Does God Change His Mind?

An email from my favorite theologically minded friend started this post. Recently, Craig Blomberg, a well-known New Testament scholar whose work on the historical accuracy and reliability of the Gospels has been of great help to many a student, pastor, and layman, wrote an article explaining why he is a "Calminian" -- a jokey riff on the "Why I Am/ Am Not a Calvinist" books of recent years. Blomberg is basically trying to put himself clearly outside the Reformed mindset once and for all. I've read a few expressions of disappointment, and an article agreeing with his position, which is basically what I'm going to attempt to respond to today.

First of all, let me point out that Craig Blomberg is way smarter than I am. I don't pretend that I can tangle with him intellectually. But despite that, I still think he's wrong. Second, let me point out that Craig Blomber is also a brother in Christ, despite what I think are his mistakes on this front. I'm not denigrating his faith or his commitment to the body of Christ, nor am I trying to write off his contribution to the Christian community. One of his books sits on my shelf, and it's staying there! But anyway, here goes.

At one point in his article, Blomberg refers to the story of Joseph's brothers coming to him in Egypt for help during the great famine. Joseph's famous line, "You intended it for evil, but God intended it for good," Blomberg insists, is not a declaration of God's sovereignty, but a mere statement of fact. He says: "Two separate agents, two separate wills, at cross purposes with each other, neither described as logically or chronologically prior to the other. Neither is said to cause the other; they occur simultaneously." What's really happening, he says, is that both wills operate at the same time, without one being over the other.

Well, hold up. I get what he's saying. Joseph says to his brothers, "You sold me into slavery out of a wicked intention, but God's power trumped your evil desires." In fact, God's purposes to preserve his people included the brothers' evil plans and actions. God is so powerful that he can even use human evil -- the condition of our fallen nature! -- to accomplish his purposes. That's comprehensive sovereignty. This is a copout. Blomberg's a great guy, and his work on the historical reliability of the Gospels is priceless, but he just does NOT want to be in the "God is totally sovereign" camp AT ALL. (Plus, calling himself a "Calminian" is cute, but the fact is that there isn't a responsible Arminian on the planet who wouldn't totally acknowledge God's sovereignty in human history. So he's really a Cal-Open Theist-ian. Which isn't quite as cute.)

Moving on to broader arguments about God's sovereignty, I often encounter people who point to the word "relent" in the Scriptures and say, "See? That means that God goes back on his word! If he really is completely sovereign over everything, how can he appear to be influenced by the prayers of his people?" I used to use this argument myself! Well, yes, "relent" means that he will not do what he said he would do, out of a gracious desire to preserve and defend his people. But a couple things:

1) This DOES NOT MEAN that God changes his mind or that he's fickle or doesn't know what he's ultimately going to do. The problem with the argument here is that, while they're trying to just draw a line around the Reformed understanding of God's sovereignty, they END UP basing their whole view on the idea that God actually changes his mind. Listen up: this is where guys like Greg Boyd and Clark Pinnock got started, and where they end up is saying that God takes risks, that he doesn't even KNOW the outcome of certain events, and that in some cases WE have more sovereignty over circumstances than the creator of the universe. That's a pretty stupid place to end up and still call yourself a Christian. It's just like how the Mormons use the methods of 19th century German liberal philosophers to convince people that the Book of Mormon is ok -- the argument might convince people, but you're cutting off the branch you're sitting on!

2) Check out this article. There's some uncool argumentation happening here, and this isn't the only place I've heard this line of reasoning, not by a long shot. You ever hear of "weasel words"? They're little words or phrases that a speaker or writer slips in, sometimes without even knowing it himself, that unfairly denigrate the other position -- it's like straw man + ad hominem all at once. The one that popped out to me was "real relationship." Yates and others imply that, unless God limits his own foreknowledge or sovereignty in some way, it's impossible for him to enter into "real relationship" with his creation. This is nonsense. We don't get to make up the rules for how God interacts with us based on our experiences with each other. The scriptures are full of the truths of God bringing the dead back to life both literally and figuratively. But does that one-sided interaction, that ultimate demonstration of total sovereignty, mean that God has some kind of counterfeit relationship with those he raises to life? Did Jesus have a more or less "real relationship" with Lazarus when he raised him, single-handed, from death?

