The crowd for the Sermon on the Mount

I find that picturing the scenes from the Gospels as I read helps me understand them better.  For example, how do you see the Sermon on the Mount playing out?  If we were honest, most of us would describe a very polite scene.  We have Jesus speaking, and everyone seated all around him furiously taking notes.  OK, maybe you won’t have the crowd taking notes.  But it would look more like a middle class group attending a lawn concert.  They’re dressed nicely and would be generally respectable people.

There’s nothing wrong with respectable people.  As I read the Gospels I see those folks in the crowd, and some of them are Jesus followers.  However, the sick, needy, broken and demon possessed are around as well as are their desperate families or friends.  Some folks are there because they’re curious, but most are there because they are people who need Jesus.  Take a moment and read Matthew 4:23-25.  This is a good description of the kind of crowd that listened to this incredible message of life in the kingdom of God.  In Matthew 9:12-13 we hear Jesus telling the Pharisees “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This causes me to think about my own life.  Am I open to offering and expressing the Lord’s love and mercy to everyone, even if they are obviously broken.  Am I willing to offer it to them even if they are prospering, but equally in need?  Jesus never looked at appearances, but always the heart.  I’ve been asking the Lord to give me this ability, but I don’t think I’m growing into it fast enough.  You see, I watch myself interract with others.  Let’s consider the same thing about our churches.  Is the Lord’s love and mercy being offered to all who are in need, no matter how they appear?

New Year

Happy New Year to all.  I said I’d keep you posted on my own progress of living with the Lord.

For a number of months I’ve spent a good deal of time working on smaller passages of scripture in my personal reading and study.  We’re going through 1 John with a few other families (our Small Group, as we call it), so I’ll continue working through that letter in detail.  I decided to read through a few books from the Bible.  I’ll start reading through Matthew’s gospel.  I’ll watch and listen to Jesus as he talks about and expresses the kingdom of God.  I’m also asking the Lord to teach and challenge me as I expose myself to Matthew’s gospel. 

I’ve also decided this month to use the Lord’s prayer as a guide to pray daily and specifically for each family member as well as friends.  This model prayer covers about every base of the ways I want to pray for those I love.  If you’ve not used the Lord’s prayer in this way, you should try it for a while.  Here’s a link to a study that might help, Lord, Teach us to Pray.

I also met with a friend to talk and pray this morning.  He and I get together each week to chat about life in general, check up on each other, encourage one another, talk about concerns and difficulties, and pray together.  Many folks use the term accountability partner, but that sounds too cold and clinical.  I don’t have a good term for such relationships. In line with my blog title, I’ll say he is someone traveling with me (alongside) as we follow Jesus.  After all, one of the descriptions of the Holy Spirit is that he is the Comforter.  The word for comforter literally means the one who comes alongside.  If you do not have specific individuals with whom you are following Jesus, then ask him to give you some.  You can do this as couples, or on an individual basis.  I like to do both since the different relationships encourage and challenge me on different levels.  However, I would say if you have a relationship where you meet one-on-one with someone that you should be sensible and find someone of the same gender and similar age and maturity level.  When you do meet, take time to be friends and just chat but don’t neglect the equally important task of honestly talking about your life’s successes, challenges and failures.  I’ll share some questions I like in a later blog.  In a mentoring relationship you might do something a little different, but that’s another topic.

Until then, every blessing.

Holidays and habits

In Late November Cindy and I traveled from Stockbridge, GA to Pittsburgh, PA to be with family and celebrate our American Thanksgiving.  Just over a week ago, our son Isaac came to spend Christmas with us.  This past Friday we drove from Stockbridge to North Georgia to spend the weekend with Cindy’s family celebrating her father’s 80^th birthday.

 

These are wonderful times, but holidays and trips disrupt our routine.  My exercising, study, prayer, eating, writing and more have all been interrupted.  Many of us try to re-establish the habits we had before the holidays arrived.  This can be frustrating because we’re unable to quickly pick up our old routine.

 

I’ve learned such interruptions are a good time to decide which habits I want to maintain, and what new practices would enrich my life.  You see, none of us can practice every possible form of prayer, Bible study, fellowship, or the wide range of other possible disciplines of the Christian life.  I’m thinking and praying now about how I will renew my habits as soon as the holidays end.  Please think about this for yourself.  I’ll keep you posted on my decisions.

Group time

Here are a couple ideas for your group time.  Some of it depends on the size and nature of your group.

• Go ahead and follow the traditional format of sharing a meal or snacks, study scripture together, share prayer concerns and pray for one another.
• Spend as much or as little time as you’d like each time you meet, but meet frequently enough to impact each other’s lives.
• Take time now and then to play games, share a longer meal, or both.  Take a hike or go bowling.  Do what you need to bond and grow in trust.  Some groups fall into the trap of playing all the time and missing the chance to grow in faith through study and prayer.  On the other hand, don’t neglect to simply enjoy life together.
• If a group is to help each other grow, then it’s good to ask each other how that’s progrssing.  Ask questions like, in what way have you been praying this week and how did God respond?  Or, how did you handle the challenges and temptations you faced this week?  Or, in what circumstances did you experience the fruit of the Spirit this week?  Or, what struggles did you face and how did you react?  There are endless possibilities.  Questions like this don’t work very well with groups that are not comfortable sharing with one another.
• Groups can be made up of a number of families, another individual (a man if you are a man or a woman, if you are a woman), a few other individuals, and there are endless possibilites here as well.  A group can have two or twelve.  Now and then I see larger groups doing well, so understand that there are not many rules about size.  They need to be large enough that you are not alone, and small enough that everyone involved can share their life.

