Love? Not.

In both services this past Sunday, Pastor Richie shared a criticism he heard from a friend. His friend said something to the effect of, "You think too many people are Christians. There aren't that many people who want to spend time with Jesus. They want something from Him, but they don't want Him."

What an indictment. And it might be true. Why are our churches full every week, for decades, but their surrounding communities remain untransformed? Perhaps it's because time spent in church is not equivalent to time spent with Christ.

How is love towards God expressed?

Jesus says that if we love Him, that love will be expressed through obeying His commandments. "If you obey My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commandments and remain in His love." (John 15:10)

And what is His command? "My commandment is this- to love one another just as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

Wow. And how was the love of God expressed through Christ? Philippians 2:5-11 shows us that Jesus put aside His glory and came to earth in humility, choosing to experience servanthood, suffering, and death so that the world might be saved.

What about you? Do you want Jesus, realizing the cost of discipleship? Or do you just want to get things from Him?

Rich In Love.

This past Sunday, we were encouraged to reflect on times past when we experienced God in a deep, profound way. Pastor Richie gave the example of moments when one might be walking or driving, then suddenly one is overwhelmed with the loving presence of God.

It's a love that one is compelled to stop and acknowledge.

Friend, when is the last time you've had that feeling? Is your relationship with God still a love-fest, or has it become mere routine?

I pray that today, as you reflect on the goodness of God, you will have a testimony: a witness within you that recognizes and honors the power of God in your life. And beyond the testimony, I pray that you love God deeply.

Blessings and Peace to you.

Not Asking, Just Basking.

In the first service on this past Sunday, Haughton gave a prophetic word during congregational worship. He encouraged us to bask in the presence of God. Haughton's word was reinforced by Pastor Richie, as during the sermon we were reminded of the importance of spending time in the presence of the Lord: not to ask for anything, but just to enjoy being in His company.

When we speak of spiritual warfare, images come to mind: fasting, anointing with oil, casting out devils, and the like. But Pastor Richie emphasized the importance of, and I quote him here, "being in His presence just to know Him".

Jesus, can I spend some time with You?

As I have mentioned before, it's a good thing to get to know Jesus before a crisis comes. And this is what we see in Mark 9. While we define spiritual warfare as what occurred in Mark 9:14-29, the spiritual warfare perhaps got its start in Mark 9:2, or maybe even in Mark 6:46. Jesus, basking in the presence of His Father, was subsequently empowered to move in the miraculous. What did Jesus do after His prayer time? In Mark 6, we see Him walking on water. In Mark 9, we see Him conversing with Moses and Elijah, followed shortly thereafter with the profound healing of the boy with a deaf and mute spirit.

Yes, we have a war plan. Bask. Then tackle the task.

No. You Shut Up.

At Bronx Bethany we try to have "duplicate" services on Sunday mornings; that is, whatever is done in the 7:45 service is repeated at 11:15. That is true in some respects. But, as you can guess, no two services are ever exactly alike.

This past Sunday, Pastor Richie shared a particular point during the first service sermon that was not repeated during the second service. I believe it's worthwhile to reflect on this point today.

In the Mark 9 passage, there is a moment where Jesus identifies a spirit by name. "You deaf and mute spirit..." (Mark 9:25). The point made by our pastor was that, in some cases, we are called to make an open identification of the spirit that is keeping persons sick or bound or deceived. Calling the spirit by name bursts open the doorway to deliverance.

In the Mark passage, we see that the spirit prevented both hearing and speech. I believe we live in a time where this is still relevant. There is a spirit afoot in the world today whose task is to rob men of hearing and speech. And this is particularly relevant to those of us in the body of Christ. Why? Because our salvation, though rooted in our faith in Christ, is activated by what we hear and say. "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (see Hebrews 4:7)... "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (see Romans 10:10).

Where does the deaf and mute spirit keep its headquarters today? Perhaps there is more than one answer to the question. Television and other media lull us into a complacency where we hear many voices, but not the voice of the Lord. Political circles warn us that if we speak in support of the finished work of Christ, we will be labeled as intolerant or ignorant or insensitive.

In this postmodern age, it seems that Christianity in the so-called free world is the poster child for "shut up". But everyone else, from agnostics to Wiccans, can voice their truths. What shall we Christians do?

So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:18,19)

Amen.

Blue Band Nation.

This week, we'll reflect on the sermon given by Pastor Richie. While we are remaining on the subject of prayer, we've transitioned from a review of The Lord's Prayer to a discussion of prayer as a means of spiritual warfare.

For today, though, let's meditate on the Scripture that gives us a hint of Jesus's approach to spiritual warfare.

And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."

Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you to come out of him and enter him no more!" Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:14-29)

Post-Passion Depression.

Friends,

Have you ever felt really low after a high-powered event? Sometimes that is what pastors experience, particularly after Easter.

It's a challenge. Hundreds of people show up who have never been to church before. They sing, pray, and might even come to the altar during the appeal for salvation. Some are bold enough to fill out a visitor card.

And then they're gone.

And pastors wonder. I wonder too. What will become of these visitors, these dear ones so young in the faith, who have not yet learned the value of staying connected to the body of Christ? Of course we pray for them. But we agonize over their spiritual state. We wonder if we did enough on Sunday... if we said something that will sustain them, even if they choose not to come back to church.

Lord God, what can we do but appeal to You? Keeper of our souls, please preserve the lives of these who are young in the faith. I pray Your Spirit will direct them to a church of Your choosing so that they can grow in the knowledge of Christ. I ask this in Jesus's name. Amen.

In Quietness And Confidence.

Friends,

I pray that today you will have time to stop and reflect on the greatness of our God who gave His one and only, His Unique Son Jesus to live, die, be buried, be raised from the dead, and to reign as King Eternal.

Have a blessed and glorious Resurrection Day.

Passion And Pastoral Persuasions.

Good Friday.

Many know the story. And the temptation is to cast blame at the feet of a seemingly fickle crowd, who shouted praises on Palm Sunday and called for Jesus's crucifixion on Good Friday. (For those of you who may not know the story, see Matthew chapters 26 through 28.) But perhaps this Passion Week we should avoid casting a negative light on the crowd.

What does Scripture say?

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. (Matthew 27:20)

Chief priests and elders. The men loved and trusted and respected by their community. Conducting services, baby dedications, funerals, praying, pronouncing blessings, while wearing vestments that represented their connection to God... even as they kissed the face of the Roman Empire.

Three years ago (yes, I mean 2009) Pastor Sam, in his Palm Sunday sermon What Went Wrong Between Sunday and Friday, said "Don't let anyone do your spiritual thinking for you." It is as relevant a warning now as it was then.

Perhaps it is more relevant now. Earlier this week, in preparation for Holy Week services, I read through parts of the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer. Guess what it says?

Christian marriage is a solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman in the presence of God. (BCP, page 422) It's still in there. Perhaps page 422 was missing from the New Hampshire version of the BCP.

Really, though, this goes beyond New Hampshire. Our brothers and sisters in various little branches of Christianity have been, in effect, offered Barabbas by their chief priests and elders. Trusted leaders. Strong leaders. Masters of persuasion. Successful. Accepted. Tolerated. Persuading the people that God's word is irrelevant, yet fastidiously maintaining the rituals of the faith.

Perhaps these leaders are more prisoner than Barabbas ever was. (see Matthew 27:16)

But Jesus is here! Jesus, the One who came to set the captives free, the One that religious leaders had no power to destroy. Let us pray that every leader held captive by the deception of sin will be set free by the mighty power of the Spirit of the Living God, for the sake of His glory.

Passion.

Well, here we are in the midst of another Passion Week.

As part of our observance of the Passion of our Lord, several churches in the Bronx are once again meeting together for a series of ecumenical services. On Sunday evening, Pastor Sam spoke at St. Luke's Episcopal. On Monday evening, Canon McIntyre spoke at Bronx Bethany.

We have two more services planned. Tonight's service is at Butler Memorial United Methodist Church, and Wednesday evening closes the series at Crawford Memorial United Methodist Church. If you're in (or near) the northeast Bronx, please make an effort to attend. The services begin at 7:30 p.m.

One of the great blessings of the Sunday and Monday evening services was the prayer time after the sermon. How encouraging to see men and women, young and old, walk up to the altar for prayer. We are on our way to becoming a praying community.

Lord God, You have made us and You know us. You have met our deep need for communion and community. Thank You for this privilege of worshipping with other believers. Thank You that, in this country, we can still do so freely. Please help us to always be thankful and mindful of the grace You've poured out to us. In Jesus's name, Amen.

Fasting For Revelation

(Our Sunday blogs during Lent will focus on the subject of fasting.)