3) There's also some plain old ridiculousness that gets shoveled around. To quote Yates, who is taking up a common anti-sovereignty argument: "The statements that Yahweh will harden the Pharaoh’s heart at the beginning of this process (cf. Exod 4:21; 7:3) are an expression that Yahweh’s purposes will ultimately prevail in this struggle but not that he dictates or determines the Pharaoh’s responses." Uh... what? What part of "I will harden his heart" is the tough part to interpret? "I will" meaning it's gonna happen, "harden his heart" meaning that's what he's gonna do. Yup. You have to do some pretty sexy contortionism to get around the plain meaning of that sucker.

4) The kicker is the "only a really sovereign God could accomplish his purposes in a universe where he has limited his sovereignty," also known as the "it's true because it ain't" argument. A God who can accomplish his purposes in such a give-and-take, unresolved universe that anti-sovereignty folks try to set up, is truly sovereign? Huh? So only a God who is truly sovereign and omniscient could operate in a universe where somethings are outside his sovereignty and beyond his omniscience? Yeah, that makes sense. What's the purpose of prayer if the God we're praying to has chosen this event to be one of the hands-off parts of world history? How are we to know the difference? Or does he wait until we pray and then decide to re-institute the sovereignty he's chosen to put on hold?

Unlike Blomberg and lots of other people who use these kinds of arguments, I'm happy to live knowing that my choices are BOTH really choices that I really make with my time-bound will and mind AND are mysteriously part of God's plan. It's called paradox, and we have to embrace it, largely because our finite brains can't fathom the depths of God's will. Let's not try to eliminate paradox by making God more like us. That's a pretty dumb Bible study method. Dig?

Praying and Waiting!

UPDATE! She's here! Olivia Kious Jolly, born today (Eastern Standard Time), but 7:20 a.m. February 16th in Hobart, Tasmania! Congratulations!

Just a quick update to ask you to pray for my dear friends Mike and Christine in Tasmania, who just headed to the hospital where they are hoping to meet their baby girl, Olivia! Pray that it's not a false alarm, that the labor and delivery go smoothly, and that Olivia enters the world in perfect health!

Bloggy bloggy blog blog

Well, a few things have been checked off my list of Things Which Must Be Done In The Next Two Months:

Start new job... check.
Survive first week of new job... check.
Move into James and Terra's spare room... check.
Make an offer on a condo... check.

The rest of my list looks increasingly manageable but still pretty hectic:

Continue new job
Read absolutely stacks of books for new job
Accept counter-offer on condo
Do innumerable closing-related condo tasks
Move AGAIN
Have nervous breakdown
Find time to go to Indianapolis and retrieve dining set and hutch of my Grandma's that now belongs to me and has home in condo

After that... well, I'm sure life in the asylum will be very peaceful. I wonder if they'll let me out every afternoon to teach my 8th graders?

Yes, But the Real Question is, Can She Survive The First Day?

7:30 - Doors open
8:00 - Recitation
8:20 - Planning time
9:00 - Bible
9:30 - History
10:00 - Recess
10:15 - Literature (third grade)
11:00 - Literature (fourth grade)
11:45 - Mid-Day Prayer
12:00 - Lunch
12:45 - Omnibus (eighth grade literature, theology, history)
1:45 - Latin I
2:30 - P.E. (Monday and Friday), Chorus (Tuesday and Thursday) or Study Hall (Wednesday)
3:00 - End of Day

An Idea So Crazy It Just Might Work

This is Australia. Duh.

It also is a cartographic representation of what might be my Spring/Summer (or, Fall/Winter, for you Aussies) activity this year. What a strange turn of events. Christine and I were chatting last night, when I told her about a funny comments-conversation I had with Neil and Craig, in which they jokingly said we ought to start a "bring Laura to Oz" fund, har har har, wouldn't that be cool? Christine, ever practical, replied, "Well, why not?" After a bit of a stunned pause, I thought, "Why not indeed?"

So, it would seem, there are three things that must happen before I could be on my way to Australia for six weeks (apart from finding my doggone passport, of course):

1. Secure a teaching job for the fall.
2. Find a girl who needs a place to live for 3 months (since I would be spending another six or 8 weeks at home in Colorado in addition to the six weeks I'd be in Australia).
3. Get enough fundage to purchase airfare for me from Denver to Sydney/Hobart and back. And back, Christine (who is currently trying to apply for a spouse visa on my behalf, just in case)!!

Christine says that I am only responsible for 1 and 2, and that she is taking full responsibility for number 3; to that end, she has even started a Facebook group called "Bring Laura Down Under" to help get the word out! Ha! Don't I have the world's greatest friends? I keep telling you all this but I'm not sure that you get it yet.

