Prayer as an Answer to Violence

The answer to violence is prayer. More specifically, yesterday I heard compelling evidence from my own community that presented faithful, persistent prayers of God's people as a powerful means to combat the rising violence in our society.

The evidence comes from a young, now four year old church plant, the congregation that my own family happens to call home. The city is Jamestown, NY, a once thriving little community of close to 30,000 (it used to be twice that much) that has suffered from a steady increase of crime, addiction, poverty and mental illness for more than 20 years. We live in a rural area outside of town, but through a chain of events that only God could orchestrate, the LORD led us to a church body that was located right smack dab in the middle of the war zone, with people who have a real heart for the battle.

I want to say that it all started in Sunday worship, but I think it goes even further back than that. A group of ministers from around the area have been gathering faithfully on Tuesday mornings for years now to pray together for our city, and for one another. Out of those prayer times God began to unite the hearts of believers and leaders in this community towards some very practical shared ministry efforts that helped to meet community needs and support the war on strongholds like poverty, addiction and homelessness. It also moved the hearts of people in their congregations and drew forth those who had already desired to share God's love with those who need it.

Here's one very powerful way that it it did both in my own church. One morning a little over a year ago, during Sunday morning worship, the LORD laid it upon the heart of one of our members that we as a church should do something very concrete to show love and support to the Jamestown Police Department. A few more weeks of prayer and conversation with some church leaders yielded the idea of the "Adopt a Cop" effort.

A local leather smith (also a church member) fashioned a very high end, custom made key chain with the initials "JPD" to give to every worker within the Jamestown Police Department. Some of the folks from church also made refrigerator magnets with the JPD logo and names of everyone on the force.

Members of our church family were invited to "Adopt a Cop" by purchasing a key chain for one member of the police force for $20, in exchange for which they would receive a magnet with that person's name. The request and challenge was to place that magnet on the refrigerator as a reminder to prayer specifically for that community servant on a daily basis.

The call to take on the whole force, a total I believe of 84 men and women, seemed a bit of a reach for a church which at the time had an average Sunday attendance of 50 people (praise God, we've doubled in attendance since then). Taking into account that this includes couples and children, this represented 10-15 families at best, and in a low income community nonetheless. But some families adopted more than one. Some individuals made the monetary investment in 4-5 key chains, paying the "adoption fee" for those of lower means who might still want to pray. Other churches from the larger Jamestown church community took on the those whom our own congregation could not absorb.

Our family adopted "Lt. Tim Jackson." It has become a very natural part of our nightly family devotions to add him to our prayer list. It really takes very little time (and no money) to ask for God's guidance, provision and favor upon and through a man who faces the front lines of battle on a daily basis. It has not been difficult to say "God, please show your love in a through him, bless him and use him."

People from the church packed small care packages to go along with the key-chains. Church leaders ceremoniously presented them to the police officers and workers for all three shifts right around Valentine's Day. The pastor told the police force members that we wanted to show them love and support. He also felt led to declare that we would pray and believe towards greater victory in our city, that the crime rate would go down. As I understand it, he had not planned in advance on declaring that the crime rate would go down. That was totally a God-led statement.

That was almost exactly a year ago. Yesterday our pastor, Timothy Smart, read us the following highlights from a local newspaper article (as I remember them):
- Crime rates in Jamestown dropped last year.
- Violent crime rates dropped by about 10%.
- Burglary related crimes have dropped by around 25%.
- Crime rates in Jamestown are at a 24 year low.

I know that "adopt a cop" was not the only prayer-based, prayer saturated initiative in our town. I personally know of multiple other efforts, including: a transitional living mission, community wide recovery Bible studies, faith-based anti-drug campaigns and marriage enrichment efforts. The common threads involve God's people coming together in prayer to seek and worship God and the consistent, united efforts of specific prayer to meet our city's needs.

This all reminds me of the words of II Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." This came in response to a request of King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. In his wisdom, Solomon knew that God's people would eventually rebel, and that their rebellion would bring destruction and decay. He requested that God would provide a way back from the tragic mistakes and missteps that they would inevitably make.

