So I've had a lot of thoughts going through my head in the last while that really haven't made enough sense to write anything about them. I have no idea where this blog will go tonight, but I was thinking that I hadn't written anything in a while . . . so here goes . . .
Have you ever taken the time to sit down and go back through your life thinking about the major events, important people, etc. that have shaped you into the person you are today? That's something I've been doing lately with a program I'm doing through my church. It's an interesting process . . . once I started writing down the things that came to mind initially, more and more started coming to mind. It's kind of strange to look at all of them in one place. And as I do, I can see God in the midst of them - even in the hard times. It's pretty cool to see. And encouraging. To realize how God has been there in all of your life is pretty amazing. Even when you think He's not, He is!
I've been thinking a lot about prayer lately . . . probably because we've been doing a series on it at the young adults group I go to. It's such a huge topic to try to cover in a short series . . . and a VERY IMPORTANT one. I used to get intimidated by the idea of prayer. It just seemed like something that had to be done just right, but I'm learning that it's not so much. It's mostly about just talking to God - having a conversation with Him. And it can happen as you go through the day.
OK, I know I'm all over the place with this blog, so to be even more all over the place, here's a song that I've come to like recently that I want to share.
Well, that's all for now. I will stop rambling about things now. That's where my thoughts have been recently.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
imitate
So I was reading in 1 Corinthian about an hour ago and something really jumped out at me.
(Disclaimer: This idea may not be a fully developed as they usually are when I write them. I usually wait for a few days to write about something, but this one I just feel like I need to write it now.)
OK, back to what I read . . . Paul had this to say in 1 Corinthians 4:16
"Therefore I urge you to imitate me."
I read that verse and just stopped there today. I couldn't go any further. I started thinking about it and what Paul was actually saying in this verse.
First off, context of this verse: Just a few verses before, Paul is talking about how he is a fool for Christ, and he is telling the Corinthian church about his mistreatment to warn them about trouble or persecution that may be coming to them. The Corinthian church was a mixed up church. From the letters in Scripture we know that they caused Paul a lot of anguish and he had much to say to them. In the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians Paul is reminding them that they follow Christ, not whatever preacher brought them the message of salvation that they responded to.
OK . . . that's the context . . . now on to Paul's words here. Paul is telling the Corinthian church to imitate him. He wasn't doing this because he was perfect or knew it all - he was very aware of his own sinful nature. But, he devoted his life to pursuing God with everything he had. He was calling the people to imitate the aspects of his beliefs and conduct that were modelling Christ's way of living. And, I mean, it makes sense . . . how much easier do we find it to imitate someone whose lifestyle we can see?
The part of this that really challenged me was when I started thinking about it in my own life. As someone who is involved in leadership in church ministries, could I tell other people that they can imitate aspects of my life? That's not an easy question to ask. It made me take a good look at my life - about how I live day-to-day. It's a bit sobering to do that, because you see things that you maybe don't like about how you do live day-to-day. But, it's good to do . . . especially when you're someone in leadership of any kind.
The more I thought about my own life (and the longer I write on this blog), the more I realized that I could get the externals for people to imitate down to an art, without it having any impact on the internal of my life. Going through the motions really isn't that hard - especially when you've grown up in the church. But, I don't think that was what Paul was talking about in these verses. Paul wasn't just talking about the externals in his life that they should imitate, although that was definitely included, he was calling for the Corinthian church to imitate his whole-hearted pursuit of God - no matter what God brought their way.
That's the kind of life I want to live. In many ways, I want to imitate those parts of Paul's life. And I hope that others can do the same with my life.
Lord, I pray that you would give all of us a passion to live lives that other people can learn from and imitate. Give us a passion to pursue You with everything we have, no matter the circumstances. Amen.
(Disclaimer: This idea may not be a fully developed as they usually are when I write them. I usually wait for a few days to write about something, but this one I just feel like I need to write it now.)
OK, back to what I read . . . Paul had this to say in 1 Corinthians 4:16
"Therefore I urge you to imitate me."
I read that verse and just stopped there today. I couldn't go any further. I started thinking about it and what Paul was actually saying in this verse.
