At the end of the game, after the Cubs had won, all the Cub fans broke out in a resounding refrain of Go Cubs Go. They continued singing as the left the ballparks and out into the streets. Go Cubs Go.
If we held half the passion in worship on Sunday morning as the fans of these teams had, it would be an incredible experience. Imagine marching out of the church - Go God Go.
What may be ironic, is I wonder how many of those fans, passionately singing as they walked out of the ballpark will sit in their chairs on Sunday morning with a blank stare on their face.
I find myself the opposite. For the most part I am reserved at the ballpark. I have been known to give a high five or two. But I enjoy watching the game more than cheering. But worship is something that is different. My Savior is something really worth cheering about. I pray I will never be as retrained as I am at the ballpark.
Rainbow in the Sky
God decided to bookmark my day with rainbows yesterday. Started in the morning on my drive to church. A little rain shower accompanied the trip. By the time I pulled into the parking lot, the rain had stopped. I looked towards the western sky and sure enough there was the rainbow. I don't think I have ever seen a rainbow in the western sky in my entire life. Something entirely new to me. Not that it has never happened before. What a great reminder of God's promises and his faithfulness to those promises.On my way to the Cubs game later in the evening, once again we drove through a little rain shower. Nothing too significant, but once again there was the rainbow. It may have been one of the most brilliant rainbows I have ever seen. It seemed to glow and shine in itself. More than jsut a mere reflection. My breath was taken away.
Thank you God for revealing yourself through your creation.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Humbly Study the word
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up. James 4:10
When I think of being humble I think about being teachable and open to instruction or correction. When it comes to God's Word, it is so important we open it in a humble way and be prepared for God to change our thoughts, change our attitude, change our direction, or change our hearts in a way we don't expect. As learned as I may be in the Bible, I am far away from being an expert. And I am far from being able to know what God will do when he puts his Word on my heart.
When it comes to being an authority or an expert on God's Word, there is no one who can make a claim. We all have so much more to learn, so much more to be taught. Our understanding is too often just touching the surface and we have so much deeper to go.
In the book of Hebrews 5:12 it says, "we need milk, not solid food." In other words we have not yet fully grasped the basics to move on to the more advanced levels of understanding. The day we feel we have mastered the basics of God's Word, of faith, and of our relationship with the Lord is the day we need to go back to the most foundational teachings of all.
So be ready to hear, be ready to learn, be ready to grow when you open the Word. Expect the unexpected. Take out all your assumptions and supposed mastery of the Bible. Don't let your pride get in the way to think that you have nothing new to learn.
Readings for this week:
June 22
2 Kings 3:1-4:17
Acts 14:8-28
Psalm 140:1-13
Proverbs 17:22
June 23
2 Kings 4:18-5:27
Acts 15:1-35
Psalm 141:1-10
Proverbs 17:23
June 24
2 Kings 6:1-7:20
Acts 15:36-16:15
Psalm 142:1-7
Proverbs 17:24-25
June 25
2 Kings 8:1-9:13
Acts 16:16-40
Psalm 143:1-12
Proverbs 17:26
June 26
2 Kings 9:14-10:31
Acts 17:1-34
Psalm 144:1-15
Proverbs 17:27-28
June 27
2 Kings 10:32-12:21
Acts 18:1-22
Psalm 145:1-21
Proverbs 18:1
June 28
2 Kings 13:1-14:29
Acts 18:23-19:12
Psalm 146:1-10
Proverbs 18:2-3
29 2 Kings 15:1-16:20
When I think of being humble I think about being teachable and open to instruction or correction. When it comes to God's Word, it is so important we open it in a humble way and be prepared for God to change our thoughts, change our attitude, change our direction, or change our hearts in a way we don't expect. As learned as I may be in the Bible, I am far away from being an expert. And I am far from being able to know what God will do when he puts his Word on my heart.
When it comes to being an authority or an expert on God's Word, there is no one who can make a claim. We all have so much more to learn, so much more to be taught. Our understanding is too often just touching the surface and we have so much deeper to go.
In the book of Hebrews 5:12 it says, "we need milk, not solid food." In other words we have not yet fully grasped the basics to move on to the more advanced levels of understanding. The day we feel we have mastered the basics of God's Word, of faith, and of our relationship with the Lord is the day we need to go back to the most foundational teachings of all.
So be ready to hear, be ready to learn, be ready to grow when you open the Word. Expect the unexpected. Take out all your assumptions and supposed mastery of the Bible. Don't let your pride get in the way to think that you have nothing new to learn.
