Companions in Christ: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

Results

FAST FOR THE WEEK: TIME
Go out of your way for others this week. Fast from indulging yourself time-wise. Get up a half hour or an hour earlier. Make it a goal this week: To daily bless someone else through your words or actions, to give someone else the gift of your listening ear—resist the urge to share your troubles and instead focus on someone else and helping to share theirs. Commit this week to doing something for someone else—help a friend move or paint, serve the poor, stop and help a stranger even if (especially if) you are in a hurry to get somewhere. Keep journal entries of what it’s like to spend your time on others.

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: What kind of "fruit" has been coming out of your life recently? What are you rooted in? What are you feeding yourself? Does the one have anything to do with the other?

Pray: That God would help you do what leads to good results in your life.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Fear

FAST FOR THE WEEK: SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET
Turn off Twitter, Facebook, blogs and your internet news. Check and answer work emails and nothing else. If at all possible, put a Lent “Out of Office” reply on your personal email letting people know you’ll get back to them next week. Keep journal entries of what it’s like to unplug and disconnect—to not obsessively check email/Facebook, etc. Do you feel disconnected... or free?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
“If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:15-27, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: What are you most afraid of in life? What do you want to say to God about that? After spending some time listening and reflecting, what do you think He wants to say to you about that?

Pray: That God would give you peace, trust in Him and the ability to see your fears through the lens of His presence alongside you.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Friendship

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Monday, March 24, 2014

Status

FAST FOR THE WEEK: SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET
Turn off Twitter, Facebook, blogs and your internet news. Check and answer work emails and nothing else. If at all possible, put a Lent “Out of Office” reply on your personal email letting people know you’ll get back to them next week. Keep journal entries of what it’s like to unplug and disconnect—to not obsessively check email/Facebook, etc. Do you feel disconnected... or free?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:35-45, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: What did Jesus think about self-promotion? What do you think about it? How would you rate your desire for status and acknowledgement?

Pray: That God would show you clearly your need to matter and all that you do to get that need met. Pray that you would feel the love and acceptance of God, because of Jesus and His life and death on your behalf—not your performance.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Worry

FAST FOR THE WEEK: TELEVISION/MUSIC/MEDIA
This week, forgo the usual shows. In fact, turn off the TV altogether. Drive without the radio. Leave the iPod at home. What is it like to increase the silence/decrease the media inputs into your life? Do you miss it? Does it make you anxious? Relaxed? Something else? What does your reaction to this fast tell you about your connectedness to media? Keep journal entries of what silence does for you, what missing certain shows/events means. Spend the time listening for the still small voice of God.

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 "Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:22-34, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: Do you worry about things? What place do possessions have in your heart? How easy or hard is it to trust God to give you what you actually need?

Pray: That God would decrease your desire for more and more... and increase your desire for and trust in Him

Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

As part of today's Lenten journey, we will forgo a Scripture reading and spend time praying the Lord's Prayer. Seek to make this ancient prayer personal to your life today. Spend a few minutes in silence, quieting your heart and waiting on God. When you feel led to do so, pray this prayer as sincerely and authentically as you can, seeking to engage with the Spirit's guidance throughout each request.

THE LORD'S PRAYER
"This, then, is how you should pray:

"'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one,
for yours is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.'" (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA
Consider using the following attachment to guide you through using the Lord's Prayer as a pattern for your own prayer.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Compassion

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Monday, March 17, 2014

Hatred

FAST FOR THE WEEK: TELEVISION/MUSIC/MEDIA
This week, forgo the usual shows. In fact, turn off the TV altogether. Drive without the radio. Leave the iPod at home. What is it like to increase the silence/decrease the media inputs into your life? Do you miss it? Does it make you anxious? Relaxed? Something else? What does your reaction to this fast tell you about your connectedness to media? Keep journal entries of what silence does for you, what missing certain shows/events means. Spend the time listening for the still small voice of God.

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
"But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:27-36, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: Who are you enemies with? Why? What would it look like to lay that down, give up what you think they owe you and instead forgive?

