theologer

I've decided to take up Scripture Zealot's challenge, "If you had to select only five or six verses you would pray every morning which ones would they be?"

In keeping in line with my prayer topic, I followed with the ACTS model (Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). Here goes...

Adoration
"Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!" - Psalm 150

Confession
"God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" - Luke 18:13

Thanksgiving
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;  though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand." - Psalm 37:23-24
(This is one of the promises of scripture I am most thankful for)

Supplication
"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:10

Feel free to take up his challenge, I'm curious what ya'll would choose.

"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." - Acts 6:4

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." - Matthew 21:22

"In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God." - Luke 6:12

About a year or so ago I remember having a talk with one of my best friends who is a pastor's son. The discussion was about prayer and how simply bad at it we are. We want to do it, we know we should, but we're just downright incompetent.

I work alongside a number of Koreans and I'm constantly struck by just how good at praying they are. They wake up regularly, they spend hours each day in prayer, they believe prayer is powerful and so they pursue it. I believe prayer is powerful, but I don't live like I do.

It's like I believe prayer is important, but when I sit down to pray I'm not really sure I actually believe that THESE prayers will be answered. I mean, God seems to have his own agenda sometimes right? And does that alight with mine? What about what I'm praying for?

Anyhow, I know I'm supposed to be seeking humility, and I want to do so through prayer and fasting. I've been better this last week or so about praying, but the sad thing is, by better I mean I've gone from basically none to about 5 minutes daily. There's always something else coming up, even if I wake up really early, the baby happens to get up to cry right when I'm ready. I cant seem to get into a habit...

But I'm working on it. I recognize it as important. God says our prayers will be answered, and Jesus modeled it by praying all night... Any suggestions on how to get in the groove?

"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" - Luke 9:23

I'm staying with a group of guys while I'm down here in Orlando and yesterday I noticed pasted on one of their doors what looks like a little kid's Sunday School project. It's a man with a cross pasted on his arms with Luke 9:23 written on it.

I don't know why it has never occurred to me before, but every time I've ever read this passage it seems so obvious to me what it means... because I know Jesus died on a cross. I know he took up a physical cross and carried it to Calvary.

But today it occurred to me, that Jesus is the one who said this - and before he died to boot. Has this been obvious to all of you? Am I alone in being clueless to this?

Imagine Jesus telling you to take up your cross and not knowing about what was coming and then trying to understand this... How would you understand it?

It seems so much more obvious to me that we must take up our cross because I know Jesus did it. He knows what its like because he took up a physical cross and a MUCH bigger spiritual cross than I will ever carry.

Thank God he took up a real cross. Now I just have to figure out what it looks like for me to live this verse and then we'll be good.

Well when I first set out to find some Christian blogs which were actually of quality I happened upon The Daily Scribe. It was there that I was introduced to several blogs (notably Nick Norelli's Blog who, incidentally is no longer a member, but whose blogroll got me really started), and I finally delved into the world that is biblio-blogging.

"I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." - Luke 11:8-10

Almost since that day I've been trying to become a member of the site, probably to their discomfort at times as I would look everyday to see if they were accepting applications. I even would point out blogs on the site I thought they should drop and then accept me... but all my persistence has paid off.

If you hurry up, they are still accepting applications. And now I'm a voting member of who will be invited, so feel free to butter me up.

Thank you to The Daily Scribe and their many members who had a part in voting me in. Hopefully this will begin a good tenure...

"But he said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" - Luke 11:28

One of my brothers in law is here staying with us for the weekend. He'll be heading home today but he's an interesting guy to talk with as he's in the last semester of his seminary education. He's also lived overseas for a couple of years doing ministry and will likely go back.

I was talking with Him this morning about some of the blogs I read and how many people I read who are educated in the original languages or carry seriously interpretive Bibles to church on Sunday mornings and scrutinize everything the pastors say. I don't mean this in a bad way, being educated and not taking everything your pastor says at face value is not a bad thing. My comment was how I wasn't sure I would want to preach to these people feeling like they would pick apart my every argument.

His response was something along the lines of how it doesn't matter if you can preach to those people or not. There are people out there who are much more interested in the academia than they are in being able to preach and relate Christ. You need to worry yourself with the latter.

I thought this an interesting argument. The field in which I work is filled with several seminary educated people but our discussions are never about theology or scripture or these things at all. Rather we're always discussing what so and so needs to hear before they'll likely turn to the Lord, or about broken relationships, or disfunction in our churches and how we address such issues.

Then I get on a plane and I go to seminary in the summer for a few weeks at a time and I'm surrounded by people who care much more about a specific interpretation of one verse, or how great of professors they've had etc...

The field is just a different world than the academic campus. I guess I'm glad I get the best of both worlds. I just want to make sure I'm hearing the word of the Lord and spending my time keeping it rather than scrutinizing it. Seeking the Lord and loving Him and following His commands needs to have precedence in my life over my head knowledge. Both are important, but the Love and obedience need to come first.

"And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all." - Luke 6:19

At the risk of sounding repetitive I'm going to talk again about just how awesome our savior is. I know I've been touching on this a lot lately, and I think it might be because I'm trying to beat it into my own head. I'm surprised at how I'll look back at some of the blog entries I wrote a year ago and think "that was a really good lesson, I wish I had learned it by now."

The truth is, our savior Jesus is more awesome, more beautiful, bigger, stronger, and far more loving and powerful than we will ever comprehend. This doesn't mean I wont try... This morning this verse struck me. Power was emanating from His body. People pressed in just to touch Him.

Remember King Midas? Everything he touched turned to gold. That would be a cool power until you wanted to hold your child (or even a TV remote). Shel Silverstein wrote a poem about a guy who everything he touched turned to strawberry jello (or something like that).

Imagine if everything you touched was made right? Imagine knowing that person and walking around with him? People would definitely press in and touch him. I've been seeing a chiropractor for back pain for about a month, I'd kill to be able to touch the Lord and see instant healing.

My point here is God is awesome. Everyone He touched -- and more -- everyone who touched Him, was instantly healed. I want to know, walk with, commune with, and love, this powerful God. I'm so happy I serve an all powerful God "for power came out from him," and not some lame person with emotional problems (or whatever other problems we often project on our Lord).

 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;  
for my eyes have seen your salvation  
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,  
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” - Luke 2:29-32

I don't know if you were a Matrix fan. Most people loved the first one and then saw the next two because they had to (you know the whole rules of society thing) and then were incredibly disappointed. I was in said category.

That said, the first one really was amazing. Today when reading this passage in Luke, I thought, Simeon was the Morpheus of the Bible. Rather, Morpheus was the Simeon of the Matrix. Morpheus was told he would not die until he met the chosen one. Simeon was told he would not die until he met the Christ. The difference is, Morpheus is excited he's found the chosen one, but Simeon was far more so.

Simeon knows the minute he sees Jesus this is the biggest deal of his life. He says "I may now depart in peace because your word has been fulfilled." He knows Jesus is salvation, he knows Jesus will change everything for the Gentiles and bring glory to Israel. He is so happy from this sight that he is willing and ready to die.

That is awesome. What were you like when you first met Jesus? Especially when He had already died for you?
When I meet Him in the morning I want this attitude. Sheer overwhelming joy at having known the Lord's Christ.