Well, check out the Facebook group if you like. Even throw some money Christine's way if you like! And most of all, pray that 1 and 2 would fall into place so that I can go see my dear dear friends in their far-away home!

Solitude (Or, "Wow, I'm really being honest to the point of over-sharing today.")

I read a beautiful article on the art of solitude yesterday, and was reminded of the sweet hours I once spent sitting on the porch of the conference center of the camp I attended, tea steaming, swallows dancing on the dawn-gray air, Bible open on my lap. Mornings in a cabin full of girls were not peaceful, nor conducive to my patience or joy as their cabin leader, so I would rise in the dark, get ready quietly, and wake the most responsible girl in the cabin before I headed out the door and over the hill. The woods were just waking up as I walked to the conference center, the light changing to pink as I sipped my tea and looked out over the field and the pond and the distant mountains.

The mornings are cold in the Rockies, even in midsummer. Many days, I could see my breath coming in short puffs as I hiked up the steep hill from Cabin 5, the crunch of my shoes on the gravel road the only sound to be heard. The dew that fell occasionally when the temperature dropped into the 40s encouraged the mule deer out into the thickets of tall grass and brambles that marked the edge of the hill down to the pond. Early summer meant fawns, still spotted and tenuous, staying close to their serene, unhurried mothers; the adults were used to seeing us, and only ran if we hurried close to them.

Those mornings, I practiced solitude out of necessity, and loved each quiet moment with the Lord in the chill morning air. Now, too often, I fear it. I fear the silence of my room. I fear my upcoming 26th birthday -- an acute reminder of just how many evenings I have spent alone, and how many more I fear will be spent alone. I have failed to differentiate between solitude and loneliness. Pray for me, friends, as I work out what it means to be still in the presence of God, to think His thoughts after Him in the quiet of the end of the day.

Ouch AGAIN!

OK, OK, Lord! Geez, let it go, will ya? I get it!

Those of us who have very young children know how difficult waiting can be. We live through their annual anguish of waiting for birthday parties. Each day of the week—or, in some cases, the month—before their birthdays roll around, they wake up with the question, “is it my birthday yet?” Finally, the great day arrives, and you immediately have to convince them that 6:30 a.m. is not the ideal time of day for a party. By 6:45 a.m. they are thoroughly convinced that you don’t love them, and that all this talk of a party is nothing but a cruel hoax. At this point, you know it’s going to be a long day!

Don’t we often act toward God like little children? We kick and fuss and scream because we want what God has promised, and we want it now. Never mind that preparations need to be made and that other people need to be invited. But, like a patient and long-suffering parent, God bides his time, neither delaying nor hurrying, until everything is in place. Then—and not a moment sooner—he gives us the good things he has promised.

Psalm 119: A love letter to God's word

I talked with a couple of people (namely Jordan and my mom) about my latest devotional project: praying/journaling through Psalm 119. It's been really rich just to meditate on the Psalmist's words as he meditates on God's word.

My last semester of seminary I took Old Testament 1 with Dr. Peter J. Gentry, (noted Septuagint and Hexapla scholar) who, in his inimitable style (i.e., giant beard and Canadian accent) spoke briefly about using Psalm 119 as a "controller" for the study of the entire Old Testament. What a beautiful thought: to use a love letter to God's word as a tool for the study of God's word!

I thought as I was thumbing through the psalm today, "I want this to be what my heart says about God's word." The Psalmist takes such delight in God's word that he thirsts after it, longs for it, desires it. And God's word is effective! It accomplishes what God desires (Isaiah 55:11). Let's take verses 73-80 as an example:

73 - God's word teaches us that God is our creator. It gives us understanding.
74 - It causes other believers to rejoice when they see our obedience to it.
75 - It gives us a proper understanding of God's righteousness and faithfulness.
76 - It comforts us as we recognize God's fulfillment of his promises to us.
77 - It gives us delight.
78 - It is a comfort when we are being slandered.
79 - It is a cause of unity among believers.
80 - It lays out the aim of our lives - to be blameless before the Lord.

Almost every verse can be meditated upon in two or three ways:

1. As a prayer for our hearts: "Lord, cause me to love your word in this way..."
2. As a record of the effectiveness of God's word: "Lord, thank you that your word effects this change in me..."
3. As a reflection of God's character as a God who reveals himself to his people: "Lord, thank you for revealing yourself in your word as a God who is..."

(Here are some other pointers from a previous post.)

