The Mercy Seat

Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him.

Numbers 7:89

Moses had a place

to talk with You

in a tent You designed

and Your people built

he would come before Your face

and You would meet him too.

 

Before a golden ark gleaming

he would bring his heart

and You would listen

always there in Your glory

knowing, and requests receiving

from angel wings You answered every part.

 

I imagine Moses always content

with the conversation You would give

in that holy place he met You

as You were worshiped, held in awe,

he would go out sharing the message you meant

for others to know and Israel lived.

 

And there is a holy place I go

each morning in the pages of Your Word

there I sit in reverence speaking,

waiting, listening, talking with You

and Your truth changes me and I know

I must share what I’ve heard from my Lord.

 

I write it down in my faltering way

not quite able to capture the glory and wonder

You stick with me through my failings

and my successes, ready to lift me up

and I will know it all the time, every day

if I will commit Your Word to trust and ponder.

 

Technorati Tags: Christianity,Religion,Discipleship

Prayer between friends

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Luke 11:9-10

Jesus, by His example and in His teaching, shows us that prayer involves effort and hard work. That is the point of the short parable in Luke 11:5-13. The focus is that the person in need makes effort to request from someone who should care for him. I love it that the parable is about a friend in need going to another friend who can help. Even in an inconvenient time, friendship overrides the difficulty. The point is that God will treat His people like His friends.

Jesus tells this tale to make the point that relationship drives two things in prayer. First, it drives the Father to concern because “he is his friend.” God acts out of love when He responds to our prayers. It is not formulaic. It is relational. And that is often forgotten in our mundane and routine thoughts about prayer.

The second observation about prayer involves our effort in praying. It involves active commitment on our part, It is an asking, which is the basis of request prayer. It is seeking which brings with it the need to be worshipful and have an attitude of respectful expectation. And it is knocking, indicating that sometimes we have to stay at the task until the door that is between us and our Friend is opened and the answer is given.

Jesus teaches that prayer with God as our friend is a rewarding relationship. God hears us. When we ask, we receive an answer. When we seek God, He never hides from us and we will find Him. When we knock at His door, He is always ready to open to His children, not because He is obligated to us, but because He loves those who respectfully come to Him as to their eternal Friend.

Technorati Tags: Jesus,Parables,Prayer,Relationship with God.

How to handle demanding people.

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Luke 5:15-16

People can make demands on us. No where is this more true than in ministry. As the gospel grows and as ministry demands increase, the great temptation is to try and manage it solely by sheer personal charisma, skill, or administrative ability. That is always a bad move. People do not create ministry, God brings it. And God brings the capacity to deal with it.

Jesus modeled the proper first step towards managing demanding people. When the ministry encroached into uncontrollable territory, He simply headed away from it (for a time) to immerse Himself in His relationship with the Father. The secret then of handling the advance of ministry is to strategically make personal withdrawal into the presence of God. Jesus needed to pray, to nurture His soul’s communion with the Father. He set the example for how His followers and His ministers should be when the demands and challenges come our way.

I am thankful for this insight today. Mill Creek Community Church is in a time of challenging growth, even as resources (including staff and volunteers) are being stretched thin. It isn’t just the economy that presents the challenge. It is also the culture and the opportunity. Lots of strategic thinking has been spent on our next steps. I am all for it. In fact, there will be more to come. But I know my soul. And right now, it needs to follow Jesus in the wilderness for a short nourishing stay with the Father.

The last three days have been spent analyzing the past year’s ministry initiatives and looking toward 2010. And God has given me some ideas and thoughts there. But I think that for the rest of today (except for one scheduled people appointment) I am going to follow Jesus into a desolate place. It is a beautiful day for it, with two more inches of pure snow on the ground, a pot of Starbucks on the warmer, and this passage to bring perspective. Here I go…

Technorati Tags: Luke,Jesus,Prayer,Planning

The Prayers of the Saints.

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.