I turned my attention to the Lord God to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. (Daniel 9:3)

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine came to my lips, nor did I anoint myself with oil until the end of those three weeks. (Daniel 10:2-3)


Immediate access. In both of the examples above, Daniel's petitions were immediately heard by God. The angel Gabriel said, "At the beginning of your requests a message went out, and I have come to convey it to you, for you are of great value in God's sight." (9:23) Later on in chapter ten, an awesome angel pays a visit to Daniel. "Daniel, you are of great value... from the first day you applied your mind to understand and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words." (10:11-12)

In-depth information. The angels give Daniel prophetic insight filled with details: specific days, specific countries, information about who would stand and who would fall.

Incomplete understanding. Though Daniel was valued by God, it did not mean that he was privy to all the details of the world's future. "Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end." (12:9).

Daniel's experience shows us that, even in our engagement of a partial fast, God hears the questions of our hearts. And, praise God, He answers! The LORD informs us of what we need to know, and He withholds information that, in His sight, is not our concern.

Lord, we are so blessed to have the privilege of fasting as a means of hearing clearly from You. Please help us to be intentional and faithful in our efforts to humble ourselves before You with fasting. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

Repeat After Me...

In Luke 4:1-13, we are given a template of how the devil seeks to lure people away from the will of God. We can be sure that if Satan tried to sway Jesus from His calling, then everyone who submits to the Lordship of Christ is threatened with the same diabolic attack. The attack has three key elements, which Pastor Sam highlighted at the close of his sermon this past Sunday:

1) Pride of occupation (Luke 4:3). The devil wants us to believe that our worth is based in what we do, rather than in who we are.

2) Pride of possessions (Luke 4:6). The devil wants us to base our worth on the things we own, rather than in the Almighty Lord God who owns us.

3) Pride of reputation (Luke 4:9). The devil wants us to seek respect from people, rather than seeking redemption from the living God.

How do we escape the devil's onslaught of lies? In the Luke passage, we see that Jesus responded with the awesome, inerrant Word of God. We would do well to follow the example that Jesus has set for us.

Thanks You God, for giving us Your inerrant Word. Indeed, by it we are warned. And by it we are taught how to live a life pleasing to You, a life victorious. All we need is found in You! Thank You for teaching us these awesome truths. Please help us to not just learn Your word, but to live it out every day. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

The Crumbs Taste As Good As The Bread.

From time to time Pastor Sam will toss out a little phrase or sentence that, on its own, is well worth reflecting on for days upon end. As we continue thinking about the Lord's Prayer, the strategies of our enemy, and the need for us as Christians to be conscious of the fight we're in, let's consider the following quotations from our beloved senior pastor.

"It's God's air you're breathing." Having recently returned from my father's memorial service, I'm very much reminded that it is God who has numbered our days. God controls everything. Not as a tyrant, but as a Lover who seeks union and communion with each of us. Jesus's prayer in John 17 is a wonderful reminder of the great love-fest we experience as children of God.

"When they see you, they see Jesus." Is the character of God evident in us? Do our lives reflect His tendencies? Are we loving and forgiving and patient? Scripture is filled with clear examples of the character of God. If you need some starter references, see Galatians 5:13-24 and Philippians 2:1-16.

"Diabolic things must not be petted and powdered." If you have not read C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, I urge you to read it. The book is a powerful example of how the devil seeks to lure us into complacency when we should be vigilant and alert. As we have discussed earlier this week, the presence of the diabolic must be met with an immediate rebuke (see Matthew 16:22-23; Luke 4:3-13; Zechariah 3:1-2).

Our Father, how we thank You for these little phrases that, on reflection, are not so little. Please help us to reflect Your love, Your forgiveness, Your truth. Please deliver us from the evil one who is relentless in his accusations. Thank You, Lord, for salvation and deliverance and freedom. We pray this in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

Screwtape...So Twenty-First Century.

During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam suggested that we read (or, re-read) the C.S. Lewis classic, The Screwtape Letters.

The book is a fantastic rendering of the hierarchies and strategies used by the devil in order to lure people away from the rule and reign of Christ.

Over the past few days I've had the pleasure of re-reading the book. There were moments I had to cringe, and pray, as I saw glimpses of my own faults and challenges revealed in its pages. Thank God for His grace that leads us to repentance!

I also read the associated short story, Screwtape Proposes A Toast. It is a prophetic warning, a warning that sadly we've failed to heed over the past several decades. It is a reminder that the devil even uses religion as a means of deceiving, disgracing, and destroying people. I hope this short excerpt (below) will be an impetus for earnest prayer.

All said and done, my friends, it will be an ill day for us if what most humans means by "religion" ever vanishes from the Earth. It can still send us the truly delicious sins. The fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar. -Screwtape, from Screwtape Proposes A Toast by C.S. Lewis (Copyright 1961)

Rapid Dismissal.

The devil said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, 'Man does not live by bread alone.'” (Luke 4:3-4)

In reflecting on the Genesis 3 passage (noted in yesterday's blog), we see a key error in Eve's conversation with the devil: she engaged the conversation.

Rather than seeking to justify our status, our response to the enemy must be with swift, sure reference to the word of God. Jesus teaches us how to do this:

A rebuke of the enemy. As Pastor Sam has noted over the past few weeks, we must appeal to the sovreignty and greatness of God, invoking His authority over our enemy: “The LORD rebuke you!” (see Zechariah 3:1-5)

A reminder of the Word. As we see in the Luke passage above, Jesus's reply to the devil is grounded in the word of God. The Word is a living, inerrant, and eternal truth. The truth is the weapon we wield when faced with temptations from Satan, who is the father of lies.

Lord, thank You for Your word which is truth. Thank You for Your name, all-powerful and able to subdue the enemy of our souls. Give us Your grace, Lord, so that we might stand against the enemy and withstand his attempts to delude us. Help us to always, with immediacy, rebuke the devil in the name of the LORD.

"D" List.

In continuing the series on the Lord's Prayer, we at Bronx Bethany are taking more time to consider the petition "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (see Matthew 6:13).

The devil is our enemy. As we discussed last week, his goal is to deceive us, disgrace us, and destroy us.

This week we will consider the enemy's strategy of deluding the people of God. As preparation for the rest of the week's blogs, let us re-visit the Genesis passage Pastor Sam used on Sunday (Genesis 3:1-7).

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Fasting For The Nation(s)

(Our Sunday blogs during Lent will focus on the subject of fasting.)

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don't eat and don't drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I will also fast in the same way." (Esther 4:15-16)

When faced with the spectre of genocide, Queen Esther called for a complete fast to be conducted by the Jewish community living in Susa. Complete fasts are rarely mentioned in Scripture. Such fasts seem to be reserved for extreme emergencies (as we see in the book of Esther) or extreme crises of faith (as seen in the life of Saul/Paul, Acts 9:9).

This act of not eating for three days and three nights is a plea for God to step in swiftly and mightily. It may be for physical deliverance of a nation, as we see in Esther's appeal to the king. Or it may be for personal insight that will ultimately result in the spiritual transformation of nations, as we see in Paul's ministry to the Gentiles.

Has God shown you something so shocking that it pushes you into this extreme fasting mode? If He has, then fast faithfully with a sincere heart. God is no respecter of persons. As He answered Esther and Paul, so will He answer you.

War Course.

The devil has a strategy for destroying Christians. Pastor Sam outlined that strategy during his sermon. Let's reflect on it today, as a warning and as a reminder.

Deception. Satan seeks to confuse us, and to make us believe that God is withholding information or material from us that we "need" to have in order to be more like God. The devil's goal is to make us feel justified in our disobedience to God.

Disgrace. If the devil succeeds in causing us to sin, he will then seek to subject us to public humiliation. Satan wants to parade our weaknesses to the world as a means of discrediting the name of God.

Destruction. If the devil does not succeed in causing us to sin, he will appeal to God for permission to send afflictions and sufferings: an attempt to get us to deny or question God's love for us. We see this strategy clearly outlined in the early chapters of the book of Job.

What can we do? We can remind ourselves that the LORD is our anchor, our shield, our defense, our Lover, our Father. The Lord God, in His love and mercy, will always do what is best for us.

Lord God, help us to remember Your love that transcends all afflictions. We will cling to You no matter what happens.

"Jesus! Jesus! Deliver Me!"

During Pastor Sam's sermon, he told a little story about one of his relatives who would call out to Jesus in his sleep. I laughed. A lot of us in the congregation laughed. I think we were laughing because we thought it was so funny that a man who deeply loved the Lord would be compelled to cry out for deliverance, even in his sleep.

Something happened while I was laughing: the Spirit of the Lord told me that perhaps I should not be laughing so. And then Pastor Sam put words to the prompting that I felt: he told us that even though we might not be hanging out in places of ill repute, it is equally likely that the devil will seek to destroy us. Even in our own homes. In our own bedrooms. Even in our own minds.

We all stopped laughing.