One of the things I want to characterize me is a passion for God's word. I want to come home at the end of the day and want nothing more than to hear from my Father. I want my children and grandchildren to glean wisdom from the things the Lord reveals to me as I earnestly seek him in his word. I want my Bible's pages to be marked with "P" for "precious" and "T&P" for "tried and proven," like the woman in Spurgeon's classic story. I highly recommend doing this exercise as training in the love of God's precious word!

Please Pray!

Hey everyone, one of our pastors, Robert Cheong, has been in the hospital since Wednesday, when he started experiencing chest pains. He's had several tests and this morning they found some evidence of heart disease, so they are doing a heart catheter. If they find some blockage they will likely do an angioplasty. Fortunately, Robert did not have a heart attack, and he went to the hospital in time to head off major problems. He has a family history of heart disease, so they are being very vigilant.

Please pray for him, his wife Karen, and their three children. Their oldest daughter, Ashley, is getting married two weeks from today. Karen is a very gracious and loving woman, and they both love to help people and minister to them, but they're having a bit of a hard time accepting help from the rest of us!

UPDATE: The doctors found only a 10% blockage in one of Robert's arteries, so he will be able to manage his heart disease with proper diet and exercise. Karen is an incredibly active, fit, healthy woman who will be a huge blessing to Robert. He went home from the hospital on Friday afternoon to rest and be with his family. We are taking meals to them this week (leading up to Ashley's wedding), and then the SBTS faculty wives care team will take over from there.

The "learning party" went really well yesterday, despite the fact that Robert and Karen were supposed to have taught two of the four sessions (!!). The guys did some rearranging, and Dr. Bruce Ware (author of God's Greater Glory), seminary professor and former president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, graciously agreed to speak at the last minute. He gave an outstanding presentation on biblical gender roles, particularly focusing on defending male headship from creation.

Why I'm Such a Cry-Baby

Many of my friends, and anyone in my family, can attest to the fact that I am a cry-baby. I prefer to say that my heart is easily touched, because it sounds better, but the truth is, it's not hard to make me cry. In fact, all you really have to do to make me cry is talk about "the Nations," and I'm a goner. So the reading I've been doing for school has been pretty rough on me the last week or so. First, I've been reading a book for Missiology called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. It sounds pretty dry, and some of the readings are, but others are so full of passion and tenderness for the lost people of the world that I can't help being moved. Second, I just finished a Faithful Witness: the Life and Mission of William Carey. Carey is the father of Baptist Missions, and the story of his struggle and success in India should be known to every believer. Third, I'm in the middle of reading Let the Nations Be Glad! by John Piper, which every believer really must read. The section on suffering... it was crushing. Let me give you an example of one true story that broke my heart.

An African man named Joseph heard the Gospel on a dusty road one day, and was so filled with joy and excitement that he couldn't wait to share his newfound Savior with his own village. When he did, he was shocked to discover that they did not share his excitement; in fact, the men of the village held him down while the women beat him with barbed wire, then dragged him out into the bush to die. Somehow he survived, and days later came back to the village and pleaded with his kinsmen to come to the crucified and risen Christ. Again they beat him, and left him for dead. By a miracle of God, he survived this beating too, and after lying unconscious for several days, came again to the village to share this message of Christ's forgiveness. The women beat him a third time, but, as he was losing consciousness, he saw the women beginning to weep. The next time he awoke, the same women were around his own bed, tending his terrible wounds and nursing him back to health. The entire village had come to Christ.

This is just one story in a series from the chapter on suffering. How small my own faith is! How little is my own trust in the sovereignty of God! How unwillingly I give up even the smallest convenience for the sake of the Gospel! How fearfully I approach evangelism, even when I know that my life and health are safe no matter how bold I might be!

I spent a lot of time crying as I read through that chapter, as I cried out to God for a faith so bold that pain would be a joy when compared to silence. And if that means I'm a cry-baby, I guess I'll take the title!

Praying for Revival

Right now what is on my heart is revival.

I'm exhausted with the politics, and controversy, and maneuvering, and compromise, and fear of change, and factionalism, and apathy, and misdirected zeal that all seem at one time or another to characterize the American church. For pretty good examples of some of these things, check out Wade Burleson's blog or Marty Duren's website for the rundown on the tragically divisive and ungodly controversy swirling in the IMB.

It all makes me wonder.

