Christianity

Remembering Why I Pray. . .

~ ckwills ~ Leave a comment

I want to be a Mary, but too often Martha wins the wrestling match. When I have the choice of intentionally sitting with God or doing stuff, I tend to default to busyness. If I’m honest with myself, one of the big reasons why is that when I stop and sit at the feet of Jesus, all the difficult circumstances in my life roar up from the murky depths, explode onto the surface, and start bobbing there, screaming at me to fix them. It was better while they were hidden in the abyss because I can’t fix them. They are too big, too overwhelming. So to avoid this helpless feeling, I avoid being still and sitting with God. Ugh!

So I need to remind myself why I pray.

The first and craziest reason to pray is exactly because I have unfixable problems in my life. I always forget that. But when I remember, it’s such a relief. Many times, I have struggled for days trying to figure out how to resolve a dogging issue, how to respond to someone, how to change something that needs changing, but I have no idea how. I come up with every solution a human being can conceive of, but none of them gives me any satisfaction in my heart. Then I remember to pray! And the first thing I feel is shame. Wow. How could I forget that God has answers I can’t conceive of? How could I put God last instead of first? How many decades of following Christ does it take for me to get this right? Shame, shame.

So after I’ve chastised myself, I pray. And I have to say that I’ve always received an answer that I didn’t conceive of. Sometimes it was a real fix to the problem — a way to respond, a solution to a dilemma. Sometimes it was God’s peace — the gift of a calm and comforting bubble to float in through the circumstances that won’t go away. And at other times, it was the fuel of grace to keep on keepin’ on.

When I reflect, I realize that another reason I pray is because God changes me into the image of His Son as I pray. I can start out angry, hurt, or betrayed, first asking God to “bless ’em with a brick.” But as I yield to God and pray about the situation and the person, I begin to have new and multi-dimensional insight into the person and the circumstance. Gradually, I start to see it all from God’s perspective instead of my own, and I find compassion and love growing in my heart. By the end my prayer has changed from a selfish one to one of love because God has made me more Christlike as I’ve prayed.

And the other reason I pray, when I remember, is because I really want to put God first. “Pray first.” That’s what I want my new motto to be. Why? Because praying invites God into every situation. Then I won’t have limited human results, but instead, infinite God-sized results. I want every circumstance, everything I do, and every errand I run submitted to God so I can intersect with the supernatural in my everyday life. When I pray, I see that happen.

And  when I remember to invite God into a situation, it reminds me to consciously be with Him. He is always with me, living in me, but can I say that I’m not always with Him? That’s how it feels anyway. But asking God to enter and take over the reins reminds me to enjoy His presence, to trust Him, and to rest in Him through it all.

So when I remember, that’s why I pray. Now, it’s time to quit talking to you and sit with my Redeemer.

Surrendering to God: Chains or Yoke?

~ ckwills ~ 3 Comments

It’s the question of the ages: Why do people rebel against God?

Psalm 2 asks this very question, then goes on to describe us well:

Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.” (vv. 1-3)

We rebel against God because we don’t want to give up the power we have over our own lives. We are kings of our little domains. We rule over our own decisions. We want to keep our puny power. Our necks chafe at the shackle, our feet tire of dragging the chains of obedience to God. Instead, we want to break the chains and throw off the shackles and be free to do what we want, when we want, with whom we want.

At least, that’s how a part of us feels — that untamed, rebellious self that we keep hidden most of the time. That self will be with us as long as we live, and it will keep lying to us the whole time.

What is the truth, then? If not shackles and chains, then what? Let’s hear from Jesus Himself:

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) 

What a difference there is between chains and a yoke! Look at the words Jesus uses to describe what it’s like to follow and obey Him: rest, learn, gentle, humble, easy, light. These words do not describe the experience of being chained and shackled. That is done against the will; the yoke is taken up willfully.

And if we do take His yoke upon us, surrender to His will and His ways, what will happen? Well, it won’t be chafing against the shackle or dragging chains. It will be rest from our weariness and burdens because He takes them upon Himself in the yoke. It won’t be forced labor, but gentle and humble learning from Jesus Himself. It won’t be chains, but an easy yoke that brings rest to our frenzied thoughts, our weary emotions, and our burdened hearts.

On my good days, when I feel myself rebelling against God in some area, I remind myself of God’s goodness and tell my rebel self, “Why wouldn’t I want to surrender to a good God? He has the best ahead for me. It will be better than what I want for myself right this minute. I can trust Him.”

If we see surrender to God as chains and shackles, we’ll bolt. If we see surrender as Jesus lifting the burdens from our shoulders and shouldering them Himself in His yoke, as teaching us to walk in step with Him, and as bringing us rest, we will gladly surrender.

So what will it be? How will you see surrender to God? Chains or yoke?

Loving Our Enemies

~ ckwills ~ Leave a comment

Luke 6

One of the greatest differences between Christianity and religions is the way we are called to treat our enemies. We are not called to destroy or even get back at our enemies, but rather to love them. What does that mean?

First of all, do you have an enemy? Someone with a grudge against you, real or perceived? Someone who has tried to hurt you? Someone who is trying to get back at you for something you did or said, real or perceived? Someone who is persecuting you, mocking you, or ridiculing you because of your faith? (Frankly, we probably don’t have enough enemies for this last reason, do we?)

Jesus said that loving those who love us, doing good to those who do good to us, lending to those who can repay — that’s easy, and doing that accrues no credit to our “spiritual account.” Even sinners do that, He said. Christians are called to go beyond that.

Do good to those who hate you.

Don’t retaliate if someone takes your personal property, your dignity, or even infringes on your personal liberty.

Don’t judge. This words comes from a word meaning “to separate.” Whenever we start thinking in terms of “us vs. them,” we are judging. We have separated ourselves from them. We stand in the place of a judge.

Don’t condemn. Don’t judge and sentence someone. What are some sentences we give out? silence? excluding them? the cold shoulder? mean words? refusing to forgive or reconcile?

Forgive. Let them loose. Release them. Set them free from your personal judging and sentencing.

Give. After you stop trying to extract some kind of payment from your enemy, then give to them. Be generous with your love and your mercy.  Jesus promised that with the same measure we use, it will be given back to us.

Jesus calls us hypocrites when we judge and condemn others, because we have even greater sins, greater faults than they do. He tells us to deal with our own faults first before condemning others. And since getting the logs out of our own eyes is a lifelong job, we will never get around to judging others!

So, why are we asked to do good to those who don’t do good to us? to love those who hate us? to forgive those who have wronged us? to let others infringe on our personal rights? That’s a fair question, one with an eternally minded answer.

We are asked to do all these things so we can show the world who our Father is, what His characteristics are, what His nature is like. He is good to all. He extends forgiveness for all who choose to receive it. He judged and sentenced Jesus so He wouldn’t have to judge and sentence us. He sends His rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike. He is merciful.

So we are to be all those things also, so the world can see the Father in us, and turn, and be saved.

Are you up for the challenge?