Do you love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Have you made the commitment to follow Jesus no matter what? Then, my friend, you have a target on your back. The devil wants to destroy you. And the devil knows you are not in the bar and not in the club, so he has plotted other means of getting to you.

And that is why every believer who prays The Lord's Prayer must appeal to God for deliverance. We all need to be delivered from the evil one.

Have you prayed today?

Say Yes To The Mess.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You! But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam spoke of Simon Peter as a naive apostle. And between Sunday and today, I have noticed that I still cringe when I think of this part of the sermon. Perhaps it's the reality check of seeing that, in our efforts to "protect" the ones we love, we might actually stray outside of the will of God and be co-opted into the service of the devil.

Peter's challenge, when we look at it, does sound like the devil's strategy we saw outlined in Genesis 3. As we shared in yesterday's blog, Satan used language to imply that God's words to Adam and Eve were incorrect. In the Matthew 16 passage above, we see that Peter uses language to imply that Jesus's words to His disciples was incorrect.

What did Jesus say? He said He would go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and be raised. That was the plan of God.

What did Peter say? Peter rebuked Jesus with two points:

Far be it from You, Lord- in other words, “Jesus, may You be removed from experiencing Your calling.”

This shall not happen to You!- in other words, “Jesus, may You not complete the purpose for which You were sent.”

I am glad that Jesus didn't let Peter's comments slide. We must learn this lesson. Our love, respect, and concern for our friends and leaders does not give us an excuse to reject the Lord's commands concerning the sufferings they may experience as a part of their calling.

O Lord, forgive us for the times we have sought to shield the ones we love from the cost of following You. Help us to always do Your will, chasing obedience, whatever it may cost.

As Pastor Sam said some years ago, and it is still true now, “Embrace the pain in light of the purpose.”

Snake Cables.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" -Genesis 3:1

On Sunday we were reminded that our enemy the devil presents himself as a crafty, cunning accuser. He uses argument and rationale to turn people away from the desire and will of God. Genesis 3 gives us a warning of the devices of the devil:

"Has God indeed said..." (Genesis 3:1) The devil tries to convince us that we heard God incorrectly, or (worse) that God spoke incorrectly.

"You will not surely die." (Genesis 3:4) The devil tries to convince us that God has withheld information from us, or (worse) that God is lying.

"You will be like God..." (Genesis 3:5) The devil tries to convince us that, though we are finite, we can acquire infinite wisdom by means of disobedience to the command of God.

The devil, through the ages, has used this tactic of sending false messages to our minds in an attempt to cause us to ignore what God has said. What is our solution? To know, believe, and appropriate the word of God in all circumstances.

Make me understand the way of Your precepts; so shall I meditate on Your wonderful works. Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously. I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart. (Psalm 119:27,29, 32)

Masquerade.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared insights related to the devil's use of disguises in order to deceive the faith-filled Christian.

The Scripture tells us that satan disguises himself as an angel of light. In modern society, this disguise shows up in various forms. We have the academic, the intellectual, the one for whom church is merely a ritual. These persons are in the "right" places saying the right things, but their hearts are not turned towards God (see Psalm 50).

But God steps in and does an amazing thing: He heals, delivers, and sets men free. He gives us the desire to execute His will in the earth, for the sake of His kingdom.

We know His voice and follow His path.
We remain vigilant and diligent in prayer.
We keep at the forefront of our mind that we are in a fight.

Friend, what is the state of your soul today? Beware of those who, like Judas, are ever present but ever plotting against the ministry of our Lord.

Special Delivery.

In yesterday's sermon, Pastor Sam continued the sermon series on The Lord's Prayer. We turned our attention to “Part Two” of the petition “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (see Matthew 6:13).

As we learned on Sunday, the Bible clearly indicates that our appeal for deliverance is not a plea to be delivered from a general philosophy or abstract notion of evil, but from a specific entity. It is the devil himself, satan, the accuser. And our only hope of deliverance is to, each day, seek God's intervening power.

This week in our blogs we will consider the ways in which the devil deceives the people of God. Why? Because his primary modus operandi is deception, and if we have an understanding of his tactics then we will have a clearer platform from which we can pray specifically and intentionally.

Remember, friends, we are in a fight. Let's get battle-ready.

So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Fasting As Divine Imperative

(Our Sunday blogs during Lent will focus on the subject of fasting.)

The LORD's angelic messenger came back again, touched Elijah, and said, "Get up and eat, for otherwise you won't be able to make the journey." So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. (First Kings 19:7-8)

This incident occurs as part of a curious scene: Elijah, the prophet of God who had just killed the prophets of Baal, was running for his life. Queen Jezebel had threatened his life following the deaths of her false prophets, and Elijah took her threat seriously.

How did God respond to Elijah's angst? By providing a meal that miraculously sustained Elijah through a forty-day fast. Some scholars believe that this may have actually been two forty-day fasts, as Elijah was later instructed to go back the way he came (see First Kings 19:15).

At Mount Horeb, Elijah received important instruction from the LORD: he was to anoint the new king of Syria (Hazael), the new king of Israel (Jehu), and the prophet (Elisha) that would succeed Elijah. Elijah also received important information concerning God's human resource management. The LORD told Elijah, "I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him." (19:18).

What an encouragement to know that as we journey in obedience to the living God, He miraculously sustains us. Let us fast according to His imperative, expecting to receive instruction and information that will advance the kingdom of God.

Radical Reconciliation: Memories of Dad.

Glossa Water was started on August 31, 2008. I started the blog on what we believed was my dad's birthday, although (as I mentioned in that first blog) the sketchy records of a Depression-era birth in the rural south left us wondering whether anyone knew his real birthdate.

On March 14th of this week my dad passed away. Though I and my family miss him, we are deeply grateful to God for Dad's time on this earth.

I am particularly indebted to Pastor Sam, who back in 2005 instructed me on the value of reconciliation. My parents divorced when I was a very young child, and in my early adulthood I drifted out of Dad's life, but in my mid-life years I was finally able to reconnect with my dad. It was wonderful to get to know Dad as he went into his twilight years, especially the past three or four years.

What will I remember about him? His incredible work ethic. His quick wit and humor. His consistency and transparency as he dealt with the challenges of old age.

The grace of God is indeed amazing. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of reconciliation.

Radical Revelation: A Vision Of Mission.

Dr. Las, in his closing thoughts, said that "we are not called to send missionaries; we are sent out as missionaries."

I wonder what the Bronx will look like, what the world will look like, when every Christian embraces the call to be missional.

Jesus's instructions in Luke 10 are so straightforward. We are sent out as lambs among wolves. And we are empowered to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. And not everyone will welcome us; but for those who do, we can become agents of salvation, deliverance, peace, and healing.

I pray that we will embrace this vision and engage in mission, to the glory of God.

Radical Joy: The Ultimate Book Signing.

Luke 10 is a wonderful look into the specifics of Jesus's ministry program. In Luke 10:17 we see that the disciples returned with joy, excited about their opportunity to be a part of real, radical, life-changing ministry.

And Jesus is filled with joy as well! But our Lord makes a critically important statement. This past Sunday, Dr. Las reminded us of the most important reason to be happy: "...rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20)

And Pastor Sam underlined this thought. In the introduction to his pastoral prayer, we were reminded that there are people who are involved in powerful ministry, but they themselves have never surrendered their hearts to Jesus. It is a fearful thought to know that, after years of service, some will hear the Lord's rejection (see Matthew chapter 25). We would do well to heed the warning.

Friend, are you a part of this joy-fest?

Lord, thank You for giving us grace to receive Your revelation. Thank You for writing our names in Your book. Thank You for equipping us to do Your work. We are eternally grateful. The LORD has done great things for us and we are filled with joy!

Radical Risk: Lambs Among Wolves.

In reflecting on Luke 10, Dr. Las reminded us of a most radical analogy: The Christian in the world as a lamb among wolves (see Luke 10:3).

What can a lamb do in the face of wolves?

The battle is a lost cause unless we pray. Dr. Las shared, and I paraphrase here, that intercessory prayer is the one tool that can release more workers into the harvest field.

But, although we pray, we must keep in mind the words of Jesus: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." (Luke 10:2) Dr. Las spoke emphatically about the work of ministry as "too few doing too much", and that reality will not change.

Pastor Sam picked up this thought during his pastoral prayer. He alluded to the passage where Jesus describes His people as "the salt of the earth" (see Matthew 5:13). And, as we know, it doesn't take much salt to transform a meal.

Yes! Let us be few! One lamb, covered in intercessory prayer, can take on a pack of wolves. At the end of the day, the wolves will be ravaged and the lamb will be victorious.

Radical Engagement: Get Up And Go.

In Luke chapter 10, as Dr. Las shared with us, we are given a snapshot of Jesus as the ultimate mission leader. There are two terms Dr. Las gave us:

1. Trial Run. This passage is the first account we have of our Lord sending out dozens of people whom He had empowered to do His work in the world. The specificity of the assignment implies that this was the first time these seventy-two disciples had gone on mission "on their own".