What if -- what if every Christian leader -- hey, I'd settle for every leader in the SBC -- would stop lobbying for public opinion, stop seeking political gain, stop trying to toe the line of typical Christian (or Southern Baptist) ideology, and started focusing on Scripture and training believers and preaching the Gospel? What would happen if the Holy Spirit moved in a new and unexpected way and pastors all over the nation began to get serious about confronting people with the cross of Christ and all that His bloody death entails for those He bought? What if churches got smaller and more plentiful, and we re-examined every way we "do church," rejecting everything that gets in the way of the Gospel, without the fear that usually accompanies doing things differently?

How would our communities of faith look different if we quit thinking that every minister of the Gospel has to be a married, teetotaling, suit-wearing, clean-shaven, good-ol'-boy, cessationist, five-point, thirty-plus, Christian-lingo-using, glad-handing denominational yes-man? If we stopped leaving Gospel tracts instead of tips and started telling our neighbors about Christ? If we retired our "God hates fags" signs and our "Baby killers" banners and made the truth of Scripture be our only weapon and our first defense against sin? If we stopped letting truth and freedom be shut down in fear in our denominations, churches, and seminaries? If we got so focused on the fame of Christ that we forgot what it was like to let our petty, sinful squabbles escalate into huge rifts and walk-outs?

I think I'm going to go spend some time praying. I'm going to ask God for revival in the SBC, among Baptist churches, and in the American church. Please, I would ask you to do the same.

California Prayin'

Hey, all, get ready to pray! I got a phone call last night from a dear friend in California asking for prayer. As you may know, there is a wicked wildfire blazing near Los Angeles that covers almost 24,000 acres! As of today, the fire is about 40% contained, but still threatens many homes. Thousands were forced to evacuate, including the staff of the camp where my friend works. She was already safely at the camp's other location on Catalina Island, but all of her possessions are still back at the primary site. Please pray for God's protection of the camp and the staffers, and pray for strength and wisdom for the thousands of firefighters working to get the blaze under control. Also, pray that God would reveal Himself to people through this disaster, and that He would be praised for His provision and protection.

Listening to God and Putting a Leash on Your Thoughts

Well, guys, I was just about to add a new post about the prayer of adherents of other world religions, but it doesn't seem thorough enough to satisfy my slightly perfectionist tendencies, so I'll save it for another day.

Here's the real deal, something I can't emphasize enough: pray. Do you get it yet? Pray. And then pray some more. And then pray a little more after that, and when you're done, pray some more. But don't stop there.

Have you ever had a friend who just wouldn't shut up, that whenever you were with him, he did all the talking, and you wondered if it would even matter if you painted eyeballs on your eyelids and went to sleep because you weren't contributing to the conversation at all? I'll bet that that friendship didn't last very long. It's not much of a relationship if one person does all the yakking while the other one just sits there. Now, God's not a bored pal sitting across the lunchroom table trying to figure out a way to escape -- He's far more patient than you or I could ever be. But it's kind of inconsiderate to have the total attention of the All-Powerful Creator of the whole universe and not let Him get a word in edgewise, don't you think?

So shut up a little bit, just every so often. The God we serve is in the business of revealing Himself to people, and He wants to reveal Himself to you. Let Him.

That said, let me throw in a word of caution. God's Word tells us that we're not to believe every spirit, but that we're to test the spirits to see if they are from God or not (1 John 4:1). In other words, you can't just blindly go with whatever passes through your brain while you're praying. Everyone who is or has ever been a teenager knows that human thoughts and emotions are seriously prone to all kinds of error and contradiction and can lead us in a tragically bad direction if we don't make our thoughts wear a leash. So, what's the leash? The Word of God. Sometimes your mind just needs a little cutesy collar like the ones my friend Lindsey puts on her adorable miniature schnauzer. Other times, that sucker needs a heavy-duty metal choke chain! Every thought that floats into your head has to have the Bible's leash put around it, and accepted or rejected based on what's in God's Word. Does it fit? Do you know God's Word well enough to be able to tell?

Just as a case in point, how about a sample internal monologue, from a sweet little Christian girl who just hasn't been able to find the time to learn the Bible:

Silly Sally: La-dee-da, La-dee-dee, praying to God, dum-dee-dum
Thoughts: Hey, I think God loves everyone.
SS: Yup, that sounds like something I heard in church. Cool.
T: Hey, I think if God loves everyone, then that means he must not want them to go to hell.
SS: Yeah, that sounds pretty good too!
T: Hey, I think that God must be pretty powerful if He made everything
SS: For sure! Keep going!
T: Hey, I think that if God loves everyone, and doesn't want them to go to hell, and He has the ability to keep them from going to hell, then that means everyone is going to heaven whether they believe in Jesus as their savior or not!
SS: All right, I'll buy that! It makes God sound nice, and I like nice people! La-dee-da-dee-da