Pray: That God would show you how to love even those you don’t like.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Rules

FAST FOR THE WEEK: FOOD/MEALS

Pick either a type of food (like meat or carbs or even “solids”) and fast from them for the week. Or alternately, pick a meal (like breakfast or lunch) to skip on a daily basis. If you skip meals, spend that time you would have spent preparing and eating food in doing something else—prayer, or reading Scripture, or serving others, perhaps finding a way to bless someone with each of those blocks of time, even if it’s just time spent listening to them.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to go hungry, even if it’s just for one meal. What is it like to begin to assert some mastery over your body these past two weeks? How does your body/mind respond to that? If you forgo a whole category of food, consider: What is it like to deny a craving? Is it easy or hard. How does that craving grow the more you deny it? Does it eventually become easier? Why?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!" (Matthew 23:23-32, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER

Consider: Do you think doing certain religious things (like fasting or observing Lent) or even not sinning makes you a better person? What’s more important?

Pray: That God would use Lent to form you, to humble you, to convict you of your priorities and convince you of your place in serving others.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Sin

FAST FOR THE WEEK: FOOD/MEALS
Pick either a type of food (like meat or carbs or even “solids”) and fast from them for the week. Or alternately, pick a meal (like breakfast or lunch) to skip on a daily basis. If you skip meals, spend that time you would have spent preparing and eating food in doing something else—prayer, or reading Scripture, or serving others, perhaps finding a way to bless someone with each of those blocks of time, even if it’s just time spent listening to them.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to go hungry, even if it’s just for one meal. What is it like to begin to assert some mastery over your body these past two weeks? How does your body/mind respond to that? If you forgo a whole category of food, consider: What is it like to deny a craving? Is it easy or hard. How does that craving grow the more you deny it? Does it eventually become easier? Why?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." (Matthew 18:1-9, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: In what ways does sin have a grip on you? What do you know you need to let go of, but have been unwilling up to now? How might your unwillingness to deal with that affect others?

Pray: That God would search your heart and point out to you anything that needs to go, be let go of, be crucified in your life.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Monday, March 10, 2014

Judgment

And so, we continue our Lenten journey. Below you'll find information about the fast for this week and the reading for today. If you would like to download the guide through this first week of Lent, click here.

FAST FOR THE WEEK: FOOD/MEALS
Pick either a type of food (like meat or carbs or even “solids”) and fast from them for the week. Or alternately, pick a meal (like breakfast or lunch) to skip on a daily basis. If you skip meals, spend that time you would have spent preparing and eating food in doing something else—prayer, or reading Scripture, or serving others, perhaps finding a way to bless someone with each of those blocks of time, even if it’s just time spent listening to them.

Keep journal entries of what it’s like to go hungry, even if it’s just for one meal. What is it like to begin to assert some mastery over your body these past two weeks? How does your body/mind respond to that? If you forgo a whole category of food, consider: What is it like to deny a craving? Is it easy or hard. How does that craving grow the more you deny it? Does it eventually become easier? Why?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." (Luke 6:37-42, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: Who do you end up feeling most judgmental about? Why? How can we be passionate about the truth of the Gospel and convinced of the rightness of life in the way of Jesus without coming across as a jerk? If you were wrong about something how would you want someone to approach you?

Pray: That God would soften your heart towards others and most specifically—show you the “specks” in your own eye.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Greed

FAST FOR THE WEEK: TREATS & SELF INDULGENCE
Throughout the remainder of this week, resolve to spend nothing on yourself but what is absolutely necessary. Buy no new clothes or gadgets, books or music, don’t go to the movies or buy coffee or candy. Eat cheaply, save money (or give what you would have spent on coffee, treats, entertainment for the week to our benevolence offering). Keep journal entries of what happens inside when you deny yourself something you’ve become accustomed to or something you really want. How does it affect you? Why?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:13-21, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: Why does Jesus talk so much about money? How is an over-emphasis on material things corrosive to our souls and our world?

Pray: That God would show you where and how you are overly concerned about and tied to money, possessions and acquisition.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Simplicity

The season of Lent begins today. Whether you grew up observing Lent or this tradition is new to you, we invite you to journey with us through this special season. We have designed an experiential guide to be used throughout this season, complete with creative fasts and daily readings and prayers. Our hope is that you will authentically participate with us in these spiritual exercises, and that—by God's grace and enablement—we will together experience a renewal of vibrancy, life, passion, and vision in our walk with God.

