prayeramedic.com » Living Your Faith

Feeling Unworthy of Serving God?

Dan — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 03:25:18 +0000

I’ve written this before in my post about not being good enough to serve God:

Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer…AND
Lazarus was dead!

So what’s your excuse?

Watch this short but powerful video:

If I Was The Devil – TheDevilisReal.com from Denton Bible on Vimeo.

Regular Prayer

Dan — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 01:30:25 +0000

I’m still enjoying hearing everyone’s thoughts on The Shack, I’ll be commenting on that post with my own soon. I’m in a spiritual funk right now, I haven’t been praying or getting into the Bible much for personal study. What do you do to pray regularly?

Do you have a set routine when you pray?
Do you have a dedicated place to pray?
How frequently do you pray?
Do you have anything that helps you pray (worship music, reading Psalms, etc.)?
Any additional wisdom you’d like to share with a struggling brother in Christ?

Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes…

Dan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:30:56 +0000

It’s become a common cliche to ask a person to try walking a mile in someone else’s shoes, but I think that’s really hard for most of us, if we’re honest. Last week I pointed out that every life has a story, and few of us take the time to learn others’ stories. Learning to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes is the next step: entering into another person’s story.

This means suffering alongside a friend when they are in pain, and rejoicing with them when life is going well. Both of these tasks are equally challenging for most of us, whether we realize it or not. Some of us avoid suffering at all costs, it’s too scary and we’re not sure we’ll be able to find our way out of it. Some of us have a hard time being thankful when others are doing well, sincerely offering our congratulations. Granted, we will never fully understand the depth of someone’s suffering or joy, but we can still share some of it with them. In doing so we “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way [we] will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

Here’s a profound example of a little girl who did this very thing:

This little girl entered into her brother’s suffering the best way she knew how, yet her action was very simple. Often walking a mile in someone else’s shoes doesn’t have to be radical, it can be as simple as finding common ground over a cup of coffee, or in this case, a haircut.

Jesus entered into our suffering by joining the human experience. God became a man and lived among us. Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT) reminds us:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Because Jesus has experienced life as a human being, he can relate to us in our sufferings. Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV) tells us:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

How does Jesus’ life and example help you deal with your own suffering? How can you enter into someone else’s story this week? How has someone entered into yours? I’d love to hear what it is like walking in someone else’s shoes….

Every Life Has a Story… What’s Yours?

Dan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:30:50 +0000

Every life truly does have a story, as this short video from Chick-Fil-A reminds us:

I think it’s all-too-easy for me to forget that everyone has a story, and I am often quick to judge someone without knowing their story. This is especially hard when someone acts out of their pain. The old quote is true: “Hurting people hurt people.” It is easy for me to get angry when someone lashes out at me, but I may not realize what’s driving their anger.

In a similar fashion, few know our story. Many get angry at Tiffany and I because we critique mainstream American Christianity, yet they fail to realize the lives we have seen literally destroyed by churches, or the many people we know who have died young who the church had no clue how to reach (or rejected altogether).

Jesus had the advantage of omniscience (knowing all things), which made it easier for Him to see through people’s actions to the underlying motives of their hearts. It’s a little harder for us, but we are called to do this nonetheless. That is why I CAN’T STAND evangelism and apologetic resources which teach methods or techniques to reach people. People are different and they have diverse backgrounds and stories. You can’t effectively reach people if you aren’t willing to hear their stories and enter into their lives and brokenness. Your approach will be unique with each person if you really care about them.

This is the problem with mainstream evangelical “tactics.” Tactics are cookie-cutter solutions to messy problems. Tactics imply that Christianity can expand using sales and marketing techniques, which are based on man’s wisdom, not God’s. Don’t get me wrong, churches will grow in quantity using these techniques, but read any recent church survey to discover the quality of the growth.

Jesus promises us something better than empty marketing ploys to make new disciples: His Spirit, which will guide us into all truth. Then again, following bullet-pointed steps is easier than prayer and waiting on the Holy Spirit….

What’s your story? How have you misjudged someone because you didn’t know their story? How have you been misjudged because someone never took the time to hear yours?