All of you should be hearing a major red alert in your brains right now. Let's try this again, with a person who is familiar with scripture:

Bible Betty: Thanks, Lord, for the Bible! It's so great that You gave this to me so I could know You better.
Thoughts: Hey, I think God loves everyone.
BB: Obviously, that's true. John 3:16 says that God loved the world so much that He sent Christ to die for them!
T: Hey, I think if God loves everyone, then that means he must not want them to go to hell.
BB: That's also true! 2 Peter 3:9 says that God is unwilling for anyone to perish and wants everyone to come to repentance!
T: Hey, I think that God must be pretty powerful if He made everything!
BB: Yeah, He definitely is! In fact, Colossians 1:16 says that he even created power itself!
T: Hey, I think that if God loves everyone, and doesn't want them to go to hell, and He has the ability to keep them from going to hell, then that means everyone is going to heaven whether they believe in Jesus as their savior or not!
BB: That's not true! God has a standard that none of us can live up to! Romans 3:23 says that every one of us has sinned which makes us unworthy to be in a relationship with God Who is perfect. And the only way we can have a right relationship with God is through Jesus, who took our sins to the cross! Jesus says in John 14:6 that nobody can get to God except through Him! I'm rejecting that thought, because it opposes what I know is true from Scripture!

Listen, random thoughts happen to the best of us. My brain has definitely come up with some pretty wacko, out-there ideas over the years, but my thoughts have a leash. They are controlled, God willing, by Scripture, through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Don't go at this prayer thing alone. Start digging into the Story that God wrote for you. It's all about Him, and He'll reveal Himself on every page.

Prayer triggers - Tripping your prayer switch

How many times have you gotten ready to climb into bed at night and realized that you never spoke a word to your Heavenly Father during the entire day? You know (or at least I hope so -- you've been reading your Bible, right?) that Scripture tells us to pray "at all times" (Eph 6:18)! But so often we pray at meals and at church, forgetting to incorporate prayer into each part of our lives! So how exactly can we pray all the time? I've found it very helpful to develop little triggers that remind me to pray throughout the day. (Some of these are my mom's!)

Sirens are a great reminder to pray, both for the folks involved in the emergency, and for friends and family who are struggling with medical issues. Don't you think police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and doctors would appreciate your prayers as they deal with the situations they face each day as part of their jobs? Of course! So when you hear a siren go past your house, take a moment to lift up the situation to God, who knows all the details.

When I'm driving in traffic (which stresses me out a LOT), I try to remember to pray for the people driving around me. Do they know Christ? Does God mean anything to them besides a swear word? I pray that God would reveal Himself to them and stir their hearts to want to know Him more. It's then that I remember that my ultimate purpose on Earth is to honor God, not to get from point A to point B more quickly!

I am so blessed to be going to seminary! My professors pray at the start of every class -- this is an amazing way to season my entire school day with prayer! But just because some of you all don't have professors who lead prayer each day, it doesn't mean you too can't pray before each one of your classes, or at the start of a new task at work. Why not pray for God's hand on the lesson as you sit down at your desk? Or why not pray that God will reveal opportunities to share the Gospel with folks you come in contact with at work?

Every time you sit down at your computer, pray that God would give you a desire to keep your thoughts pure by visiting only sites that would honor Him, and that He would motivate you by the Holy Spirit to be focused on the task at hand. Taped to the edge of my computer screen are 3 pieces of paper. One says, "I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. Psalm 101:3." Another says, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:6." The last one simply says, "STEWARDSHIP." I know that God has given me the responsibility to spend the time He has given me on this Earth wisely. That may mean cancelling my cable. That may mean grounding myself from the internet for a while. But it definitely means that I know that I will answer to God about how I spent every hour of my life.


Quick-draw triggers:
-when you sit down to do your homework (you DO do your homework, right?), thank God for the opportunity and ability to learn. Pray for your teachers and fellow students. Pray for God's guidance in your life. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give you the diligence to study well.
-as you file away your pictures from this summer, pray for each person in the photos. Pray that they would be drawn closer to God and that they would be encouraged in their faith journeys.
-while you're watching TV, pray for the celebrities you see. They need Jesus too! Or better yet, turn off the TV, pick up your Bible, and spend some time hanging out with your Creator!
-when you're cleaning up your room, pray for those who don't have a place to sleep or a change of clothes. When you're cleaning the kitchen, pray for those who live in such poverty that they can't afford to eat on a regular basis.