Revelation 8:3-4

This chapter marks a turn in the book of Revelation. The imagery is filled with judgment and terror on the earth. It is part of what makes the book and its apocalyptic descriptions so hard to understand. But this little passage makes it clear that one of the reasons these judgments come to the earth has to do with the treatment of God’s people. The study notes in the ESV Study Bible provide a concise description of this:

As incense was associated with the prayers of the saints in the earthly sanctuary (see Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:9–11), so it is in John's visions (see Rev. 5:8). Not only martyrs under the heavenly altar (6:9–10) but also suffering saints on earth cry out for justice. Therefore fire from the altar, from which the saints' prayers rise, will be flung to earth in judgment, indicating that the judgments to follow answer the prayers of the saints.

Part of the reason that Revelation contains such stern and difficult descriptions is that God has prepared His Day for all judgment to be rendered. The saint’s have been offering prayer for deliverance and justice throughout the ages, and I believe that it is the events of this book that show God’s answers in their fullest.

When I pray for justice now, and if God chooses to withhold it until this future time, I can only know that I can see the clear answers coming in the biblical text. Patience is part of the character of God. Even during this time of intense tribulation, He will have His witnesses on the Because He has revealed His future plans to us in His Word, we can pray confidently for His will to be done, even in our worst circumstances, and our prayers surround His altar like fine incense.

Technorati Tags: Revelation,Prayer,Patience,Judgment

Jesus and habits of prayer.

And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
Matthew 14:23

I find it compelling that Jesus spent concentrated time in prayer. Interspersed throughout the gospels are these recorded habits of intense prayer. Jesus seems to make it a regular habit to be alone with the Father. It is hard to know exactly how such a relationship worked, but the scriptures do not give theological commentary on it. They just record the activity.

The ESV Study Bible attempts to give some explanation: "In preparation for his mission into Gentile regions (see 15:21), and with his trials in Jerusalem impending, Jesus spends the evening and night in concentrated prayer with his heavenly Father." But even that is just a glimpse ahead to the change of focus in the text. We can really not know everything that Jesus did in this prayer retreat. To lay Gethsemane over every other text where Jesus gets alone to pray is probably a bad idea. Not all prayer is agonizing when it is long.

I think the take away thought for me in this passage is the need for extended time alone with God. It has been a LONG time since I have strategically done so. In fact, my memory only serves up an episode about 18 months ago. That needs to change, and soon. I am convicted that I have not taken a personal spiritual retreat in nearly two years now. I cannot expect to maintain ministry focus without following the example of my Lord. So it looks like I need to take a good look at my time, lay down driven agendas and paper plans and just get alone with God for at least half a day. And it ought to happen soon.

Technorati Tags: Jesus,Prayer,Spiritual Retreat

A Day for Planning and Prayer

and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.
Philemon 6

Today I am setting aside time for two very important things: ministry planning and prayer. I see Paul's prayer in this passage and it informs my efforts for today. I can come up with objectives or strategies or goals. That is not so hard. But in ministry, every one of those centers on the spiritual needs of people. So I must pray.

I will be praying for myself, that God will make my efforts effective and that I will be submissive to what He wants of me. I want to see God bring good things into the lives of people at Mill Creek. Some of them are really hurting (they may not even admit it yet) and will need the counseling ministry to step in and help them. Some will need to be discipled and the mentoring ministry will provide a relationship of new spiritual growth for them. Some will need to serve, and they will need to stop holding back, before God will give them such enormous blessings. I think there are some who will need to learn to live without some things. One of them is me. I believe the economic uncertainty will shake comfortable suburbanites to the core, and perhaps bring real need to us, which is exactly the culture the gospel will thrive in!

I will pray for those who need to grasp important biblical truths in the Discipleship Institute. Some people this coming year will finally understand and appreciate the need for a strong theology with a firm faith and a life that gives of itself exclusively to God for others. And they will find that in a classroom among humble servants and brothers and sisters.

Others will need the fellowship that only comes in a small group setting to help them be the followers of Jesus that He calls them to be. 2009 will be a year of change and the knowledge of every good thing that God has for us in Christ Jesus. I understand that is what God wants to show me. I know that is what He will give to me. I will pray the prayer of Paul and plan in ways that submits to its understanding.