2. Training Exercise. These teams of disciples were receiving their first taste of what Christ Himself did as an itinerant minister of the gospel. Rather than the sick and needy of the world coming to the disciples, it was contingent upon the disciples to go out to the places where the need was.

A question for us to reflect on: Are we going out into the towns, or are we waiting for the towns to come to us?

A Las!

This week's blogs will reflect on Sunday's sermon. Our guest speaker, Dr. Las Newman, gave a powerful and challenging message based on Luke 10:1-12 and 17-24.

The passage details the mission of the seventy-two commissioned by Jesus to minister. Dr. Las shared several points related to what he termed "radical calls".

Perhaps it is best to begin with a recap of the scripture today, then over the next few days we'll reflect on the radical calls every true Christian must deal with.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no-one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

(Verses from the UK New International Version)

Fasting As Impassioned Plea

Our Sunday blogs during Lent will focus on the subject of fasting.

"The Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them." (Second Samuel 12:15-17).

Perhaps in our more skeptical moments we could say this engagement of fasting was a lost cause from the start. The prophet Nathan had already decreed to David that the child would certainly die (verse 14). But David had a depth of knowledge of the mercy of God which he expressed in this "against-all-odds" fast.

How do we know this? Because David said so. "While the child was still alive I fasted and wept because I thought, 'Perhaps the LORD will show pity and the child will live.'" (verse 22)

What about you? Are you facing a situation that seems to be a lost cause? In the face of hopelessness, you can still appeal to the mercy of God. Who knows? Perhaps the LORD will show pity.

Judas, It's 11:59 P.M.

Judas, sadly, never goes away.

Judas Iscariot was a person, but his name is also a metaphor for the presence of evil in the midst of ministry.

So Jesus said to the Twelve, "You don't want to go away too, do you?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!" Jesus replied, "Didn't I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?" (Now he said this about Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for Judas, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.) (John 6:67-71)

In our interactions with other believers, every now and then we find that a person has committed themselves to the works of the devil. It is a strange juxtaposition- seeing faithfulness and consistency and results in ministry work, but also seeing an undercurrent of selfishness, greed, or other vices contrary to the heart of God.

What do we do in such cases?
What did Jesus do?

Well, we see that Jesus didn't fire Judas. Up to the bitter end of his life, Judas was counted among the Twelve, Jesus's hand-picked disciples who followed Him for three years. Simon Peter reminds us that Judas was not a "fake" disciple: "For he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry" (see Acts 1:17).

Judas had three years of opportunity to repent and fully commit himself to Jesus. And during that time, Jesus never publicly called out Judas as a problematic ministry partner. What grace was extended by our Lord!

I believe we are called to extend that same grace to fellow believers: not making slanderous judgements, but seeking to teach and instruct them in the ways of the Kingdom of God. Seeking to keep them in community so that there is ample opportunity for repentance.

Judas, we are praying for you. Please turn your heart to the Lord while there is time.

Really Do The Right Thing.

In reflecting on this past Sunday's sermon, I found my thoughts turning to Old and New Testament passages that give us examples of how dangerous it is to give in to temptation. Today let's consider a conversation between the LORD and Cain.

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it." (Genesis 4:6-7)

The LORD first addresses Cain in response to Cain's offering, which was unacceptable to God. And the implication in God's opening statement, "Why are you angry?", is that Cain himself knew the offering was unacceptable. In other words, "Cain, why are you pouting? You really expect Me to accept this? You know better."

God's second statement contained the "how-to": how to be positioned to experience shalom, true peace. "If you do what is right, you will be fine." Implied in the statement is that Cain was aware of what it meant to "do right".

Next, our Lord reiterated the how-to by explaining its opposite: "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door." Here we see an amazing connection between unacceptable worship and the entrance of sin into the life of the worshipper. Slipshod worship is an entryway for the influence of the demonic.

And fourth, God reveals the plan of the devil and how that plan can be thwarted: "It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it." Acceptable worship is a means of preventing the devil from having inroads into our lives. It gives us the means necessary to avoid being dominated by sin.

Thank You Lord, that You always show Your people the way of escape. Please give us Your grace so that we will not give in to temptation. But, if Your divine will demands that we face temptation, please stay close to us and cause us to experience Your deliverance. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

Name, Rank, And Serial Number.

But even when Michael the archangel was arguing with the devil and debating with him concerning Moses's body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgement, but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9).

Well, when Pastor Sam spoke on this verse during Sunday's sermon I really listened closely because Jude 1:9 is one of those verses that makes me stop and wonder. (Jude has other verses in that mode, like 1:14 where Jude refers to a prophetic statement made by Enoch.)

Jude, how is it you're saying these profound things?
But here we are focusing on verse 9.

Jude brings up a name and title: Michael, the archangel. The angel who fights and wins in the name of the LORD. I wonder if Michael was the "one angel" sent to destroy thousands of people, as we see in First Chronicles 21 and Isaiah 37. I don't know about those chapters. But we do know Michael gets mentioned by name a couple of times in Daniel chapter 10: "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia" (Daniel 10:13).

Michael, the go-to angel in spiritual warfare.
Michael, described by Pastor Sam as "the angel you DON'T want a visit from".
Michael, who can stand toe-to-toe in a debate with the devil.

But in the face of the argument and the debate over Moses's body, the great archangel does not make a slanderous judgement of the devil. Instead, Michael follows the model set up by God Himself which we read in Zechariah: "The LORD rebuke you!" Friends, the only way we can "win" an argument with the devil is to invoke the name of the LORD and declare God's sovreignty and power over all creation and all situations. It's the LORD's battle, not ours.

"Satan, the LORD rebuke you!"

Checking Account.

"Yet even angels, who are much more powerful, do not bring a slanderous judgement against (the unrighteous) before the Lord." (Second Peter 2:11)

In this second letter from Simon Peter, the famed disciple gives us a clue as to how things work in the heavenly realms. We are told that even the angels do not slander the unrighteous. How interesting, the use of this word "slander" in a context where there is clearly unrighteousness going on. Apparently, even if the judgements are true, it is still defined as slander. The implication is that if angels do not make judgements, then human beings should not do so either.

I am reminded of one of Pastor Sam's sermons from a few years ago. In discussing Psalm 50, our pastor gave the illustration of the psalm as a courtroom scene: the people of God were called to assembly, and God judged the people. The problem was that, though their sacrifices were regular and correct, their hearts were filled with malice and slander. And, the condition of the people's hearts made their sacrifices unacceptable. Who made the assessment? God Himself.

On Sunday Pastor Sam gave us a valuable phrase: "We can't manage the devil". On a parallel track, we can also say something like "We can't claim to be Christians and behave like the devil." Slander is never justifiable. Just a few verses down from the Matthew account of Lord's prayer, Jesus teaches that we are not to judge (see Matthew 7:1). May God help us to avoid the devil's trap by not giving in to the temptation to sit in judgement of others.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

Have You Met My Dad?

"The LORD said to Satan, 'May the LORD rebuke you, Satan! May the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isn't this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?'" (Zechariah 3:2)

On Sunday Pastor Sam spoke of the power of the name of God. The verse from Zechariah (above) shows that God, in His power, invokes His own name as a rebuke to Satan's accusations of Joshua the priest.

Who is our defender? He is God, past, present, and future. The one who was, is, and is to come! The one who formed the universe and formed you and me. The one who we address as "Our Father". The one who says of Himself, "There is nothing too difficult for Me" (see Jeremiah 32:27).

God alone has the power to rescue us from the grip of sin and temptation that the devil uses to cause us to fail in our faith. It is only right that when we pray, we follow the example that God has set. We pray, invoking the powerful name of our eternal Father, and He steps in on our behalf to defend and rescue us.

Lord, how we thank You for your powerful name. Please help us to remember that You are the one who, as is said in Malachi 3, "rebukes the devourer". We are so grateful for Your covering. Thank You for rescuing us. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

"Ask and Keep Asking."

In yesterday's sermon, Pastor Sam continued his series on The Lord's Prayer.

"...lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one..." (Matthew 6:13)

In the sermon, we were encouraged to petition God: for His direction and guidance, and for His deliverance.

Though there were many interesting things pointed out by Pastor Sam, this week's blogs will focus on Scriptures that warn us of the reality of Satan's attack, and the reality of God's powerful Presence which delivers us from evil.

May I encourage you to meditate on these Scriptures as preparation for the remainder of this weeks blogs:

Zechariah 3:2
Second Peter 2:11
Jude 1:9
Genesis 4:7
John 6:70

Fasting As Preparation

Our Sunday blogs during Lent will focus on the subject of fasting.

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry." (Matthew 4:1-2).

After Jesus was baptized, He spent more than a month in the wilderness fasting. The temptations that followed his season of fasting were intense.

