Taught by the Best

“This is what the Lord, who saves you, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to do what is good, who leads you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17

We get into a great deal of trouble when we start listing everything we have done for God. For one thing, compared to God’s perfection, even our best work would be far too shoddy to brag to God about. When we consider that God truly needs nothing that we have to offer, it becomes a bit presumptive for us to keep a list of any sort of “good deeds” done for Him. Beyond all that, it simply misses the point about our relationship with the Creator. He does ask for our work, for our cooperation with His plans for the universe. But our “work” is not the primary objective; that that is what we often miss.

Firm in the Faith

“Be careful. Hold firmly to your faith. Have courage and be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

It would be easy to read a verse like this and launch into a diatribe on the evils of today’s society and write about how much better it was “back then”; whenever “back then” was. What we miss is that Paul wrote these words before the first century was over. It is a great mistake to read them as if they are written in reaction to some sort of ungodly time we currently live in.

Teach us to Pray

Teach us to Pray

(“When you pray, say: ‘Father, may your name always be kept holy. May your kingdom come.’” Luke 11:2)

For many people, prayer is the most challenging aspects of their relationship with God. That is not to say that most do not want to pray, but it presents a number of difficulties which we should face honestly. It appears even Jesus’ disciples felt a certain deficit in their own prayer life. Jesus had been praying, and when He finished one of His followers asked Him to teach them to pray.

Imagine playing clarinet in an orchestra and sitting under the tutelage of one of the world’s greatest conductors whose primary instrument is also the clarinet. One day you hear him playing a part you have struggled with constantly. In awe, you listen to the maestro’s accomplished melodies. You ask on behalf of the other musicians, “Master, teach us how to play.”

It is not that you had been faking it; you knew your instrument quite well. You had practiced diligently, could read the music, produce the right notes, and play nearly anything with enough time to prepare. But, having heard the master play, you realized how much you had to learn. You knew the notes, but he knew the music. You could play the song, but he could bring people to tears.

So it is in our prayer. We see Jesus’ constant fellowship with the Father in the Scriptures and realize how much we lack in understanding the heart of prayer. We will never discover the beauty or the depth until we ask, along with the disciples, “Lord, please teach us to pray.”

Jesus does not reprimand them for not praying well enough. Instead, assuming they truly wanted to learn, He said, “When you pray…” The first lesson: Do it! God is not interested in perfected language; He wants us to simply come to Him. We will never learn to pray if we avoid prayer!

“Say, Father…” It is simple. God is the Perfect Parent. He desires to nurture us, provide for us, care for us and lavish the affection of the best Mother or Father. He is “our” Father; you are not an only child. When we call Him “Father”, we indentify ourselves with the family of all who follow Jesus.

See Him as your Father when you pray. If that is hard, go no further. Ask Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to change your imagination. Ask Him to take out the old images painting Him with lightning bolts and a voice of cruel thunder. Ask Him to help you see the caring Father He is.

Think about your desires for your own children. You would do anything to help them overcome a difficulty. You would supply anything they needed to have a fulfilling life. You would never leave them alone, allowing them to think you had forsaken them. You do everything you can to fill their hearts with confidence about your love. Why would God do anything different? He is the perfect Heavenly Father, wanting to fill your life-experience with the confidence that comes from knowing His love.

He is our Father whose name is “holy”. We must always keep the high view of God in view. Because He is holy, He deserves worship and complete submission. He is the image of perfection. As we learn to pray, we learn to align our life to His purity. Prayer is not a way to convince “Papa God” to let us have our way. It is meant to help us submit to His way.

That is what “May Your kingdom come” means. Jesus taught us that prayer always begin, not with a list of our wants and needs, but with a deep desire to see God’s plan worked out in the world. Bring the poor to the Father who cares about them. Pray for many who have not heard about the love of Christ and forgiveness provided at the cross. Pray for the widow who cannot figure out how begin her new life. Pray for the teen bullied by those who think she is different.

Most of all, make prayer a priority. Set aside a specific time, and do not let anything interfere. Your Father God looks forward to conversing with you even more than you do with Him. And, dear one, He misses you when you don’t show up.

One More Time Again

One More Time Again

(“Then the woman went and told her husband, ‘A man of God has come to me, and he looked as frightening as the angel of God. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name.’” Judges 13:6)

I would ride the rails of frightful suspense
under hope and over trembles, passing the ridges
over and over again. I would straddle the morning
as the steel wheels chirped the overheard songs they learned
from the passages of time.

I would meet You, if I could, full armored and full beloved;
I would find You, if you would allow me entrance, my face
stubbled with left-over coffee and red eyes staring through the night
trying to catch a glimpse of the dodgy star brighter than the rest,
or at least to sight the fuzzy Aurora Borealis.

If You were a bonfire I would stare all night,
a performer in the center ring of a second rate circus
and You would still hold my interest.
But I must say, (perhaps I merely wish to) invisible as You are,
my attention flits to words on a page, written or still unwrit.

Having seen Jesus I have seen You, Father, and I believe it better
than I believe any other. But I must tell you, I think it is time
for a road trip to find the place where Your concealed
name and place of origin are
better discerned for my habitual panic.

I’m asking for success one more time. To feel I’m
worth Your time again. I’m asking You to fill
my rhymes with truth again, change for good
without/within, and let the sound, the squeak of the wheels
arriving into our last station, the final destination;

And let the sound of the wheels seem to say,
though we know it never was before,
let the wheels say, our last reservation,
let the wheels say and we echo again,

“amen”

Stay Until

Stay Until

(“Heal the sick there, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you.’” Luke 10:9)

I’d like to share a platter of fruit, a diving pool full of
happy jello, and see your face the moment it all runs out.

Because it never runs out.

I’d like to hold your hand forever, and never ever have you
wonder why I held it so long. I’d like to look in your eyes and
past the apprehension you felt, we felt, they assumed they knew too well,
to only see tears because the connection remained unbroken without
doubt, without
shadow,
without
pointing out
our gaze had met for longer than culture’s appointed season.

I’d like to bake you a bread, a toast with wine and cheese
outside the electric wonders of modern convenience. I’d love
to know your name and never forget it. I’d love to call your number
over and over without a single question from onlookers about
running up the bill.

I’d love to trash the suspicions, blind the onlookers,
silence the reporters who interpret everything they never heard us say.

I’d love to give forgiveness for once
in a way that made a difference. And I’d like to receive
it once, in a way,
that didn’t make me feel

You were doing me a favor.

I’d like to heal every scratch the nettles barbed,
I’d like to patch them with pink and yellow bandaids
and pour you an ice tea until the medicine starts working.

I’d like to give mercy one time too many
and receive it in pools full of late night swims
mid August with every person (teen to limping)
I ever laughed with our about and stay until

No one threw us out.

Don't Forget

“So Midian was under the rule of Israel; they did not cause trouble anymore. And the land had peace for forty years, as long as Gideon was alive.” Judges 8:28

Mr. Gideon was a farmer who God picked out to defend his territory and hometown Ophrah from the Midianites. The primary portion that has crept into everyday language from this narrative is the idea of “casting fleeces” before God. You can read it in the preceding couple of chapters in the book of Judges.

"Let Go of Living"

“Jesus said to everyone, ‘All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow me.’” Luke 9:23

A young child asked a woman how old she was. She answered, “39 and holding.” The child thought for a moment, then said, “And how old would you be if you let go?”