As we set out on our Lenten journey, we invite you to participate with us in tonight's Ash Wednesday service. Please join us at 6:30pm in the Worship Center as we reflect upon our mortality, confess our need of repentance, and pray for God’s grace to be actively at work in our lives. (Our regularly scheduled men’s and women’s groups will meet from 7:00-8:00pm.)

Below you'll find information about the weekly fast and the reading for today. If you would like to download the guide through this first week of Lent, click here.

FAST FOR THE WEEK: TREATS & SELF INDULGENCE
Throughout the remainder of this week, resolve to spend nothing on yourself but what is absolutely necessary. Buy no new clothes or gadgets, books or music, don’t go to the movies or buy coffee or candy. Eat cheaply, save money (or give what you would have spent on coffee, treats, entertainment for the week to our benevolence offering). Keep journal entries of what happens inside when you deny yourself something you’ve become accustomed to or something you really want. How does it affect you? Why?

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:19-34, NIV)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND PRAYER
Consider: In what ways have the things you own ended up owning you? Where could you simplify if you only had the will to do so? What are we really saying to God when we place such an importance on things? When we worry?

Pray: That your worry would melt into trust, that your desire for things would be redirected into a desire for God and his kingdom.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The Lord's Prayer

Throughout the next seven weeks as we focus on the Lenten journey, we will spend a lot of time praying the Lord's Prayer. You may be wondering why. The short answer is: We need help with prayer. Want a longer answer? Okay...

From our point of view, there is a fairly obvious order of priorities. We're usually in some sort of mess, and we want God to get us out of it. Then we've usually got some fairly pressing needs, and we want God to supply them. It may strike us at that point that there's a larger world out there. Again, we probably move from mess to wants: please sort out the Middle East, please feed the hungry, please house the homeless.

But then, once more, it may dawn on us that there's not just a larger world out there; there's a larger God out there. He's not just a celestial cleaner-upper and sorter-outer of our messes and wants. He is God. He is the living God. And he is our Father. If we linger here, we may find our priorities quietly turned inside out. The contents may remain; the order will change. With that change, we move at last from paranoia to prayer; from fuss to faith.

The Lord's Prayer is designed to help us make this change: a change of priority, not a change of content. This prayer doesn't pretend that pain and hunger aren't real. Some religions say that; Jesus didn't. This prayer doesn't use the greatness and majesty of God to belittle the human plight. Some religions do that; Jesus didn't. This prayer starts by addressing God intimately and lovingly, as "Father"—and by bowing before his greatness and majesty. If you can hold those two together, you're already on the way to understanding what Christianity is all about.

Let me suggest three practical ways to use the Lord's Prayer:

First, there is the time-honored method of making the Lord's Prayer the framework for regular daily praying. Take each clause at a time, and, while holding each in turn in the back of your mind, call into the front of your mind the particular things you want to pray for, as it were, under that heading. Under the clause, "your kingdom come," for example, it would be surprising if you didn't want to include the peace of the world, with some particular instances. The important thing is to let the medicine and music of the prayer encircle the specific people for whom you are praying, the specific situations about which you are concerned, so that you see them transformed, bathed in the healing light of the Lord's love as expressed in the prayer. (If you are interested, see below for a handout describing the details of using the Lord's Prayer as a pattern for your own prayer.)

Second, some people use the Lord's Prayer in the same way that some use the Orthodox Jesus-prayer. Repeat it slowly, again and again, in the rhythm of your breathing, so that it becomes, as we say, second nature. Those of us who live busy or stressful lives may find a discipline like that very difficult; but, again, it may be precisely people like that who need—perhaps, physically need—the calming and nourishing medicine of this prayer to be woven into the fabric of their subconscious. Next time you make a car journey by yourself, leave the radio switched off, and try it. Yes, it takes time. What else would you expect?

Third, you might like, for a while, to take the clauses of the prayer one by one and make each in turn your "prayer for the day." Sunday: "Our Father in heaven… " Monday: "Hallowed be your name… " Tuesday: "Your kingdom come…" Wednesday: "Give us this day…" Thursday: "Forgive us our debts…" Friday: "Lead us not into temptation…" Saturday: "Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever…" Use the clause of the day as your private retreat, into which you can step at any moment, through which you can pray for the people you meet, the things you're doing, all that's going on around you. The "prayer of the day" then becomes the lens through which you see the world.