Readings for this week:
June 22
2 Kings 3:1-4:17
Acts 14:8-28
Psalm 140:1-13
Proverbs 17:22
June 23
2 Kings 4:18-5:27
Acts 15:1-35
Psalm 141:1-10
Proverbs 17:23
June 24
2 Kings 6:1-7:20
Acts 15:36-16:15
Psalm 142:1-7
Proverbs 17:24-25
June 25
2 Kings 8:1-9:13
Acts 16:16-40
Psalm 143:1-12
Proverbs 17:26
June 26
2 Kings 9:14-10:31
Acts 17:1-34
Psalm 144:1-15
Proverbs 17:27-28
June 27
2 Kings 10:32-12:21
Acts 18:1-22
Psalm 145:1-21
Proverbs 18:1
June 28
2 Kings 13:1-14:29
Acts 18:23-19:12
Psalm 146:1-10
Proverbs 18:2-3
29 2 Kings 15:1-16:20
Government Rebate Check
Got my government rebate check. I'm a little disappointed. I did not get the full refund I hoped for. Something to do with my taxes. Pastors are taxed a little differently than everyone else. I don't understand it all. My wife understands it better and that is why she does our taxes.
But $900! It is $900 I did not have yesterday. So we are giving some back to God. Much of the rest is going to Goodyear. Should have bought some new tires long ago, but I have been stubbornly holding out.
But buying the new tires means I am not selling my gas guzzling SUV (18 miles/gal) for some time. Sure I would like to get better gas mileage, but driving my fully paid off gas guzzler is better than saving a few bucks in gas. Plus what I would save in gas would be less than I would pay in car payments for that new car.
I have a friend who works who works for a dealership and often helps me out with my Jimmy. It is interesting how he told me that some of the Hybrid SUVs are actually getting worse gas mileage in real life than there normal counterparts. On top of that the Hybrids cost more to purchase and to maintain.
I'm over 120,000 right now. New set of tires should get me to 180,000. Probably be the last set I put on the vehicle. It is by far the longest I have ever driven one vehicle. Every car that came before had at least 90,000 miles on it already. My 2000 Jimmy only had 11,000.
Bye-bye rebate check.
But $900! It is $900 I did not have yesterday. So we are giving some back to God. Much of the rest is going to Goodyear. Should have bought some new tires long ago, but I have been stubbornly holding out.
But buying the new tires means I am not selling my gas guzzling SUV (18 miles/gal) for some time. Sure I would like to get better gas mileage, but driving my fully paid off gas guzzler is better than saving a few bucks in gas. Plus what I would save in gas would be less than I would pay in car payments for that new car.
I have a friend who works who works for a dealership and often helps me out with my Jimmy. It is interesting how he told me that some of the Hybrid SUVs are actually getting worse gas mileage in real life than there normal counterparts. On top of that the Hybrids cost more to purchase and to maintain.
I'm over 120,000 right now. New set of tires should get me to 180,000. Probably be the last set I put on the vehicle. It is by far the longest I have ever driven one vehicle. Every car that came before had at least 90,000 miles on it already. My 2000 Jimmy only had 11,000.
Bye-bye rebate check.
New Mozilla Firefox
So I downloaded the new Firefox 3.0 today. I'm not sure I like it yet. I am sure it will grow on me. However, there is one very critical component that does not work. It is the Bible toolbar. The Bible toolbar add-on is one of the main reasons I use Firefox instead of Safari.
I hope that Bible toolbar will soon be updated. Otherwise I might go back to Firefox 2.0.
The reason I love Bible toolbar is because I can quickly look up a Bible verse in about a quarter of the time of any other method. Plus, I can quickly copy and past the verse in a document I am working on.
Beyond missing the Bible toolbar I am missing my Bible Software. It is getting old and is not compatible with a Mac. I can still run it because I have a virtual Windows machine on my Mac. But if you have any suggestions for alternatives to Bible Toolbar or good Bible software for a Mac that has Greek and Hebrew tools, I would love to hear about them.
I hope that Bible toolbar will soon be updated. Otherwise I might go back to Firefox 2.0.
The reason I love Bible toolbar is because I can quickly look up a Bible verse in about a quarter of the time of any other method. Plus, I can quickly copy and past the verse in a document I am working on.
Beyond missing the Bible toolbar I am missing my Bible Software. It is getting old and is not compatible with a Mac. I can still run it because I have a virtual Windows machine on my Mac. But if you have any suggestions for alternatives to Bible Toolbar or good Bible software for a Mac that has Greek and Hebrew tools, I would love to hear about them.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Rejoice in suffering
Today in our staff meeting we talked about Romans 5. In this chapter the Apostle Paul talks about rejoicing in suffering. One of the things we talked about is that as Americans we sometimes have a warped sense of what suffering is. Case in point is this article from the Chicago Tribune today:
LAKE DELTON, Wis. - Don Kubenik finally burst into tears.