Temptation 1: Use Your creative power to re-order nature. The scripture tells us that Jesus was hungry, and as God He had the power to order stones to transform themselves into bread.

Temptation 2: Show the world who You really are. The Jewish people had long anticipated the arrival of the Messiah, and a demonstration of power to jump off of buildings without dying would certainly have been a dramatic sign to the people.

Temptation 3: Take a short-cut to regaining what Adam lost. In the fall of man, Adam lost his dominion and Satan took rule of the kingdoms of the world. By worshipping the devil, Jesus could regain those kingdoms without having to go to the cross.

But buried in each of these temptations are lies! The devil offered half-truths designed to trick Jesus out of fulfilling His purpose. The Old Testament prophecies spoke of a Messiah whose earthly life would be marked by rejection, suffering, and death (see Isaiah 53). No easy road, no short-cuts.

The extended season of fasting gave Jesus the spiritual strength He needed to withstand the onslaught of temptations designed to sway Him from the fulfillment of His purpose. Are you a person of purpose? Then fast. Fast for strength, so that the devil will never succeed in turning you from the path God has called you to walk.

Vessel. Vassal. Vassel.

Matthew 25 consists of three sections. We have the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (25:1-13), the parable of the talents (25:14-30), and the explanation of the judgement (25:31-46).

One of the scary things about this chapter is that, on the surface, there seems to be no distinction between the faithful and the unfaithful. In the first parable, all the virgins look alike. In the second parable, the master entrusted property to all of his servants. In the explanation of the judgement, Jesus tells us that "all the nations will be assembled before him" (25:31). So we have a scenario where these groups appear unified in position, placement, and purpose.

But then, Jesus comes along and points out certain distinctives that reveal the people who are really His, versus the people who are serving the devil.

For the virgins, the distinctive is not the oil in their lamps, but the extra oil reserves in their jars. The wise virgins have chosen to carry a heavier burden, a chabod, the weight of extra flasks of oil (which alludes to the fullness of the Spirit in their lives). The foolish virgins were content to just get by with whatever was in their lamp. But in the end, those foolish virgins were refused admittance to the Bridegroom's banquet.

For the servants, the distinctive was not their possession of talents, but the manner in which those talents were stewarded. In telling this parable Jesus makes it clear that the kingdom of God does not tolerate cowardice. In fact, the unfaithful steward's action (that is, his lack of action) is interpreted as laziness and wickedness. And in the end, that wicked lazy steward is evicted: thrown into "outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". He is banished to a place absent of the Light, and his talent is taken away and given to a faithful servant (25:28-30).

In the explanation of the judgement, Jesus says that He will separate the nations into two categories. The separation is based on how the people of the world respond to the poor, the sick, and the disenfranchised. Perhaps the most amazing thing in this passage is that Jesus puts Himself in the center of the issue: "I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you did it for me." (25:40).

As Pastor Sam shared on Sunday, and I paraphrase here, the only thing that will make us take risks is an overwhelming love for God. And this love comes from God! It is He who empowers us to love enough to risk bearing the weight of His Presence, to take the risk of investing in His kingdom, and to risk expending the energy necessary to serve the downtrodden of the world.

So here we are, in the twenty-first century, confronted with Matthew 25. And we need to respond.

What will you do, virgin?
What will you do, steward?
What will you do, people of the world?

Yes, Sir!

The (steward) who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work and gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. (Matthew 25:16-17)

"Right away."

There are some people in my life who I obey immediately, without question and without backtalk. I am okay with these people having authority over me, because I love them dearly and I trust them unequivocally. They expressed love and trust of me in moments where I was really messed up and unlovable, and I am eternally indebted to them. So when they ask me to do something, and especially when they authorize me to act on their behalf, I do it. No conditions attached.

The faithful stewards' eagerness in their work was an expression of their love and trust of the master who loved and trusted them. Jesus tells this parable as an example of how things work in the kingdom of God: it is a kingdom of love, love expressed in joyful vigorous service to our Lord.

How amazing that God allows us to act on His behalf! We are the body of Christ, and His Spirit has empowered us to do things for the sake of the kingdom of God. In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared two characteristics found in faithful stewards:

Faithful stewards risk everything. In the parable, we see that the faithful stewards did not hold anything back. They worked hard, they took risks, and they received returns on their investments.

Faithful stewards act immediately. They did not second-guess their master's choices. They didn't seek to modify their work assignment. They went out right away and got to work immediately. They made excellent use of the time they had. And when their master returned, they were able to present a positive accounting of how they handled his resources.

How about you? Is your life an expression of faithful stewardship?

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire.

In this past Sunday's sermon on Matthew 25:14-30, Pastor Sam shared two key points about the unfaithful steward.

Satanic misconception. "Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed," (Matthew 25:24). In other words, the unfaithful steward's disapproval of the master's business plan "justified" his inactivity. Further, the unfaithful steward made a false character assessment of the master. Misrepresentation (of God and God's servants) is a hallmark trait of the activity of Satan, who constantly accuses and lies (see Genesis 3:1-5; Revelation 12:10).

Self-interested motivation. "so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours." (Matthew 25:25). Hiding is an expression of fear (see Genesis 3:10), and Scripture informs us that cowards have no place in the kingdom of God- in fact, cowards lead the list of those destined for eternal punishment (see Revelation 21:8).

Are you afraid to work with what God has entrusted to you? Are you blaming God for your own unwillingness to "work while it is day" (John 9:4)? If so, then seek God for forgiveness. He will change your attitude so that you can become a successful steward of His gifts and graces.

I Can Handle This.

As we continue reflections on this past Sunday's sermon, let's recall the three components of stewardship seen in the Matthew 25 passage.

Responsibility. God expects us to accomplish the tasks He assigns to us.

For (the kingdom of heaven) is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. -Matthew 25:14

Ability. The Lord has given us the capacity to perform the tasks He has assigned us.

To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. -Matthew 25:15

Accountability. Though the parable began with the owner leaving for a long journey, eventually a day came where the owner returned.

After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. -Matthew 25:19

Though these things were shared as part of our Stewardship Sunday for the capital campaign, Pastor Sam made it clear that God's expectations regarding our stewardship go beyond mere finances. God has created us to be successful stewards of our bodies, our families, our minds, and our spiritual graces.

I pray that when He calls us to account, we will be able to give Him a good report.

But why do people sometimes miss the mark in their stewardship efforts? Tomorrow we'll have a discussion on what makes a person fail in their stewardship.

"Distributive" Property.

Today we continue our reflections on the parable of the talents.

The LORD owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1)

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (First Corinthians 6:19)

Pastor Sam said, and I paraphrase here, that we must have a clear sense of what we own and what we are in charge of. And, the scriptural reality is that we don't own anything. God owns everything.

God has, however, given us the privilege of being stewards of the things He owns.

Matthew 25:14-30 presents a wonderful parable that warns of the consequences of being a poor manager of what God has placed in our custody. Implicit in God's entrusting of these things to us is that God knows we're able to care for what He's loaned us. In other words, He has equipped us to handle the job.

So why do we sometimes fail so miserably in caring for His property, whether it's our bodies, our jobs, or our relationships? Perhaps it is because we don't really understand what it means to be a steward of God's stuff.

Tomorrow we'll look at three components of stewardship: responsibility, ability, and accountability.

Sam/ I Am.

This past Sunday we spent some time reflecting on the importance of biblical stewardship.

Pastor Sam spoke as an oracle of God. He focused on four major points:

-Stewardship versus ownership
-Responsibility, Ability, and Accountability
-Failed Stewardship
-Faithful Stewardship

As we go through this week, we'll dissect each of these points.

For today, though, here's a few questions for contemplation:

Do you tithe out of an overwhelming love for God, or do you tithe out of fear?
How have you allocated the financial resources that God has given you?
If the LORD were to return today, would you be prepared to meet Him?

I encourage you to read (or re-read) Matthew 25 today in preparation for this week's blogs.

Blessings and peace to you all.

Fasting As Emptying

Our Sunday blogs during Lent will focus on the subject of fasting.

If we consider fasting in the purest sense of the word, it is to abstain from eating for a period of time. We deliberately leave our plates empty. Our normal appetites are denied. But what for?

Sometimes we take the time that would have been used for preparing and eating meals, and we instead devote that time to the Lord in prayer or Bible reading. We remove one essential activity and replace it with another activity that is more essential: connecting with God in a meaningful way.

Jesus makes a profound statement which we see recorded in the gospel of St. John chapter 4: "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." (John 4:34). In the face of His disciples urging Him to eat, Jesus points out a more urgent need. A Samaritan woman had just connected with God through the Christ, and Jesus knew more people would be coming to Him because of her testimony: it was not His time to eat and relax. Rather than filling Himself with temporal food, He filled the townspeople with eternal truths.