The words that strike me most in this declaration are "MY people." God did not say "If the government," "If the media," or "If the other kids' parents" would do something. God said that the results would come when the people of God stood up and cried out. And it's so easy to blame and point the finger at others, but God promised that the real change would come when we as God's people humble OURSELVES and seek him.

This both challenges and convicts me. Over the past week or so I have entertained several conversations about what our government should and shouldn't be doing about the rising violence in our country. My sister at church could have easily begun the same kind of conversation about our community's police force. Instead, in the spirit of listening worship, she obeyed God's call.

So today I feel convicted to step up my own faith game. I want a heart that searches more for God's heart, the only answer that always works, over hypothetical conjecture about what may or may not work. I want a faith that takes hold of the promises bestowed upon me through Scripture, rather than complaining about what happens when people ignore it. I want to celebrate and focus on all of the answers and victory that I know to me mine, and what I am called to share with others through Christ, over puzzling over things beyond my own control. I don't want to ignore the issues, but I need to hold them up in light of God's all-powerful grace and love.

Is anyone out there with me?

The Proactive Rest of Faith

Here's my new personal definition of faith: FAITH IS PROACTIVE REST IN GOD'S PROVISION.

As I meditate about Psalm 4 this morning for my devotions, I am struck by how deeply every single verse speaks to my life.

It encourages me to cry out to God in my anguish and struggle, but to know that God will answer (vv 1-3).

It challenges me to search my own heart, to do my part in serving the Lord and meeting needs, but to trust that God can and will do all that I cannot (vv 4-5).

It validates my personal struggle and heartfelt request for God's favor (v 6). And yet it encourages me with the truth that I as believer have more privilege and blessing in Christ than people with all of the riches this world has to offer (v 7).

And at the end of the day, when I accept it, it can leave me with that peace that passes understanding, that only God can give (v 8, and Philippians 4:7).

I have settled on this new definition of faith specifically from the message of Psalm 4:5: "Offer right sacrifices, and trust in the LORD."

So part of faith means searching my own heart to make sure I am doing everything God would have me do, and listening for God to convict me of areas where I need to grow and change. And part of faith is resting in the knowledge that when I am being truly faithful and seeking God, God can and will take care of everything that I cannot. Faith is not faith without both aspects.

This remind's me of the story in Exodus 14 when the children of Israel are on their way to freedom from slavery in Egypt. As they approach the Red Sea, they hear the sounds of the Egyptian army, the most powerful army in the world, coming towards them.

To the human perception, their only to choices seem to be defeat (slavery or death, or worse) by the Egyptians, or death by drowning. But Moses encourages with with this message:

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14).” Here again is that call to "Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)."

Ironically, on the very next verse, God says to Moses "Tell the Israelites to move on (Exodus 14:15b)." So has God just contradicted Moses? Was Moses inaccurate in his encouragement to the Israelites? Was God warning God's people to run from the imminent danger? Absolutely not!

God did all of the fighting, all of the providing in this scenario. God provided a barrier cloud between them that miraculously kept the Egyptians in the dark while Israelites had moved on. God parted the sea and dried the sea floor so that the Isrealites could move through the middle of the sea on dry land. God then remoistened the sea floor so that the Egyptian chariots would get stuck, and God closed the Red Sea over the entire Egyptian army while the Isrealites moved on past the sea towards their freedom.

The Isrealites on had one job here: to "move on" in the direction that God had called them to go. The reason that it could be a proactively restful walk, was that God was doing all of the heavy lifting. It's not that they had no cause for excitement. It's not every day that God splits a sea for a person. But because God was the one fighting for them. they did not need fear or strive. I guarantee that those among the Israelites who accepted and believed this had a much more pleasant walk.

This is a challenge to my own heart today. I have always struggled to comply with the "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) aspect of my walk with God. I suppose I am a naturally fidgety person. But if I am to be completely honest, I must also admit that I also sometimes struggle with procrastination of things that I know are well and good for me to do (i.e. healthy eating, housework, making that call to a person God has placed upon my heart). And yet I know that in those times when I am faithful to seek, listen and obey the call of God upon my own life, and when I choose to stand on the promise of God's Word, the peace is right there.