There are, of course, dozens of other ways in which this prayer can be used, by groups or by individuals. These are just some suggestions for a start.

THE LORD'S PRAYER
"This, then, is how you should pray:

"'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one,
for yours is the kingdom
and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.'" (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA
As I've mentioned before, I have been greatly helped on my journey of faith by Dallas Willard's writings. Below is a passage out of his book The Divine Conspiracy, in which he describes the process he went through in learning to love the Lord's prayer...

I personally did not find the Lord’s Prayer to be the doorway into a praying life until I was in my mid-twenties. In my family that prayer was, for three generations I know of, always said in unison at the breakfast table. But at some point, for reasons I cannot explain, I began to use it in a new way: taking each phrase of it and slowly and meditatively entering into the depths of its meaning, elaborating within it important details of my current life.

When I began to “live” in the prayer in this way—for that is the only way I can describe it—there were many nights when I would awaken about two o’clock and spend an hour of delight before God just dwelling in one or more phrases from it. I had to make a point at times, as I still do, of praying thoughtfully on through the entire prayer. Otherwise the riches of one or two phrases in the prayer would be all I could develop, and I would not benefit from all its contents.

Sometimes now I do not begin at the first request but go immediately to the end or the middle and settle in there for a while. At other times I will use just the words of the address, “Our Father filling the heavens,” to establish and reestablish address and orientation as I go through the day. For some reason I especially profit from using those words while driving Los Angeles freeways. They put the vast, sprawling urban landscape, with a greater population than many nations, into its proper perspective before God. And they transform my sense of who and where I am. I have never found any situation in which they failed to be extremely powerful.

There is, of course, much more to prayer than the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that teaches us to pray. It is a foundation of the praying life: its introduction and its continuing basis. It is an enduring framework for all praying. You only move beyond it provided you stay within it. It is the necessary bass in the great symphony of prayer. It is a powerful lens through which one constantly sees the world as God himself sees it.

The English wording long familiar from the King James Version is a treasure now interwoven with Western consciousness. It may be of some use in practice, however, to reword the prayer to capture better the fullness of its meanings and its place in the gospel of the kingdom:

Dear Father always near us, may your name be treasured and loved, may your rule be completed in us— may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven. Give us today the things we need today, and forgive us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us. Please don’t put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad. Because you are the one in charge, and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours—forever— which is just the way we want it!

“Just the way we want it” is not a bad paraphrase for “amen.” What is needed at the end of this great prayer is a ringing affirmation of the goodness of God and God’s world. If your nerves can take it, you might (occasionally?) try “Whoopee!” I imagine God himself will not mind.

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Along with personalizing the wording of the Lord's Prayer, you might also consider using the following attachment to guide you through using the Lord's Prayer as a pattern for your own prayer.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Lent: The Springtime of Faith

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season. Starting today, the Companions devotional series will follow the plan for Lent that is described below. We will return to our regular daily devotionals on the Monday after Easter.

Depending on your church background, you may or may not be familiar with Lent. In this post, I'd like to describe my understanding of Lent and to describe PRF's plan to walk together on the Lenten journey. We are hoping that the next seven weeks will be a remarkable time in your walk with God. Our prayer is that the God of Life will set you free from sinful, selfish habits and will lead you into a life of absolute freedom and abundance in Christ. Please read below and join us on the Lenten journey…

WHAT IS LENT?
Lent is a period of 46 days (40 days not including Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter, originally a period of preparation for those to be baptized at Easter. It later became a time of peni¬tence and self-examination for all Christians. Lent is a word that many people associate with depri¬vation, self-denial, and drudgery. But this is far from its actual and intended meaning!

The word "Lent" actually means Springtime! Faithful Christians through the ages have always used the 40 days of Lent to restore vibrancy, life, passion, and vision in their walk with God. The tradition of Lent reflects the wisdom of our Christian ancestors who understood that we seem¬ingly can’t help ourselves when it comes to accepting substitutes for God.

