Prayer: The Gate

I have been off line for a while.  We are moving from the house we have lived in for 25 years.  There is a lifetime of stuff to de-clutter and pack.  We have maintenance to do to the house.  The place needs a new coat of paint inside and out.  With all the tasks to be accomplished here plus cleaning out, it is a little overwhelming, and a tough job.

This week is the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Every day the news has interviewed people and attempted to dig into what has not been done.  There is a lot of complaining and finger pointing.  There will always be something that remains unfinished.  If you are waiting for the government or for perfection, you will most always be disappointed.

French traders have been camping near the site of New Orleans since 1690.  The city was founded in 1718.  It changed ownership between the French and the Spanish many times through its history. But the beginning as we know it today was 292 years ago.  New Orleans is nearly 300 years in the making and it was nearly destroyed five years ago.  It was 80% under water. 

To rebuild a 300 year old city is a huge undertaking.  Many want the government to do it.  Many are disappointed the government doesn’t have it done in 5 years.  I think there is much we have expected our government to do, that we should be doing ourselves. 

I saw much media coverage this week that showed both famous and ordinary folks who gave money and time to rebuild.  That is what it is all about!  It is a tough job.  It is overwhelming, but we must start somewhere, one piece at a time and do it.  Roll up our sleeve and dig in to rebuild.

Our neighborhood church is exactly like this.  It has diminished.  The numbers have dwindled.  Someone else must do the work to rebuild our churches.  It is a tough job.  It is overwhelming.  Someone needs to do something about this.  Some say they will return when it is rebuilt!  Some wring their hands in worry.  That is not theologically sound.

We have to roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves.  These are houses of prayer and the place people find grace, love and  redemption through Jesus Christ.  God wants the church strong and thriving.  With prayer, it isn’t as tough and overwhelming a job as you might think!  We can do this.  We cannot wait for someone else to step up and do it for us.  It is our watch, it is our responsibility. 

Who will answer the call to rebuild?  We all need to.

 My friend Chrissy took this photo last summer.  I wish the door to change was always friendly looking and fun like this.  Often in my mind change, is the dark scary cave with spider webs and bone fragments on the floor, or a step off of a 1500 foot cliff.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of God stands forever.

Heavenly Father, I pray that you guide us through the changes that come each day.  Help us to accept that life is change, and yet you are the constant in our lives.  You get us through, help us embrace the changes and thrive.  You are the center point, our rock and our redeemer. 

I pray for our soldiers, especially those overseas and who find themselves in the path of danger.  Protect them and bring them all home safely.  Help them and comfort them.

I pray for children everywhere this summer.  Let this be a time of joy for children everywhere, with lives filled with love and your protection.  May they all have enough to eat and the care they need from all of us. 

I pray for churches.  Help the church to grow, to nurture and teach; to show the love of Christ to each other and to the world!  Amen

This blog site is also going to experience some change in the next couple of weeks.  It will have a new look and the blog will not be the front page.  But embrace the change and enjoy the journey.  Blessings,  Erin

“You never know who God is gonna use, a princess or a baby.  Maybe even me or you.” song lyric by Rich Mullens.

I have a couple of very dear friends who are atheists.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps my purpose is to pray for them, and of course to share my faith with them.   I have attempted on several occasions to discuss faith, God, Jesus, salvation and spiritual awareness with them.  They think I am completely wrong to have faith in something I cannot prove to them.  They don’t understand my faith.  I don’t understand their lack of faith.

One friend was over for dinner this weekend.  His son is dating a lovely young woman who has been raised in the Catholic church and a private parochial school.  She knows her church doctrine, and biblical teachings, as well as the theology she has been taught since she was four. 

My friend wants a wonderful relationship with his son and the girlfriend.  I find they frequently engage in spiritual discussions, and he is listening to her.  She is confident in her delivery when sharing her beliefs.  I love it.  She is able to share thoughts I have not been able to with him.  I believe she is getting through to him.  I am praying for her.  I want her to persuade my friend to give God a chance to transform his heart and his life.  It seems easier for her.  She is not worried that he will think she is simple or stupid.  Does that hold me back?  My friend cares very much about his son and this young woman, so he cares what she has to say.  I don’t know that she is fully aware of this, but she is using it to evangelize.  She is gentle, and loving about sharing her faith.  It is awesome.

I think evangelism has become a really bad word, synomomous with obnoxious, over zealous, “don’t confuse me with the facts”,  my way or the highway, fundamentalist and intollerant thinking.  I will beat you with my bible until you get it and morale improves, kind of thinking.  Terrible things have been done in God’s name or followed by the words, “God wills it!”  I personally want no part of that.

My own conversion was brought about with grace and love.  I am always hoping salvation comes to each of us in a gentle and grace filled way.  I am always believing there is room religion for progressive thought. (Spoken like a true protestant), Luther, Wesley, and Calvin all founded new churches with reform and new thought.

Let us pray today that God will utilize our gifts.  That we let people know we are children of the most high God by our actions, our love and our grace.  If we see someone God is using to do wonderful things for his kingdom, let us pray for them.  You never know who God is going to use, maybe you or me!

Instead of taking a whole plateful, or making a long term commitment; taking a little sample can be a good way to decide if you like something.

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

Sometimes when churches get a person who says, “I can help with …(nursery, youth ministry, hospitality, finance committee, choir…) they plunge into a black hole from which they may never return.  Half a century later they receive an award for 47 years of continuous service with the finance committee.  They may have felt that after a year or two, they wanted to do something else.  Perhaps they were even “called” to do something else, but they were trapped and felt they couldn’t let people down. “Who would take over where they had been?”

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

It is important to find our place, to find where we want to help out and serve.  It is good to do something we love in service to God.

Listen in your prayers and you will know the season.  Let volunteers follow that nudge in their spirit from God.  There is a rhythm to the seasons of our lives.  Often times we have different things to share and give at different seasons of our lives.  Be willing to make a change.  Pray for your replacement, it could be someone is waiting to be called to take your place and you should not rob them of the opportunity to serve with their best as well.

I spoke about prayer recently at a small neighborhood church in Indian Hills Colorado.  The woman in the photo beside me, is my very dear childhood friend.  She had not been to this church for a number of years as she lives in a different town, but came to hear the talk.  She was looking forward to visiting this church again because it was the place she found God.  I didn’t know that about her and her history with this church.

It was the place I found God also.  I was excited to visit the church where I had met God so many years before, and started my own spiritual journey.

This is the real purpose of neighborhood church.  It is a place where people find God.  It is a place where they can pray.  It is a place to grow in their spiritual walk and to learn about redemption and forgiveness and those really big ideas that Jesus brought for all of us. (more…)

A vigil – from the Latin word vigilia meaning wakefulness.

While in the past 20 years some churches have grown, some are shrinking in size.  All churches especially mid-size and small churches have struggled as folks who were the pillars of the congregations have aged and died off.  Most churches have not had a plan to increase the size of their own church in 100 years. (more…)