Singing off... for a bit.

I won't be posting anything here on Why in WY for the next week or so.  I'm part of a team of people headed to the Dominican Republic as our church begins a holistic development project with the community of Sierra Prieta.  I encourage you to find out more about our trip and the community by following the link below.  I/we will also be attempting to update the Cornerstone C2C Update (internet access permitting) while we are gone.  Look daily, starting this weekend, for updates, insights and pictures.

Connect to Cornerstone C2C Here

And from the Romanian Judge...

Just watch and consider how you can take advantage of this incredible perspective offered by Pastor Francis Chan.  Thanks to Steve and Cara for turning me on to this:



Living life in fear is no life at all.  And living in fear when we have the greatest security and opportunity in the world is a disgrace - it is pure hypocrisy.

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"  Matthew 6:28 Jesus speaking.

Don't just consider the clever point - Do Something about it.

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.  James 4:17

So what are you going to do?


WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?


What are you going to do?

What are we really getting?

Have you bought any light bulbs lately? We just moved into a different house and have been replacing lots of light bulbs. I noticed something interesting on the packaging.
This was supposed to be a 75 watt bulb but look, it only uses 67 watts. I thought this is pretty cool, a regular round bulb that puts out white light and it's saving me money by using less energy. I thought that the green movement had finally given me something besides unnecessary higher prices. But my ever inquiring mind wuoldn't rest untill I looked over the rest of the package on these energy saver bulbs. Guess what I found.

We weren't getting more light for less energy! Nope! Less energy = less light.

Of course they did explain in the small print but few people do read it. I can't help but feel a little bit taken advantage of.

We are all susceptible to the emotional cry of getting something for nothing. But every time it is false hope and a dissatisfying reward.

Greg, you're making too much of this, you say. Well maybe I am, as it relates to light bulbs.

When someone replaces something we're used to then we expect it will be of equal or greater value. If the 75 watt has been replaced by the 67 watt then (my mind says) we should be getting just as much light with less energy. It happens to us in all parts of our life. Even McDonald's hamburgers have gotten smaller. It happens in relationship as Facebook and social networking sights overwhelm us with 'friends' who we never see or connect with by voice or in person. It's all more for less.

The problems really come when we do it to ourselves. More stuff in a day but less stuff done right. Quick morning devotions out of a handy 3 min. book. But what of the time and discipline it takes to delve into the Word and discover the character of God as the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the Scriptures. When we look closely at the bargains and time savers we're offered, we often find that the new fangled thing isn't what we hoped it would be.

A relationship is never a new fangled thing! You can't boil it down. Relationships take work, investment, diligence and emotion.

Don't settle for a relationship with less 'lumen's' than is right. Go all out don't hold back.

Always with a hand out

I heard part of an interview of former Senator Allen Simpson the other day. He said that the reason he retired from government service was that everyone “came to me with their hand out.” He said that people from every group came to him wanting the government to give something, cut taxes grant money, add to this or that budget, add a service or pay for a service... He said that there was no segment of the population that he represented that hadn’t approached him looking for something more from the government.

I have some very clear thoughts about the role of government but this makes me think of something much more significant. Do I approach God this same way in my prayers? When I look to him I too often have my hand out asking for something. Health, safety, money, direction, relief in relational strife… my lists can go on forever. Too often, my prayers say “please, thank you and I’m sorry” they are all about me. When I see God as only the big “vending machine” in the sky," I dishonor his love, authority and wisdom, among other things.

He does tell us to bring our burdens to him, and when teaching us to pray Jesus did include a point where we should ask God to provide our needs and forgive our sins. However, my needs – daily sustenance, shelter and clothing – are all provided so easily in our culture that I don’t wonder for them. My prayer life needs to change from all about me to all about him. He didn’t desire relationship with me so I could get stuff, for me or for others.

Neal & Judy Brower have written a short book called Discover the Life. They suggest praying in 4 categories or with 4 awareness’s. The first is to give God glory – that is to admire and adore him. We just need to recognize who he is. It’s too easy to think of God in the same way we think of ourselves and of others. I put him in a human shaped box with Super Powers. But his is so much more, and I need to be reminded of that more often than I like to admit.

The second thing is to give God honor, that is to recognize his absolute authority and put him above all things with my words and thoughts. So many times my prayers suggest that God is subject to the same things that I am subject to. He does as he pleases without consulting me, the laws of physics or even relational barriers that I can’t or won’t get around. It is about trusting God in all things not just the things I’m comfortable with him adjusting. It is about choosing God and recognizing his supreme authority over all things, especially the details of my life.

Giving God thanks is the 3^rd practice of prayer. They explain this as celebrating what God means to us. Praying not so much “Thank you for a safe trip”, but “Thank you God for being at work in me and in all things.” When we thank God for just stuff - food, money, health success -we are not honoring him so much as appreciating the gifts he has given, even elevating the gifts above him. Our focus needs to be on that which can never be taken away, will never fail and never spoil. Our attention, even in giving thanks for blessings, has to focus on who he is and will always be regardless of the durability of a gift.

The final aspect the Brower’s address is that of requests. This is where our perspective on God’s authority is revealed. It is in requests that we reveal our desires. Are we desiring his plan, purpose and direction or merely our comfort. They suggest that the way to pray for a sickness is to say “God, please have your way in this illness.” Another example they put forth is “God, help me to see my money, time, health, home, family, job, activities, etc. as mostly about helping people find Jesus.”

I think the challenge of this is not to see life as something to be shaped into my vision. We need to live in such a way that we recognize that our lives are best when we try to fit them in around what God is already working to do to reveal his Glory, honor and completeness to others. It’s not about getting God to fix my life so it’s how I want it, but about adjusting my life so it lines up in the middle of where God already is.

What we believe comes out in how we think and speak and act. To believe in an all supreme God is to recognize that the things we encounter are part of his great plan to demonstrate his love and greatness to all people, and to help us to be more like him. God is much more concerned about our growth than our comfort.