C.S. Lewis, in his famous book/sermon The Weight of Glory said it well: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

The forty days of Lent are meant to be symbolic of the forty days spent by Christ in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. By observing Lent, we follow Jesus into the wilderness, resist temptation, pray, and proceed “on the way” to Jerusalem and the cross of Good Friday. However, unlike Jesus, our Lenten journey is one of repentance—that is, changing directions from selfish, self-serving patterns and a myopic focus on our own life, toward the others-focused way of life. On this journey, we follow Jesus in laying down ourselves for others and trust that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is enough to guide us in repentance and renewal. The intervention of God’s gracious Spirit makes life-long changes become possible. Turning from the old self and experiencing a dying of old ways prepares us to truly experience the joy of Easter.

In the season of Lent, our prayers have repentance as their focus. First, we own our sin as it shows itself in the different aspects of our being—wrong thinking and attitudes, wrong affections and aspirations, wrong behaviors and actions. Second, we turn from our sin to Christ for forgiveness and strength to change and grow to be more like Him.

Lent is a sober reflection upon our condition, which leads us to faith and fresh trust in and leaning on the finished work of Christ. The reflection on our sin, our brokenness and all the ways we are tied to and contribute to the brokenness in the world, should serve to increase our gratitude and wonder at the love of God.

For so many, Lent only carries connotations of fasting and self-denial. To be clear, there is a place and call for fasting—from food, from situations, from elements of our environment. However, the best remedy for the rooting out of sinful elements of the world is best accomplished by replacing that desire with something more powerful and desirable—the Gospel. Maturity is not just turning away from sin but rather it is the declaration of a dependence upon all that God is for you in Jesus… it’s the power of grace becoming a renewed affection for you.

You can never replace something with nothing. With that in mind, it is better to not be so caught up in the idea of giving things up for Lent as much as leaning into the disciplines of grace—prayer, fasting, acts of mercy, meditating on the Word of God, the sacraments and the communion of the saints.

Whether you grew up observing Lent or this tradition is new to you, we would like to invite you to join us on this journey of drawing near to the risen Christ. On the back of this handout, we have provided an outline for prayer and reflection is intended to assist you along the way. This outline is not meant to be a new legalism. But let’s face it, we often need help in focusing on what is truly important and in laying aside distractions... and this guide is designed to provide that help. Use as much or as little of this as seems appropriate for you.

May this season be a "springtime of faith" for us all!

OUR LENTEN RHYTHM
A New Twist on an Ancient Practice
This season let’s try something new... not for the sake of new or because the old way is broken. But in an effort to be more holistic and intentional, let’s strike an intentional rhythm to the steps of our journey to the cross. This year our Lenten journey will look like:

Weekly Fasts
Each week, we’ll be fasting from a particular pleasure. Lent Sundays are “Feast” days when in celebration of the goodness Jesus brings, we break our fasts. Do each fast for the week and only for that week; or, consider letting them build on each other, so that by the end of Lent, you are doing all six weekly fasts at the same time.

Daily Readings and Prayers
Our daily rhythm will be reading & reflection one day, prayer the next. On one day, you’ll read a passage of Scripture and reflect on a specific aspect of it. On the next day, you’ll use the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to pray through what you’ve discovered about your heart the day before. For example, on Day 1 there is a reading on relationship with questions designed to help you reflect on your relationship with Christ. On day 2, you would pray through the Lord’s Prayer with the intention of experiencing a deeper, more personal and intimate relationship with the risen Christ.

Corporate Prayer/Feasting Days
On Lent Sunday, feast days, we will all be using the Lord’s Prayer as a guide to pray for PRF. When possible, do this with members of the PRF community in connection with feasting in anticipation for the "great feast" that is Easter.

As we observe Lent, here are some other helpful practices to put into the rhythm of your daily life:

Read through one of the Gospels between now and Easter.
If you don’t already journal, begin now. Reflect on your readings, prayers and questions.
Find a way to go to bed earlier, get enough rest and rise earlier.
Make a list of people with whom you need to be reconciled. Pray for them and let Jesus guide you in our thinking and feeling toward them.
List the priorities in your life at the beginning of Lent. Revisit at the end.

Relationship

Over the next seven weeks, we will pause from our regular devotional format. Rather than me rambling on about a passage of Scripture, we are going to leave it up to you and God. I'd like to encourage you to try an experiment in prayer. It may or may not be the way in which you pray. You might feel a little strange or uncomfortable with the silence, but I want to ask you to give it a try to see what happens. God can surprise us sometimes and show up in ways we don’t normally expect.