Hail Lent. It is time to empty ourselves. Emptied of food, the ultimate symbol of our physical comfort. Emptied of spiritual power, as we expend it through ministering life and healing to the lost. Emptied of self, as we seek to bring salvation to the masses.

Lord Jesus, we fast and reflect on how You emptied Yourself for us. Please help us to do the same for others.

High Fidelity!

Wednesday night was our final installment of this winter's revival services. Our guest speaker, Reverend Dr. Andrew Mercurio, spoke on the importance of our relationships with spouse and family.

His message centered around three themes: the spiritual models of family life, the spiritual mandate of family life, and the spiritual means for family life. The crux of the message, as summarized by our own Pastor Sam, was that the word of God is key to our modeling the love and life of Jesus in our homes.

How do we demonstrate the virtues of the living Christ? By loving and caring for those who are closest to us. Reverend Andrew reiterated the warning found in First Timothy: "If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (First Timothy 5:8, italics mine.) If the word of God equates familial neglect with denial of the faith, we would do well to take heed of such a warning.

Lord, please help us to stand firm in our faith. Please help us to express that faith in our most intimate environment, the one in which our family has center stage. May we be a blessing to our close relatives first. May we hold them in high regard and pray the plan of God over them. May we give You glory, Lord Jesus, by the way in which we bless our spouse and family. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.

Flash Photography.

Last night was our third evening of revival services. Our guest speaker, Reverend Dr. Melrose Rattary, spoke on Psalm 139 and Matthew 15.

The sermon revolved around a series of key truths:

-God knows us.
-God knows our hearts.
-God knows our thoughts.

And, in light of His holy knowledge of who we really are, we are cautioned to take heed:

-Does our lifestyle show the world that we know, and OBEY, the living God?
-Are our hearts repositories for the purity of Christian life and doctrine, or are our hearts filled with sin?
-If the thoughts in our minds were exposed to the world, what assessment would the world make of us?

There was a clear prophetic warning delivered to Bronx Bethany. The external exuberance of praise and worship, for some of us, is a false cover. In Matthew 15 Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." (Matthew 15:8)

What do we do in light of this indictment?

-We repent.
-We plead for mercy.
-We ask the Holy Spirit to tranform us by His power, so that we can reflect the image and likeness of God.

Lord, help us to hear and obey so that we will not be crushed by Your judgement.

We're All One!

Revival services continue at Bronx Bethany. On Sunday night Reverend Gabriel Salguero preached (totaling three sermons for the day), and on Monday night Reverend Garry Frost preached.

Both men, though preaching from different texts, echoed the same theme: There is a critical need for unity to be demonstrated in the body of Christ. Unity in our belief of who God is, unity between cultures, unity in our families, unity between denominations.

Reverend Garry led a prayer for the men in our church. We are encouraged to support our men in prayer, just as Moses's hands were held up until Israel's victory had been won.

And we have been exhorted to pray. Are you praying?

Faith In The Face Of Loss

It's revival time at Bronx Bethany!

Today's guest speaker, Reverend Gabriel Salguero, spoke on the importance of attaining to mature faith. We have been called to reflect on Biblical examples of mature faith:

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (see Daniel 1:6): The three Hebrew boys who expressed faith in God's power to deliver, then went a step further and proclaimed that their loyalty to God was not dependent on whether He rescued them.

Stephen (Acts 7): In his final moments, Stephen's faith caused him to see beyond the stoning and experience an open heaven. In seeing Jesus, Stephen was empowered to forgive the men who were killing him.

The Shunammite woman (Second Kings 4): Though her son had died in her arms, her response was to say "it is well". She demonstrated a faith that was not dependent on whether her son was revived.

Job (Job 1 and 2): Job's faith and integrity was such that God Himself pointed out Job: "Have you considered my servant Job?" In the face of losing everything, his response was to bless the Lord just as he had when his resources seemed endless.

How about you? As Pastor Sam said during the altar call (and I paraphrase here): Are you in love with God no matter what happens, or do you need Him to keep giving you lollipops?

"Our" Joel!

Another week of blogs comes to a close. And the question for all of us is, how does our personal and collective ministry reflect the heart of God for the poor of the earth?

Perhaps it is fitting that our guest speaker for this past Sunday is named Joel. Here in the U.S.A. there is a famous Joel who pastors a church of tens of thousands in the Midwest. But we have our own Joel! Joel Edwards, our brother in Christ whose work in the U.K. is a clear reflection of the heart of God for the poor of the earth. Micah Challenge is intentional in its mission to make a difference in the world, to the end of saving many lives.

I encourage you to support Micah Challenge in whatever way you can. Post a hyperlink on your blog, write an article, send money, add their link to the bottom of your emails, volunteer if you have the time and means. Let's spread the good news of what Micah Challenge is doing. And let's keep them in prayer.

Here at home (Bronx Bethany) we see clear indications of care for our community and our world. There is the food pantry, there is the low-cost afterschool program and summer day camp, there are international and local opportunities for missions, and the list goes on. There is no lack of opportunity for service to bless the poor. In serving, though, let us take care to reflect not just the heart of God, but the humility of our Lord Jesus who set the standard for servant leadership.

Thank You, Lord, for this privilege of serving the Bronx and the world in Your name. May You be pleased when You see the motives of our hearts as we engage in humble service, to Your honor and glory. Humility, mercy, and justice, all for You Jesus. Amen.

Three Men, Two Tenors.

During this past Sunday's sermon, Reverend Joel referred to a previous sermon he had preached last fall. It referenced the lives of three well-known Black leaders:

Mugabe, a man who was once was imprisoned, rose to power and ruined his country.
Martin, a man who was once imprisoned, influenced politics and became a key figure in changing the laws regarding racial and social justice in the U.S.A.
Mandela, a man who was once imprisoned, became an international symbol of the demise of apartheid and an example of the right way to do "succession planning".

Why is it that Mugabe did not have the same long-term legacy as Martin or Mandela?

In a word, humility. Reverend Joel shared with us that, when a man is able to recognize his strength without lording it over others, there results an environment in which men and women are empowered to do good. There is an example modeled in which men and women recognize that they, too, can be among the great influencers of the world without being cocky or rude.

We have two tenors: that is, we have two conditions. There is pride, and there is humility. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela? Definitely humility won the day in the transformative work of these men. Robert Mugabe? Well, as the Bible says, "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). The land of Zimbabwe stands as testimony to the destructive consequences of the pride of man.

What about us? What tenor fuels the work we do?

Humble π

Why Humble Pi and not Humble Pie?

Pi, the famous mathematical constant, has the characteristic of transcendence: it is an expression that never ends.
Pie, especially if it is a good tasting pie, is transient: it will not last long at all.

This past Sunday, Reverend Joel caused us to reflect on the importance of humility. He shared that, although humility appears last in the short list of Micah 6:8, it is in fact the aspect of our being that must be present first in order to accomplish the other two aspects, justice and mercy.

Reverend Joel spoke of humility as not just a mental assent, but a practice that must be expressed in order to be relevant. It is the character trait that marks authentic prayer (see Second Chronicles 7:14). It is the thing that ushers in the grace of God (First Peter 5:5).

Another key point during the sermon was that humility is not a denial of our spiritual gifts and talents, but it is instead a means by which we use our gifts and talents to encourage and lift up other people. As Reverend Joel shared, and I paraphrase here, humility can only be exercised by those who legitimately have something to be proud about.

Let's have a slice of humble "Pi": constantly humble, eternally humble, for the sake of serving others with the gifts God has given us.

Lord, we thank You for giving us spiritual gifts and talents. And we recognize that we will not be on this planet forever. Please help us, while we have breath, to honor You by using these gifts and talents in the service of Your kingdom. And please help us to remember that Your kingdom has a special love for the poor, the widow, the stranger, the sick, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised.

Obligation Versus Obedience

[This week's blogs are reflections on Reverend Joel's sermon from this past Sunday.]

There are things that God requires, and there are things that God requires.

Micah 6:6-7 lists the inquiries of the people of God, which can be summed up in a current colloquialism: "What do You want from me?"

An interesting question. Perhaps some of us are are asking the same question today.

"God, what do you want me to do?"

Well, according to Micah 6:1-8, the question has a multi-part answer:

Enter the LORD's presence (Micah 6:6). With what? With praise and thanksgiving (see Psalm 100).

Bow before the LORD (Micah 6:6). With what? With the confession of His exclusive status as Lord and King (Philippians 2:9-11).

Bring offerings (Micah 6:6-7). What sort? Gifts that indicate our gratitude to God (Psalm 90); prayers that show our contrition and repentance from sin (James 5:16).

Make payment for rebellious acts (Micah 6:7). How? Through taking hold of the Christ, our Lord Jesus who gave Himself so that we might be saved (Isaiah 53:5).