There are so many ways for us to incorporate prayer into our lives. Can you imagine how different your day might be if you prayed at every time mentioned above? What are some other ways you can make prayer an automatic part of your day?

Praying for Muslims!

Approximately 1.3 billion Muslims live in every region and most countries of the world. While the Middle East is the birthplace of Islam and an important center of Islamic influence, the largest Muslim populations are found in Central, South and Southeast Asia. There are an estimated 5 million Muslims in the United States. Muslims bear witness that God is one and that Muhammad is His final prophet. They consider Jesus as one of God'’s greatest prophets, but they do not accept Him as divine or as man's Redeemer and Lord. Muslims do not understand or accept God's ultimate expression of His love shown in Christ'’s life, death and resurrection. They focus on God's holiness, justice and power. They strive to earn His favor and entry into heaven through obedience to Islamic law, good deeds and acts of self-sacrificing devotion. Muslims live within a protective wall of laws, traditions and relationships that separates them from God's love. Your prayers take His love beyond the wall.

A Muslim man stopped by a small Central Asian church a couple of weeks ago. A believer at the church began to share the gospel with the man, but he quickly admitted, "“Honestly, I'm just looking for a job." The believer responded, "We don't have any work, but I can pray for you."” Then with the man's permission, the believer prayed. The man came back to the church on Wednesday after finding a job and asked the believers to pray for a wife! Pray for this man, who has experienced God's power and love at work in His life, to find not just a wife, but a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Like many Central Asians, most Azeris are Muslim, but are not deeply committed to their religion. However, a growing number of young people are seeking spiritual truth. Many believers say that before coming to Jesus, they passed through a time when they sought a relationship with God through Islam. Pray that when Azeri young people who are trying to find God realize that He cannot be found in Islam, they will continue to feel the God-given hunger for salvation. Ask God to reveal Himself to them and show them through His Word and His witnesses that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

She was recently evicted from her home by her own brother-in-law when he sold his dead brother's apartment. Now this poor widow lives in the bottom of a building in what used to be a garage. Believing friends have helped her plant a garden just outside her door to provide her with fresh vegetables. In her new season of life, this widow is very open to spiritual things and has requested a copy of the JESUS video. Pray for her to seek and find the Lord.

For the full article, and for more on praying for Muslims and other groups around the world, check out the Southern Baptist Convention's international missions website at www.imb.org! It's also a great resource for anyone interested in a career in international missions!

How to pray when you feel like you can't *

I know, I've been there. There have been times in my life that I felt like I just couldn't pray -- like my prayers weren't making it past the ceiling of my room, or like I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. So what can we do? We know that prayer is incredibly important to a deep and intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father, so how do we break through the barrier? Here are ten ways that we can press on through a difficult prayer time into a rich, life-changing conversation with God.

1. Keep trying. Don't give up! Your enemy, the Devil, would like nothing better than for you to quit praying. Pray, even if you don't feel like it. God hears you even when you feel like He can't. (Philippians 3:14)

2. Worship. Put in your favorite worship CD and sing along. Listen to the words. Sing them to God. Praise Him for the things around you -- your house, your family, your friends. Praise Him for silly things like a good hair day or bubble gum. God's Word says that every good and perfect gift comes from Him, and that includes chocolate ice cream and big shady trees. (Psalm 9:1-2)

3. Go to the Word. God's Word is full of promises for your life. Worried about your future? God has promised that His future for you is full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Unsure of your salvation? God promises that everyone who says that Jesus is Lord and believes He was raised from death is saved (Romans 10:9)! You can find God's assurance for every situation when you read His Word.

4. Write it down. If you're stressed out, sometimes your thoughts can be so jumbled that you can't focus on a train of thought long enough to pray. Writing or typing out your prayer can help you express to God how you're feeling, and can really give God a chance to speak to you to help you know what to say. David the Psalmist wrote down his prayers in song form -- and if it's good enough for someone God's Word calls "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14), it's good enough for us!

5. Look up. When was the last time you took a minute to look at the sky? God's word tells us that the sky shows us God's glory and creativity (Psalm 19:1) -- this can help us gain a little perspective. I sometimes forget that the things that are problems to me are not problems for God. He made the whole Earth and everything in it!

6. Get outside the situation. When I'm angry, I have a pretty tough time praying for the person or situation I'm angry about, but God has commanded us to pray for people who have hurt us (Luke 6:28). Remember that God's love isn't just for you, it's for everyone! Remember that the purpose of your life is to glorify God in every situation, and to show Jesus to the people around you. Keeping this kind of perspective can help you to pray -- pray for your own reaction, or for the other people involved.