Over the last few years, I've been profoundly affected by a spiritual exercise called lectio divina. This strange Latin phrase essentially translates to English as "holy reading," and comes out of the Benedictine monastic tradition.

This method of prayer can be simply described as experiencing God through Scripture. It’s a classical form of prayer designed to draw us gently into the depths of our heart in order to meet with God. We interact with God in prayer as we meditate upon a biblical passage.

As you probably know, we all engage in various forms of "reading." Sometimes we read for information (newspaper reading), sometimes we read to increase our knowledge or critical faculties (studying), and sometimes we read for leisure (novels and such).

In lectio divina, we are not seeking to read for knowledge or instruction, nor are we seeking the escape of a good story. Instead, we come to the words of the Bible seeking to be with God. We approach Scripture as if it were a meeting place, a secret rendezvous where we hope to spend some time with the One who loves us. (Think of the ways in which you read and re-read and re-read love letters from that certain special person in your life.)

Lectio divina is coming to the words of the Bible as if they are words from a lover. We come to the text seeking to encounter God, seeking to make contact with God’s love and presence. We come to Scripture trusting God’s nearness and seeking to experience God's touch that brings healing and transformation.

In lectio divina we turn to a passage of the Bible—usually no more than a few verses—and read it over and over, very slowly, reflecting on each word and phrase, all the while paying attention to the impact the words have on our hearts. In this way we are "praying the Scriptures." It is very different from studying Scripture, in which we come to the text to try to understand its meaning. In lectio divina, the Bible passage "studies us."

At the heart of this exercise is a very simple notion: God desperately wants to speak to us, but in order to hear him, we have to be willing to listen. Lectio divina is about creating the space and time for God to speak to us.

Now, because so many of us are busy, busy, busy, we have no idea how to settle ourselves and listen for God's voice. So, if you attempt to engage in this exercise, I want to encourage you to not get frustrated by the difficulty to "silence" yourself. Be encouraged, there is no "right" way to engage in this exercise. Sometimes when we pray it’s difficult to focus—our minds are moving too fast, we’re tired, or maybe this just isn’t the best way for us to pray. That’s okay. Don’t get stressed if you’re having a hard time with this exercise. Simply say within yourself: "God, I want to be with you right now." He is abundantly compassionate and rejoices at our smallest efforts to meet with him.

HOW TO PRACTICE LECTIO DIVINA

First, select a passage of the Bible. In this specific exercise, I have chosen John 15:9-17.
Spend a minute or two just relaxing and breathing deeply.
First reading. Read the passage through, one time, slowly. Pause between each clause (for example, “I am the vine,” [pause] “and my Father is the gardener,” [pause] "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit," [pause]…). After you finish this first reading, be silent for a minute or two.
Second reading. Read the text slowly once again, pausing between phrases. But this time pause even longer and be aware if any of the words or phrases catch your attention, or seem to stand out in some way. Make a mental note of those. After you finish the second reading, write down those special words or phrases.
Third reading. Reread the passage up to the word or phrase that touched you in some way. When you reach that word or phrase, stop and repeat it a few times. .
Pondering. Reflect for a while on the phrase that moved you. Repeat it a few more times. Let the words interact with your thoughts, your memories or any other Bible passages that come to mind. Let it touch your heart, desires and fears. Begin to wonder, What might God want to say to me specifically?
Prayer. Turn that last question into a prayer, asking God, “What is the word you have for me in this passage, God? Is there anything you want to say to me today?” Listen. Write down anything you sense God might be saying to you.
Rest. Be still and silent for a while. Enjoy being in the presence of God. In this step you move from doing to being. Simply be for a while.
Response. Ask yourself and God, What am I being called to do as a result of the word I have been given? Perhaps you are feeling challenged to love God more, or to accept some aspect of who you are, or to serve someone you know, or to begin changing some aspect of your character. Whatever it is, write it out. “Today God is calling me to be a more patient person. Be with me God, and teach me how.” Thank God for the word and the calling you have been given.

After prayerfully reading the following passage, prayerfully consider the questions listed below…

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other." (John 15:9-17, NIV)

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
What has been the story of your relationship with Jesus? How has he pursued you? How have you pursued him?

Pray that God would help you know, feel and lean into the love of Jesus for you on a daily basis.