But, beyond these things, God requires His people live in a way that brings glory to His name in the earth. Reverend Joel reminded us of the Matthew passage where Jesus picks up the strain: "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law- justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others" (Matthew 23:23). In other words, they were definitely fulfilling their religious obligations. But at the core of their being was a heart disobedient to what God said was the most important part of the law. It made their worship stink in the nostrils of God.

Lord, You have answered our inquiries by Your word. Please help us to appropriate Your word, and to live and walk faithfully- not merely fulfilling obligations, but demonstrating a joyful obedience in doing the things that really matter to You.

Ground Micah.

[This week's blogs are reflections on Reverend Joel's sermon from this past Sunday.]

Listen to what the LORD says: "Get up! Defend yourself before the mountains! Present your case before the hills! Hear the LORD's accusation, you mountains, you enduring foundations of the earth! For the LORD has a case against his people; he has a dispute with Israel!" (Micah 6:1-2)

The LORD has set up His courtroom. The mountains and hills are jury and spectators, and ancient Israel is on trial.

In Micah 6:1-8, the LORD presents His evidence: God has been great and gracious, while Israel has been unjust. And a rock-solid argument springs forth, the argument of a gracious God who sees that His people are not agents of grace. They are not meeting God's three-pronged criteria: doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly. The evidence sticks.

Millennia have passed since Micah was written. And, sadly, the evidence still sticks in much of the world. As was shared in our services this past Sunday, the church can come together in exuberant celebration of what God has done for "us". Certainly it's a good thing to do, keeping the mandate to assemble together in the name of the LORD (see Hebrews 10:24-25). But where is the exuberance in giving? Where is the joy in serving? What evidence is there that we as believers are extending ourselves for the sake of the poor and marginalized of the world? How are we treating the "them"?

The crux of God's controversy with ancient Israel, and with us here in the twenty-first century, is that we know the right thing to do but we're not doing it. "He has told you, O man, what is good" (Micah 6:8).

So why are we not doing what God wants? Perhaps it's because we're too absorbed in doing what God "wants". In tomorrow's blog we'll reflect more deeply on this paradox.

Extension Cord.

[This week's blogs will reflect on Reverend Joel's sermon from this past Sunday.]

Reverend Joel, during his sermon, mentioned a passage of scripture that is familiar to many of us. It is the story in Daniel chapter 4, where Daniel tries unsuccessfully to counsel King Nebuchadnezzar.

"O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged." (Daniel 4:27)

At the close of yesterday's blog I briefly mentioned that God is aware of what we do, or don't do, to meet the concerns of the poor. And as Reverend Joel mentioned, the act of giving to the poor leads to consequences that can bless individuals, families, and even the world.

How does the Lord figure into the dialogue between the rich and the poor? Proverbs 19:17 gives us a clue: "The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the LORD, and the LORD will repay him for his good deed."

It seems that when the poor are lifted up by the well-off, then God Himself becomes a third party in the exchange. The rich give, the poor receive, the LORD rewards.

An interesting side note is that, in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, his refusal to heed Daniel's counsel did not result in immediate judgement. Twelve months passed before the fateful day came, in which God severely afflicted Nebuchadnezzar by removing his kingdom and his sanity. It is a warning for us all.

Lord, help us to have a heart like Yours... a heart to give to the poor, for the sake of Your name.

Edward-ian Architecture.

This Sunday we are privileged to have Reverend Joel Edwards as our guest minister. Those of us who have been at Bronx Bethany for a while will remember he joined us back in October of 2009 during a leadership conference.

Reverend Joel is the international director of Micah Challenge, a worldwide ministry that seeks to bring hope and provision to the disenfranchised of the world. Specifically, Micah Challenge seeks to hold governments accountable for the ways in which they care for the poor. The prayer of the organization is to see extreme poverty cut in half by 2015. You can read more at http://www.micahchallenge.org/.

Our church, and churches all over the world, are asked to do our part in helping to make this happen.

What is “extreme poverty”? It's living life on LESS THAN one dollar and twenty-five cents per day.

For about $1.25, in my neighborhood, I can get a quart of milk and have enough change to get one banana. No flour, no eggs, no fish- all those are well over $1.25.

If I may, can I challenge you to feel the condition that fuels the passion of Reverend Joel and the Micah Challenge staff? Try to live one day on less than $1.25.

Jesus did say we will always have the poor with us, but He also indicated that He keeps record of how we bless (or ignore) the poor.

Lord, please transform our hearts. Cause us to love deeply, to pray earnestly, and to give in a way that reflects Your heart for the poor, the widow, and the stranger in our gates.

Nothing Personal...

Prayers that are prayed according to the will of God are dangerous. When we let go of our personal agenda and submit ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit, there's no telling what might happen. But oh, the joy of complete submission to Christ Jesus!

I pray that as we give ourselves completely to Christ, we will also experience His greatness and glory as He moves in response to our prayers.

Allow Him to direct your prayers today... and every day.

-Are you open to being transformed in prayer, in such a way that people who see you will know that you have been in the presence of God?

-Are you willing to completely change your schedule and give God more time?

-Are you prepared to, with His help, exert the effort necessary to meet Him at the hours and places He chooses?

-Has God placed in you a passion for consistency in your prayer relationship with Him?

-Will you eagerly pursue these things even if God's response to your prayer petition is "no"?

Why “Us”? And why us?

The Lord has spoken clearly to our church leadership, and we are in the midst of experiencing the fruits of their obedience to Him. The intensified focus on prayer has made a palpable difference in the spiritual atmosphere of our church. Today, let’s reflect on two questions.

Why “Us”?
The Lord’s Prayer is distinguished by its use of plurals: “our” Father, give “us” this day, as “we” forgive. Pastor Sam has shared with us that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, immediately we are reminded that we are never alone. We are in a community of believers, we are in partnership with God through Christ, and Jesus Himself is present to intercede for us as we pray.

Why us?
Bronx Bethany has long been called a place of prayer. So why is Bronx Bethany being called to prayer? It seems God has called us to a new level in this practice: intentional prayer, continual prayer, prayer according to God’s agenda and not our own. Pastor Sam has encouraged us not just to view prayer as a stand-alone activity, but to intentionally have prayer infused into everything we do.

Oh, there's a third question. Are you praying?
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are also part of this community called to prayer. I encourage you to pray with us. We eagerly look forward to seeing the hand of God at work in us, in our families, in our communities, in our world.

God calls us to pray.
God hears when we pray.
God answers prayer.

You Can't Handle It!

Pastor Sam’s sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer (see Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4) is currently looking at a wonderful and challenging section of the prayer: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

I find this to be challenging. After all, in Matthew 4 we see another phrase: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” There is a place and a time when our faith in God must be tested, and our reactions/responses in those situations allow us to see where we stand in our Christian walk.

But the wonderful thing is that we can ask our Father to deliver us out of those situations!

In the sermon, Pastor Sam stressed the importance of avoiding temptation. There are certain occasions where it’s better to run than to fight. Of particular note is the insidious nature of sexual sin. Temptation is a deliberate trap set by a real devil, and we as the people of God are advised to pray both for avoidance and deliverance.

Avoidance. The book of Proverbs is chock-full of warnings against being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. The Word of God and the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit are available to us, so that we might be steered away from paths that lead to destruction.

Deliverance. Pastor Sam referred to that key verse, First Corinthians 10:13, that stresses the Lord’s provision of “a way of escape” when temptation occurs. We who believe in the Lord should make a habit of presenting ourselves before God in prayer, so that when we are tempted our first response is to seek God for help rather than seeking to handle situations on our own.

Sometimes, we falsely believe that we are “strong enough” to walk along the edge of a precipice without falling off. Folks, that’s not cool. Rather than testing our own limits, we are called to the discipline of hearing and heeding the still small voice of God. It is He who can explain to us the true nature of the situations we face. It is He who provides the way of escape.

Whether your walk with the Lord has been for ten days or forty years, the counsel is the same: We can’t handle temptation on our own.

Night Time? Right Time.

[This week's blogs are reflections based on Pastor Sam's sermon series on the Lord's Prayer.]

How does one develop a prayer life that models the prayers of Jesus?

Today, let's reflect on the importance of consistency in prayer.

“Pray without ceasing.” (First Thessalonians 5:17)

Earlier this week we referred to the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8) as an example of transformation in prayer. Pastor Sam's recounting of that passage generated a few thoughts in my mind, a couple of which I'll share here:

Was this a unique occurrence, or did Jesus always have these awesome prayer times with the Father?
I'm thinking that it was the norm for Jesus to have some sort of physical or spiritual phenomenon occur as a normal part of His prayer life. As Pastor Sam shared the past two times he preached, the disciples must have had a reason for asking the question, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Maybe something He said, or something they saw. But there was some indicator that He was praying in a fashion that they wanted to emulate.

