October 17, 2006 by mark.
“Prayer does not equip us for greater works- prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher power that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God. The way fruit remains firrm is through prayer, but remember that it is prayer based on the agony of Christ in redemption, not on my own agony. We must go to God as His child…” Oswald Chambers- “My Utmost for His Highest”
Prayer, for me, has been a journey much like stumbling in the dark with a blindfold while someone is moving the furniture all around. I have lost my footing more times than I can recall. The constant has been relying on God to teach me how to pray. The disciples asked Jesus the same question and his response was what we now recognize as the Lord’s Prayer. (Check out Matthew 6: 9-10)
We need Jesus to show us how to pray. To make us feel like we are getting through and our prayers are not just bouncing off the ceiling back in our faces.
Prayer is simply a conversation. I gave up using the King James language in prayer a long time ago. I try to talk to God much the same as I would to my wife or friends. Open, sincere, and honest. As in any conversation, you speak and listen. Sometimes I struggle with the listening part.
Jesus understands the deepest utterings of our being that scream to be understood and to understand. To make sense of our world and our reality. Prayer helps us know ourselves and our motivations.
Much more importantly… prayer helps us know Jesus. When we know Jesus we are able to make him known to others.
In any relationship… talking to someone, knowing someone, trusting someone, are keys to loving someone.
And believing… we are loved…
Mark+
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October 11, 2006 by mark.
Okay, let’s jump into the deep end of the pool on this blog with a passage from the gospel of Mark 8: 34-37. “Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
The word gospel simply means, “Good news.” I have wrestled with this verse for years. Not many of us have picked up a wooden cross and hauled it around town lately.
In Jesus’ time the cross was an instrument of death used by the Romans, who occupied Israel and most of the known world. It was reserved for the worst criminals in Roman society.
Jesus gives a startling image of a culture most of Israel despised; to his closest friends and disciples no less.
It seems Jesus upends everything his disciples thought they knew. He boldly states his intentions, meaning his impending death, and they don’t like it one bit.
Neither do we.
Unlike other parts of the world giving up our lives for our faith is not something most of us are going to experience in Massachusetts. However, Jesus sees beyond just the time in which he lived and knew all humankind was in need of the salvation his cross and resurrection would bring.
Taking up our cross, our suffering, our trials, our heartbreaks, our brokenness… simply means allowing Jesus to participate fully in our suffering with us. The most difficult part of the Christian life is thinking and then believing that God is distant and does not care about the heartbreaks we go through. That he does not care about our suffering, personally.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Here is a key to spiritual growth. God is not afraid to allow us to suffer. If he would permit his very own son to go through a brutal death for a much larger purpose� for us� how do you think God views the pain we experience?
The circumstantial hurricanes that seem to blow our fragile faith to bits have the same power, through Jesus, to restore and rebuild our faith.
A friend of mine calls it “Faith Repair.”
I like that. When we allow Jesus to stitch the threads of our faith back together the results are miraculous. Asking Jesus to walk with us is a daily choice.
Someone asked me recently, “Mark, do you believe in miracles? That stuff seemed to only happen in the bible.”
My response was, “Absolutely. I am one.”
So are you! And that is Good News.
Where in your life do you need Jesus’ Faith Repair?
God’s peace,
Mark+
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