That’s just a few ideas for you.  What kind of groups have impacted your life, and do you follow a format you feel is particularly valuable?

Value of friends

We just spent the evening with a couple other families who are great friends.  A number of years ago we were in a home bible study / fellowship group.  We don’t see each other as often as we’d like.  This evening we ate together, played games and talked about life.  We particularly talked about how important our friendship has been in encouraging us in our faith.  We talked about the positive impact sharing life together had on our children.  Over the years we’ve helped each other become better friends, parents, husbands, wives, and Christian people.

Such relationships are formed over time.  We need to share our lives, faith, concerns and needs with others.  The investment of time, study, prayer, encouragement and love are well worth it.  You will grow as a result.  We’ve been in a number of groups over the years in every place we lived.  All those folks are like family for us.  We are currently in a group with a few other families that enriches our lives today.  I have a couple other small groups in which I regularly share, which are equally valuable.  I’ll tell you more as time passes about the groups in my life as well as some recommendations for such relationships.  Do you have other Christian individuals or families with whom you share life?

Start the day with

Before I get out of bed each morning I take a few moments with the Lord asking him to lead me through the day.  I’m not 100% consistent, but I’m getting better.  I do have favorite conversations with the Lord at this time.  I like to spend a few minutes asking him for Romans 12:1-2 to be a reality in my life that day.  I also like to ask him to shine his love and mercy through me.  Whenever I ask these things for myself I also offer my family before the Lord in the same way.  I love to begin my day in this way.  This is, in my opinion, not a rule but an important discipline.  I know that when I begin my day seeking the Lord I am meow likely to continue doing so through the course of the day.

I’m a morning person, and I know everyone isn’t.  Folks who are not what we call morning people aren’t ready to have such conversations, even with the Lord, at the start of their day.  That’s fine, but as soon as you are alert this discipline is a blessing.  Those of us who are morning people need to deny the temptation to instantly jump up running in order to stop and spend the first moments of the day with the Lord.

At other times I’ll start my day by a time of worship as I go through my morning routine.  Sing in the shower.  Worship along with some worship music.  Thank the Lord for some of the specific incredible promises he offers.  There are no strict rules about this.  The reality is that we need to do specific things to place ourselves in God’s presence.  This will take some effort for you to establish a new habit.  I bring it up because if we start our day properly the remainder is more likely to fall in line.

What are some of your routines to begin each day properly?

Study God’s word in order to live well

When we read scripture we generally focus on the teaching it contains.  As a result, many Christians judge maturity by how much of the Bible we know.  Knowledge doesn’t exist for its own sake.  I believe we all accept that, but our practice doesn’t always agree.  The value of knowledge is realized in its impact on our heart, soul and strength.  That is, we study in order to live every day life from God’s standpoint.  The fruit of study appears in our relationships with our family, friends, neighbors, how we make choices, hobbies, while we’re at work and even shopping.  Look through scripture and notice how much of the teaching applies to the way we live.  On the other hand, if we don’t study we run the risk of living shallow lives.  I understand that provides us with a certain tension between study and action.  However, I think this tension serves us in maintaining a good balance between study and action.  Let’s determine to study well, and live in agreement with God’s loving revelation in every one of our activities.  The Lord promised we could live an abundant life.  The possibility is here for each of us. 

Let pictures trigger prayer

We all use a number of tools to help as we pray for others.  Our laptop is set for the screen saver to show pictures at random from the folders that contain our pictures.  Our pictures are mainly filled with memories of times with friends and family.  We all love to look through pictures, and doing so triggers emotions of love and care for these folks.  I walked past the laptop the other day and stopped to watch pictures of family.  As I stood watching I realized this was a perfect trigger to pray for these folks.  So I stood there for a while and prayed for each person as they appeared on the screen.  Since I could see their face my praying was more heart-felt.

I decided to experiment with this.  Here are a few of the options I’ve tried, and found helpful.  I made an intentional group of pictures of family and friends, and set them to display in a presentation.  You can use whatever software package you prefer.  One day I prayed the Lord would protect each person I as their pictures displayed.  On other days I prayed they would draw close to the Lord and know his joy, that he would provide for them in these difficult financial times, that each would know the greatness of the Lord’s love, and that their relationships would enrich their lives.

You may have already tried this.  If you haven’t, please do.  Let us know what you thought of the experiment.

Every blessing

I’m a blogger now

I’ve finally decided to join the world of bloggers.  Through Yoke Ministries I provide more formal studies, and I’m honored to do this.  However, these studies don’t accomplish everything I want to offer.  My goal for this blog is to share with you my life with God and others.  I’ll write about my experiments in the life of faith, my own progress, what the I am gleaning from my life with the Lord and others around me.  As I share, I’ll ask you to join in on the conversation.  Such conversations with our small group, my prayer / accountability partners and friends in faith excite and encourage me live my own life.

I’m still learning to blog.  I’ll personalize the header and some other features as I learn more.