H/T: Truth Matters

Casa De Fe

Dan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:26:23 +0000

I had a hard time making it to the end of this video; I was very overcome by emotion. I served in the Army with Dwight Martin (one of the teachers shown in the video) and have been following his missionary journey ever since he left the service. I wasn’t prepared to see the amazing testimony of the Casa De Fe (“House of Hope”), a home for abandoned children in Ecuador.

Wow. Will you consider supporting Case De Fe?

Canadian government to pastor: Renounce your faith!

Happy 4th of July!

Dan — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:27:04 +0000

Have a great (and safe) Independence Day. Even more important than being thankful for our national freedom, be thankful that Christ has purchased us from the grave and won our eternal freedom from sin, death, and the devil. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).

Think!

Dan — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:30:21 +0000

The Church has long embraced anti-intellectualism. It creeps up into many circles within the faith – no one seems to be exempt. This video by John Piper encourages Christians to think and directs us towards some good speakers who help us do just that. I would add to the list many of the great minds of church history who have left a legacy of writings as well, such as the Reformers and other great theologians of the past.

Anti-intellectualism

Life is not about us!

Dan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:30:43 +0000

The above image shows my recent lament on Facebook after hearing from yet another former believer who has been destroyed by the man-centered pop-psychological mantra of many American churches. Why do churches jump on this pop-psychology bandwagon? It doesn’t end well – it simply creates more self-absorbed people.

Whether we pity ourselves, esteem ourselves, or rip on ourselves under the guise of humility, the problem is still the same: we are focusing on ourselves! A quick sampling of the titles of best-selling Christian books reveals this problem:

Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living At Your Full Potential
The Purpose-Driven Life
The Me I Want To Be
It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God’s Favor
Finding Your Spiritual Gifts
Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day
Look Great, Feel Great
The Dream Giver: Following Your God-Given Destiny
How to Succeed At Being Yourself

And the list goes on and on… Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of Christian books calling us to die to ourselves and to live for Christ – but unfortunately very few of them are best-sellers, and thus many of them aren’t even stocked at my local Christian bookstore. The books above really aren’t even Christian (in most cases), they are simply self-help/motivational literature. Yet that is what most “Christians” read and live by.

What’s gone wrong in Christianity? Has Satan so infiltrated the pulpits across America that the Gospel has been reduced to finding our purpose in life? Does anyone live a radical life for Jesus anymore?

I’ll close with a quote from Tim Keller:

“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.”

Be Radical… Proclaim the Gospel

Dan — Thu, 27 May 2010 08:30:47 +0000

Are you wasting your life living out a Christian spin on the American dream, or are you living radically for Christ and His commission to spread the Gospel?

H/T: Truth Matters

Canceling church to do service projects

Dan — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:30:08 +0000

I’ve heard a lot about this lately. A church in St. Louis, MO recently canceled services in order to do community projects. Several people whose opinions I respect have mentioned the prospect of doing this lately, and several others whom I also respect have voiced strong opposition to this. Here’s a short video about this church event:

I guess a lot of this centers around your definition of “church” and “worship.” If Church is something we are, then wherever we go there is Christ’s Body. At the same time, what about those visitors who didn’t get to hear the Gospel that day? I’m not of the mindset that actions alone preach the Gospel, words are essential – specifically the Word of God.

If “worship” is something we do for God, then service projects are an appropriate substitute. But if worship is a place where the Church receives Christ’s gifts and is replenished for service, then what happened at this church in St. Louis is equivalent to sending starving people out to the fields to work.

Here are a few questions I have about this:

What about the visitors? Did they hear the Gospel? (Hearing the message is important, see Romans 10:17).
Did everyone have an opportunity to serve? What about the disabled, those with special needs, elderly, mothers with many children, etc.? Did they attend this event and if so, were they able to contribute in a meaningful way?
Why couldn’t service events be scheduled after the service, or over the weekend? Were people not willing to devote additional time to service projects?
What does this convey about this church’s theology of worship and why we gather?

Those are some questions to consider. I’d love to hear your responses. Please comment with your thoughts here or on Facebook. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

For a great audio clip discussing this very issue check out this episode of Issues, Etc.

H/T: Cyberbrethren and Issues, Etc.