This proactive rest that I call faith does not come from a lack of movement, but rather from the absence of striving (in my own strength to do what only God can do). To be still does not mean to keep the body from all movement; it means to stop trying to move on my own.

Hope Defined

Christmas is the season of hope. But what is hope?
The biblical definition of hope, as it is used in the New Testaments (elpis in the original Greek), is not wishful thinking or even passionate desire. It's confident expectation. The current sermons by my pastor, Tim Smart, along with recent sermons by Bill Johnson, have encouraged me to further explore and consider this concept of hope during this Christmas season.
Another Greek word I love is rhema. It predominantly means the declared of spoken word, It can also be a command, or a matter of business. Within the context of the Bible it usually means a declared word by the Lord, for the Lord or on behalf of the Lord.
Luke 1:37 says "nothing is impossible with God," but the lastest NIV translation says "No word from God will ever fail." Guess what the that word that is translated either thing (as part of nothing) or word is? You got it, It's rhema!.
The literal word for word translation says "For not will be impossible with God every thing/word." The word for impossible here (adoneteo, like the word for Adonis) also means able or capable.
I can think of two different translations for this, equal in both importance and accuracy. First of all, God makes us capable of doing and being absolutely everything that God says we can do and be. Second, when we declare God't truth out loud, we can do so with the confidence that it WILL absolutely happen. I might even go so far as to say it may have already happened, though the physical manifestation of such may not have caught up with the spiritual reality of the rhema. Most notably, God has already won the war against Satan and evil, but we have not yet fully experienced that final victory in every earthly sense.
Just to be clear, this is not a supernatural vending machine, where we insert a spoken desire and God delivers. The key here it to declare according to God's will and desire. The key here is truth. I do not want to forfeit my own inheritance by chasing after things that I was never meant to have.
And I have to claim my inheritance, to use the key in order to unlock more doors of blessing. A million dollars in my bank account (if only I had that) serves no purpose until I begin withdraw it. It's not that God will not give me anything before I ask. But I do believe believe that God reserves certain blessing and favor for those who ask and declare in faith. That's part of of hope (elpis) and proclamation (rhema) combined.
Luke 1:37 is smack dab in the middle of the Christmas story. It's the angel's response to a most likely afraid and a most definitely confused teenage virgin who just got pregnant.
What from earthly eyes looked like the end of her betrothal, her good name, and possibly any expectation of earthly security or stability was really the source of the greatest hope for all time and people.
So in a sense, I guess I'm seeing this verse as the very definition and source of hope. If God says it, or if we declare God's truth, it's done. We don't even need to plead with God for what we want and need once it has been declared (truthful and biblically, not just what we want). The only things left to do are to give thanks and celebrate in anticipation of what is and what will be.

Halloween Reconsidered

"Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, said: 'I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year. Welcome to Halloween.'"

Wow! What an indictment from not a Christian, but a chief atheist. In saying all this, I has a parent have allowed my daughter to participate in the parts of Halloween, though I as a parent have never been comfortable with it's spooky aspects. I don't mind dressing up, make believing or getting candy, or even doing things to startle each other. I love a good thrill. But I do wish that Christian could come up with an alternative holiday.

Most of us know that Jesus was not born on December 25, but early Christians chose to celebrate Christmas on that day, even with some of the same traditions like burning a (yule) log, to offer a Christian alternative that celebrates the things of God to counteract the pagan festivities of that exact day.

The really crazy thing is that almost no Christian in this country celebrates All Saints Day on November 1. The crazier thing is that the idea of Halloween (which literally means "All Saints Day") originally came from early Christian's own fears and superstitions. They felt they needed to dress incognito to hid form the evil spirits on that night. Nowadays most people just see it as good fun, but I assure you that those into witchcraft and Satanism, or those who reside in Lillydale (for my Chautauqua friends) take it very seriously.

Couldn't we as Christian.... shouldn't we as Christians come up with an alternative? Rather than bowing to the "Black Sabbath," celebrating darkness on the two most demonic day of the year (along with "Black Sabbath," or Good Friday to Christians), celebrating darkness on the most demonic day of the year in this culture, why couldn't we choose to find ways to celebrate and remember God on this day? We could still have costumes and candy and fun.