The suburban Milwaukee businessman learned the $500,000, 2,800-square foot second home he built in 2003 on Lake Delton snapped into pieces on Monday after the lake overflowed. Three homes were washed away; two others, including Kubenik's, were ripped apart.
When Gov. Jim Doyle came to comfort Kubenik on Monday afternoon and pledged to help him recover, Kubenik finally lost his composure.
"That house had everything you can imagine and now it's all gone," said Kubenik, who was at his home in suburban Milwaukee, about 100 miles east, when the lake overflowed. "My boat's gone. The pier's gone. Everything is gone."
LAKE DELTON, Wis. - Don Kubenik finally burst into tears.
The suburban Milwaukee businessman learned the $500,000, 2,800-square foot second home he built in 2003 on Lake Delton snapped into pieces on Monday after the lake overflowed. Three homes were washed away; two others, including Kubenik's, were ripped apart.
When Gov. Jim Doyle came to comfort Kubenik on Monday afternoon and pledged to help him recover, Kubenik finally lost his composure.
"That house had everything you can imagine and now it's all gone," said Kubenik, who was at his home in suburban Milwaukee, about 100 miles east, when the lake overflowed. "My boat's gone. The pier's gone. Everything is gone."
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Prayerfully Study the Word
Sunday comes around once a week. Without a doubt there is a message to be prepared whether that message be shared by me or by someone else. I confess there are certainly weeks where I feel less than inspired. Times when I open up my Bible and simply ask, “what am I going to say?” I struggle to discover an application of the text that is applicable to the lives of the people who will attend on Sunday morning.
But maybe I am asking the wrong person the wrong question. Rather than ask myself what I should say, I go back to asking God what he would have me say. Do you catch the difference? The difference is prayer. The difference is having a conversation with God instead of racking my brain to be creative.
Whether it is preparing a sermon or personally studying the word, we need to bathe the process in prayer. Make a conversation with him. “God what do you want me to hear? What do you want me to do? How do you want me to respond?” And then listen to him what he has to say through his word.
I am always amazed how God will speak to me through the Word when I enter into conversation with him and prayerfully study the word. Remember, don't just read the Bible to read the Bible.
Readings for next week:
June 08
1 Kings 3:3-4:34
Acts 6:1-15
Psalm 126:1-6
Proverbs 16:26-27
June 09
1 Kings 5:1-6:38
Acts 7:1-29
Psalm 127:1-5
Proverbs 16:28-30
June 10
1 Kings 7:1-50
Acts 7:30-50
Psalm 128:1-6
Proverbs 16:31-33
June 11
1 Kings 8:1-66
Acts 7:51-8:13
Psalm 129:1-8
Proverbs 17:1
June 12
1 Kings 9:1-10:29
Acts 8:14-40
Psalm 130:1-8
Proverbs 17:2-3
June 13
1 Kings 11:1-12:19
Acts 9:1-25
Psalm 131:1-3
Proverbs 17:4-5
June 14
1 Kings 12:20-13:34
Acts 9:26-43
Psalm 132:1-18
Proverbs 17:6
But maybe I am asking the wrong person the wrong question. Rather than ask myself what I should say, I go back to asking God what he would have me say. Do you catch the difference? The difference is prayer. The difference is having a conversation with God instead of racking my brain to be creative.
Whether it is preparing a sermon or personally studying the word, we need to bathe the process in prayer. Make a conversation with him. “God what do you want me to hear? What do you want me to do? How do you want me to respond?” And then listen to him what he has to say through his word.
I am always amazed how God will speak to me through the Word when I enter into conversation with him and prayerfully study the word. Remember, don't just read the Bible to read the Bible.
Readings for next week:
June 08
1 Kings 3:3-4:34
Acts 6:1-15
Psalm 126:1-6
Proverbs 16:26-27
June 09
1 Kings 5:1-6:38
Acts 7:1-29
Psalm 127:1-5
Proverbs 16:28-30
June 10
1 Kings 7:1-50
Acts 7:30-50
Psalm 128:1-6
Proverbs 16:31-33
June 11
1 Kings 8:1-66
Acts 7:51-8:13
Psalm 129:1-8
Proverbs 17:1
June 12
1 Kings 9:1-10:29
Acts 8:14-40
Psalm 130:1-8
Proverbs 17:2-3
June 13
1 Kings 11:1-12:19
Acts 9:1-25
Psalm 131:1-3
Proverbs 17:4-5
June 14
1 Kings 12:20-13:34
Acts 9:26-43
Psalm 132:1-18
Proverbs 17:6
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