7. Fast. No kidding. You all know what this means, right? It means giving up something you want, in order to spend time with God. Think outside the box with this one. It's not smart for growing kids to skip meals, but what about the TV, internet, or Playstation? Do you come straight home and turn on the TV? Consider a week-long TV fast where you come home and open your Bible instead. Do you stop by the coffee shop on your way to school or work every day? Try giving up that time and money to God for a week or two. When you show that you're willing to give up things you enjoy because you realize that God is more important than those things, He will reward you with His presence!

8. Let it all out. Sometimes you can't pray because you're so overwhelmed with emotion that you can't even get the words out. It's OK! Paul tells us that, when this happens, the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf (Romans 8:26). Some human emotions are too deep to express, and God hears our hearts even when we can't tell Him how we feel or what we want.

9. Say thanks. God's word tells us to give thanks in every situation, whether good or bad (1 Thessalonians 5:13). Even when you don't feel like it, you need to do what God says and thank Him. He can change your attitude and your heart when you begin to thank Him.

10. Spread it around. There will be times when you'll feel so overwhelmed that you can't pray at all -- these are the times when you need a close friend around to support you and pray for you. Ask your friends to pray with you and for you, and give them permission to call and ask for your prayer help too. God doesn't intend for us to live out our Christian walk alone -- in fact, Jesus promised to be with us in a unique way when we gather in His name (Matthew 18:20).






*Adapted from "Ways to Pray When We Cannot Pray" by Cindy Hyle Bezek

What is Prayer?

prayer¹ (prâr)
n.

1. 1. A reverent petition made to God, a god, or another object of worship.
   2. The act of making a reverent petition to God, a god, or another object of worship.
2. An act of communion with God, a god, or another object of worship, such as in devotion, confession, praise, or thanksgiving: One evening a week, the family would join together in prayer.
3. A specially worded form used to address God, a god, or another object of worship.

[Middle English preiere, from Old French, from Medieval Latin precria, from feminine of Latin
precrius, obtained by entreaty, from precr, to entreat.]

So, this is what the dictionary has to say about prayer -- not very exciting, is it? I mean, a "reverent petition"? What does that even mean? As Christians, we can sometimes get caught up in a mental definition of prayer, or in a formula for prayer (like "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food" or the Lord's prayer), and it can really keep us from experiencing God's blessings in our prayer lives! It's not that the Lord's prayer is a bad thing, or that the bedtime prayers that we learned as children are evil, it's just that our creative God expects us to turn our brains on when we talk to Him -- and that's what prayer is really all about. Whenever you talk to God, whether out loud, or in a song, or inside your head, you're praying.

When we love people, we tell them so. When we get a gift, we say thanks (at least I hope so)! When we're frustrated or afraid, when we want or need something, when we can't get through a situation on our own, we talk to someone about it. Maybe our friends can't help or understand our problems, but we tell them anyway because it brings us closer to them. It's the same with our Heavenly Father: prayer builds our relationship with Him because we are taking time to focus completely on Him, even for just a moment. And when we pray, we can have the confidence that comes from knowing that God loves us, has a good plan for our lives, and wants us to experience the joy of living with Him every day.

But I have a question for you all: what is prayer in your life? Is it something that happens at meals occasionally or at bedtime with your younger brothers or sisters? Do you remember to pray when you're not at church? God wants us to talk with him all the time and about everything, not just on Sunday mornings or during mealtime.

So what do you need prayer for? Are you nervous about school this fall? Do you wish you and your siblings got along better? Do you need help with a decision you know you need to make but have been putting off? Stop worrying, stop wishing, and stop procrastinating. God loves you, and He wants you to climb up into His lap and tell him all about the things you care about. And we will come alongside you by praying for you, too.

Day One of the Rest of Your Prayer Life

Well, campers, you've been home for a little while now, and it's time to start living what you've learned. So, with the help of my family, I'll be keeping this blog up to date, posting an article about prayer, or some info about prayer needs for missions. Then you all can post comments with updates about your life along with specific prayer requests for yourself and your friends and family. It will be a great way to keep each other accountable about staying in the Word, sharing our faith, and living a lifestyle of prayer.

There is one catch, however...

Anyone who posts a comment or a prayer request has to promise two things: first, that they have already read or will read their Bible that day, and second, that they will pray for the other people mentioned on the blog.

Isn't technology grand?

The first post will follow very soon!