In the Scripture, on more than one occasion, we see that the disciples Peter, James, and John would fall asleep during Jesus's prayer sessions (Luke 9:32; Luke 22:45). I wonder if Jesus's face was reflecting the glory of God many a time, but the disciples had missed it because they slept through the manifestation.

What is it that keeps us from having profound experiences in prayer?
Well, I could say that prayer is hard work and we don't like to work so hard. But I see lots of hard-working people, and lots of praying people. Maybe it's rather that we have not developed a consistency in prayer.

How do we develop consistency? One way is through an ever-deepening relationship with God. As the Holy Spirit helps us to grow in grace, we increase in love for God and love for others. This love-fest births in us the desire to remain in the company and presence of our Lord.

A sense of obligation might cause us to get up at 3 in the morning for prayer. But what sort of prayer is generated from a heart that says “I have to do this”? Release yourself from obligation. Trade it in for love, a love that grows over time. And you may find that your getting up at 3 a.m. for prayer is a joyous loving exercise, because you are spending precious time with the Lover of your soul. Not because you have to, but because you long to (Psalm 42:1).

This is a good place for a cautious commercial. Our church is having a prayer meeting on February 17 from 8 p.m. to midnight. In Bibical terms, the meeting overlaps the first and second watches of the night. According to the template Jesus has established, night time is a wonderful time to pray.

But it's not so wonderful if you're showing up out of obligation.
It's not wonderful if your prayers are not in sync with God's agenda. Remember the Lord's Prayer? “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done”. Let us pray in a way that lines up squarely with the Word of God.

Yes Lord, the cry of our heart echoes the request of your disciples: "Lord, teach us to pray.”

F for Effort?

[This week's blogs are reflections based on Pastor Sam's sermon series on the Lord's Prayer.]

How does one develop a prayer life that models the prayer of Jesus?

Today, let's consider the aspect of effort in prayer.

“And when He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray... and about the fourth watch of the night He came to them” (Mark 6:46)

This past Sunday, our worship leader (Isaiah) shared his experience of being corrected and directed by God. The worship team's Saturday rehearsal fell flat because, although they were committed and exerted a lot of effort, they had failed to hear the gentle prompting of God to skip the rehearsal in order to minister for an event occurring during their rehearsal time.

In human logic, the worship team was correct to decline to minister. They had not rehearsed. They had not been told about the event until, literally, the last minute. They had one hour available to work together as a group and needed to maximize the time. But God's logic was different. Yes, His ways are not our ways.

So here we are, Sunday's over and we are still reflecting on prayer. What do we mean when we speak of effort in prayer? Definitely not our own effort. Left to ourselves, we are rarely inclined to “be like Jesus” and spend upwards of five or six or nine hours in prayer. Dude, that's like having another job.

YES! That is the job to have, that is the place to exert yourself, to wring yourself out. Effort in prayer is generated with the help of God Himself, who draws us in, who invites us to participate in His plan and program. It is not easy. That is why we must exert effort. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). Never forget we are at war. The strategy of the devil is to convince people that the effort of making time to pray the will of God is unnecessary. The strategy of the kingdom of God is to stay clothed in the armor of God, and to pray all kinds of prayers (see Ephesians 6:18).

Jesus is the perfect example of effort in prayer. At a time when most of his contemporaries were sleeping, he was praying through the night watches. He, in His human nature, would stay awake. Not staying awake for a party or last-minute packing for a trip. Not staying awake to be among the first shoppers at a store sale. Not a one-shot deal. Jesus made a habit of subjecting His body to the discipline of all-night prayer.

Jesus's effort in prayer was underlined by the locations of His “prayer closets”. Here are two of the verses from yesterday's blog:

“And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

“And in the day time He was teaching in the temple: and at night He went out, and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of Olives.” (Luke 21:37)

Not just prayer for hours, prayer all night, but also prayer in locations that required some hiking. Out in the wilderness, up in the mountainous regions. As our worship leader shared, sometimes God calls you to meet with Him in a particular place at a particular time. And meeting those criteria demands effort on our part.

Do we hit the mark? Do we even try to hit the mark? I guess each of us will have to answer for ourselves. I am reminded of a line from Keith Green's classic song Asleep in the Light: "Jesus rose from the grave, and you can't even get out of bed."

God help us all. Because, without His help, we can't sustain this practice of prayer.

Tomorrow we'll look at the third aspect: consistency.

Time For Prayer.

[This week's blogs are reflections based on Pastor Sam's sermon series on the Lord's Prayer.]

I am part of an online small group that is currently reflecting on the prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17. That prayer, which is sometimes referred to as the High Priestly Prayer, is famous for its selflessness (that's self-LESS-ness, not selfishness), its transparency, its depth of intimacy. Jesus is hours away from death on a cross, and He is not praying for Himself- he is in the depths of prayer for His disciples.

How does one develop such a prayer life?

It takes time. It takes effort. It takes consistency. Today, let's consider the aspect of time.

“And when He had sent them away, He departed into a mountain to pray... and about the fourth watch of the night He came to them” (Mark 6:46)

In Mark 6, we see the depth of time and energy Jesus exerts in His ministry. There is preaching in His hometown, there is the commissioning of His disciples for the ministry of healing and deliverance, there is the compassionate teaching ministry to the thousands who followed Jesus. There is the miracle meal, thousands fed from five loaves and two fishes.

Then Jesus does something interesting as evening approaches. First, he sends away His disciples. Then, He sends away the multitude. At last Jesus has some time to Himself... and He spends that time in prayer with His Father, not re-joining the disciples until during the fourth watch of the night (see Matthew 14:25 and Mark 6:48).

Scholars believe the fourth watch of the night was between 3 in the morning and sunrise. And the first watch of the night began at sunset. How much time would Jesus spend in a prayer session? Apparently, hours.

“And in the morning, rising a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

“And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12)

“And in the day time He was teaching in the temple: and at night He went out, and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of Olives.” (Luke 21:37)

In light of the hours Jesus spent in prayer to the Father, the question Jesus asks in Gethsemane is no surprise: “Could you not watch with Me one hour?”

Will you watch with Him one hour?

Lord, Sovreign and Holy, forgive us for spending so little time with You! Give us a deep desire and move us, by Your Spirit, to release our schedules to You. You, Lord before time, re-order our time so that we might develop true intimacy with You.

Body in the Bronx. Spirit in Olathe.

[This week's blogs are reflections based on Pastor Sam's sermon series on the Lord's Prayer.]

For the past two Sundays Pastor Sam has, in his sermon introductions, touched upon a mystical aspect of prayer that we as “postmodern” Christians often don't discuss. It's the aspect of transformation in prayer.

We are okay with discussing transformation through prayer, or transformation as a result of prayer, but we hedge when confronted with the reality of transformation in prayer. What does Scripture say? Pastor Sam mentioned two examples of this transformation.

Spiritual. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to a prayer session on a high mountain (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). While in prayer, Jesus's face and clothing shone brightly as He conversed with Moses and Elijah.

Physical. In the Luke account of Jesus's prayer in Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-44), we are told that His sweat fell like great drops of blood.

Why does the Bible tell us these things? I don't know. But I can tell you that, especially over these last couple of Sundays, I've had two personal reactions. The first is a longing to get more serious about my relationship with God through prayer. The second is an incredible reluctance to get more serious about my relationship with God through prayer. No, that's not a contradiction- that's me being human. I want the benefit of spiritual highs without the price tag of the physical lows. But, we all know it doesn't work that way.

Are we serious about prayer? Then we have to accept the whole package. There's no avoiding it! When God sees our longing for Him, He calls us to draw near. And as our prayer life deepens, things happen that signal the power and presence of God. And like our Lord Jesus, every now and then there are people in our vicinity who see what transformational prayer does in us.

The prayer of blessing says it well: “The Lord make His face to shine upon you...” Do you want that? Moses, we are told, would descend from his encounters with God with a shining face. God shined on him, and the people were able to see that Moses had been with God.

It seems, though, that this deep relationship with God in prayer was a normal thing for our Lord Jesus: not because he was Lord, but because as Jesus He had made certain investments that resulted in the Presence of God being experienced. Tomorrow we'll consider the investment of time.

Doctor? Gee.

Dear Friends,

Glossa Water is coming back online. It may have a bit of a different flavor than it had when I stopped blogging in June of 2010, but I promise you it will still be unapologetically Christian, still unmistakeably Genise-esque, and still written with an eye towards challenging people to grow closer to our Lord Jesus for the sake of His kingdom.

During my one and a half year absence from Glossa Water I've completed and defended my doctoral dissertation, "How ministers understand and address emotional and sexual pressures in ministry work". The document will be available later this year on the ProQuest database. (I'll try to remember to tell you when it can be viewed.)

God has been gracious to allow me to return to writing this blog, and I am grateful to Him. I hope you'll check in on my page frequently as we continue to provide a forum for reflection on the word of God. Blessings and peace to you all.

Genise