The bargain shopper in me is all for scrapping Halloween (which literally means "All Hallows Eve.") and resurrecting the value of All Saints Day. I say this because on November 1 all of the candy goes on sale. Let's read Hebrews 11, the "Faith Hall of Fame," and eat some chocolate to celebrate the heroes of the faith, those who boldly stood in God's name against the forces of evil, rather than hiding, cowering or running from them.

When we think about it, we would lose nothing positive by renaming and refocusing ourselves on this day. A very large percentage of costumes are superheroes or historical figures, and All Saints Day is all about remembering history and hero's. And the last time I checked, Satan has never created or owned candy, so we can bring that tradition right along with us.

I am not judging anyone who has let there kid put on a ghost costume. Full disclosure here: I once dressed up as Beetlejuice (a really disgusting dead guy) for Halloween. I am just think that maybe we as the community of faith can do better than this.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, so why celebrate it! Why focus on the very things that God has given us the power and authority to stand against and defeat? I personally think it would be more of a thrill to dress up and eat candy as a celebration of God's victory.

God's promises can change your reality

At a time in my life when I was at my very lowest, I began voraciously searching the Bible for the promises. Then I wrote them down. Then I read them over and over again. I still speak many of them out on a regular basis. This is not so much a sign of piety as it is of an utter, desperate dependence on God's word to keep me sane. And I literally mean sane. When I felt at the very edge of myself in virtually every way, God's word brought me back.

It takes a stronger, more authentic faith to believe something even when you don't always see or feel it. This is this the kind of faith we all need to move forward towards God's best for our life, the kind of faith rarely develops when life seems easy. After all, it's hard to practice trusting God to meet your needs when you don't feel in need of anything. Who asks for help or relies on others when they feel comfortable and adequate to do things on their own?

It takes a lot practice to develop and use this gift of faith. My new mantra is this "Your rehearsal becomes your reality." Translation: You begin to recognize the things that you read and speak over and over again as realities in your life. Even lies and misunderstandings can become real to us when we rehearse them enough. And yet we can also draw forth very real and tangible blessings just by praising and claiming the promises, those things that God already said that the LORD can and will give when we ask. For these reasons, I have discovered that when it is the very most difficult to speak out God's blessing and promises is precisely when it is the most important.

We still have a lot of of worldly difficulties even years after things began to really break down for our family. But things things have gotten better, and in the process we discovered so much of God's favor and blessing that we would not have known without these trials. The trials have brought intense healing and restoration, deepening our faith in ways that we would have never known had we continued on our intended course.

I have often clung to the words of Habakkuk, who said this in the midst of a very difficult time for all of Judah and Israel:

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

And here is why he could rejoice in the midst of poverty, pain and trial. When all of the strength this world could offer was stripped from him, he discovered this:

"The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights." -Habakkuk 3:19

God's divine repayment plan

“May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” - Ruth 2:12

This is one of my favorite blessing in Scripture, spoken to a young widow who chose to continue a commitment to a poor older woman, one to whom she had no earthly obligation, over her own sense of earthly security. this is my desire for anyone and everyone who has ever given of themselves to make my life better.

I love this prayer, because over the past few years I have frequently found myself in the position of what I might call "forced receiving," that precarious position wherein I was in great need of help and had nothing other than my gratitude and prayers such as this to offer in return for the generosity and self-sacrifice of others. This state of forced receiving. challenges me greatly; I would much rather always be the one with the time, financial means and sanity to give to others. Forced receiving shatters my illusion of control and starves my addiction upon my own self-righteousness. That sounds wonderful, but in the moment it usual feels pretty horrible. Nobody every really asks or wants to feel broken. But sometimes it takes the breaking of things (divine surgery) to reach the true healing and growth.

Perhaps this is the truest definition of poverty of spirit: when we reach the point wherein we finally realize that our own earthly resources just simply are not enough to meet our needs. Then we reach out to God in desperation, clinging to anything God will give as our very life and breath. Then we can finally realize that God is enough, and everything. The state prepares us to better see God in others, to better receive God from others. Rather than being our last resort, God becomes our only resort. We can learn to receive gifts with gratitude (never entitlement), praying for God to increase the blessings of the giver. People become holy vessels to us, as both extensions and outlets for God's grace. Any situation becomes an instrument of God, because God can use anything.