First off, context of this verse: Just a few verses before, Paul is talking about how he is a fool for Christ, and he is telling the Corinthian church about his mistreatment to warn them about trouble or persecution that may be coming to them. The Corinthian church was a mixed up church. From the letters in Scripture we know that they caused Paul a lot of anguish and he had much to say to them. In the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians Paul is reminding them that they follow Christ, not whatever preacher brought them the message of salvation that they responded to.
OK . . . that's the context . . . now on to Paul's words here. Paul is telling the Corinthian church to imitate him. He wasn't doing this because he was perfect or knew it all - he was very aware of his own sinful nature. But, he devoted his life to pursuing God with everything he had. He was calling the people to imitate the aspects of his beliefs and conduct that were modelling Christ's way of living. And, I mean, it makes sense . . . how much easier do we find it to imitate someone whose lifestyle we can see?
The part of this that really challenged me was when I started thinking about it in my own life. As someone who is involved in leadership in church ministries, could I tell other people that they can imitate aspects of my life? That's not an easy question to ask. It made me take a good look at my life - about how I live day-to-day. It's a bit sobering to do that, because you see things that you maybe don't like about how you do live day-to-day. But, it's good to do . . . especially when you're someone in leadership of any kind.
The more I thought about my own life (and the longer I write on this blog), the more I realized that I could get the externals for people to imitate down to an art, without it having any impact on the internal of my life. Going through the motions really isn't that hard - especially when you've grown up in the church. But, I don't think that was what Paul was talking about in these verses. Paul wasn't just talking about the externals in his life that they should imitate, although that was definitely included, he was calling for the Corinthian church to imitate his whole-hearted pursuit of God - no matter what God brought their way.
That's the kind of life I want to live. In many ways, I want to imitate those parts of Paul's life. And I hope that others can do the same with my life.
Lord, I pray that you would give all of us a passion to live lives that other people can learn from and imitate. Give us a passion to pursue You with everything we have, no matter the circumstances. Amen.
Friday, February 6, 2009
pray continually?
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray continually.” What does it mean? What does it look like to pray continually? Is it even truly possible? Or is it just something nice to say that has no practical out-working in our lives?
For the last week or so I have been really wrestling with what this verse means. I cannot seem to get it out of my head. I mean, really, what does Paul (the author of 1 Thessalonians) mean when he says this? How do I do this in my own life?
As I have studied and thought about this over the last week, I have come to understand that in this verse Paul is talking about living in an attitude of prayer – having a constant communication with God through-out the day. One of the authors I was reading on this topic described it in a way that made so much sense to me and I cannot put it in better words, so I will quote them:
Praying continually is not only possible, it is the better way to live!
When we pray through-out our days, it does not have to be something where we stop what we are doing and get our knees and start with the same words we were taught to as children. We can just cry out to God in the midst of whatever we are doing at the time. There is definitely a time and a place for setting a block of time aside to spend in prayer, but we can also be in communication with God through prayer through-out our days.
For the last week or so I have been really wrestling with what this verse means. I cannot seem to get it out of my head. I mean, really, what does Paul (the author of 1 Thessalonians) mean when he says this? How do I do this in my own life?
As I have studied and thought about this over the last week, I have come to understand that in this verse Paul is talking about living in an attitude of prayer – having a constant communication with God through-out the day. One of the authors I was reading on this topic described it in a way that made so much sense to me and I cannot put it in better words, so I will quote them:
When Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should pray continually, he is saying that we should be talking to God regularly – both in specific times set aside for prayer and in moments through-out our days as we feel the need.“Prayer should be the constant attitude of the Christian – not that he
abandons regular duties and gives himself wholly to prayer. He prays at certain
regular times; he also prays extemporaneously as need arises; and he enjoys
continual communion with the Lord by prayer.” (Believer’s Bible
Commentary).
Praying continually is not only possible, it is the better way to live!
When we pray through-out our days, it does not have to be something where we stop what we are doing and get our knees and start with the same words we were taught to as children. We can just cry out to God in the midst of whatever we are doing at the time. There is definitely a time and a place for setting a block of time aside to spend in prayer, but we can also be in communication with God through prayer through-out our days.
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