The person who originally prayed this prayer was Boaz, a man of means who had not received anything from Ruth. In fact, she came as a beggar, gleaning from his fields. Ironically, Boaz became the very blessing to Ruth for which he prayed when he married her.

In some ways I often feel more like the poor beggar gleaning the fields, grasping desperately just to meet my family's most basic needs after multiple losses. Today I speak this prayer as Boaz, from the wealth of love God has placed in my life through others. Not only do I pray for God to repay tenfold anyone who has ever given to me. I desire to be part of that blessing.

Insanity reconsidered

 

"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  -Albert Einstein

Without taking away from the scientific genius of Mr. Einstein, I think he missed the boat on this particular thought.  Forgive my frankness, but the more I ponder this thought, the more ridiculous it seems as an overall rule for living. 

This is what I might call a "sometimes truth."  Few people would argue simple results... Cutting your hair will always make it shorter.  Putting cold chicken properly in a working microwave and turning it on high for two minutes will always make it hotter.  A person who has $100 and spends exactly half of it will always end up with $50 left (I do far too well at proving this concept). 

Sometimes, maybe even often, the wisdom can carry through to some life decisions.  Patterns of negative, unhealthy thoughts and behaviors will never create a positive, healthy lifestyle.   Complete inactivity rarely if ever leads to breakthroughs and better living.  Staying on the same diet that has caused a person to gain 40 pounds over the past year will not lead to weight loss.  And no matter how much one wills it, or sucks in, or prays about it, those smaller jeans from days gone past simply will not fit on the body that is now eight sizes bigger.  In these cases, it takes a change to reach desired results.     

But what about those things in life that do not lead to immediate results?  What about those times when one MUST do things over and over again in order to get to the results?  What about those times when one may never see the desired results in this lifetime?

Is it insanity for a parent to consistently love and seek ways to properly discipline a continually disobedient child?  When does it become less than wise to keep consistently praying a believing, even if the wayward child (or friend, or spouse) seems to be getting worse and worse?  (And I want to clarify here, that I am talking about praying for and loving people, as opposed to continuing in patterns of abuse.)

Is it a form of psychosis to keep trying to work and pay off bills, even though it seems that the harder one tries, the deeper the debt gets?  Does it seem unreasonable to keep paying tithe and trusting God to meet one's needs, even when one seems to always go without?

At what point does it become insanity to do what we know is right- to serve others and live with integrity- even when doing so often results in our own mistreatment?  In these cases, people would definitely like to see certain results in this lifetime, and sometimes they do.  But that's not what they are living for.

In contrasts to Mr. Einstein's thought, the book of Galatians offers this advice:

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9

The apostle Paul puts in another way:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  -II Corinthians 4:16-18 

Paul's list of "light troubles" include the following: multiple assassination attempts; various creatively severe forms of beatings; being shipwrecked; years of incarceration in a foreign land, without a trial; loss of prestige and money; and quite often betrayal by those whom he has spent time and money helping.  In saying "momentary," he refers to decades of his life.

By Einstein's definition, Paul was crazy.  Maybe he was, but that's the kind of crazy that changes the world.  It's the kind of crazy that trusts God beyond immediate earthly results.  In the words of Paul:

"If we are 'out of our mind,' as some say, it is for God." -II Corinthians 5:13a

Ironically, the word "insanity" is not actually a psychological term at all; it's a legal one.  Defendants plea insanity to explain the momentary lapses of judgement that leads to certain crimes of passion, most notable violent crimes like murder.  Insanity is never about a solid, long term plan; it defines and seeks to excuse a desperate reaction.

Seeking God's will and continually living by the truth of God's word, no matter what the cost or result, is not insanity.  It's faith.  It's not an act of desperation.  It's a lifestyle of hope.  And hope in this sense means living towards a result that we know will happen.

This kind of conviction will lead to amazing, mind blowing results as God's power works through us.  But it often takes the "insanity" of doing the same things over and over again, even when we do not initially see the desired results.

It is such a blessing when we see the working of God, but there are also times when we cannot see the results with our earthly eyes.  In some places of the world people continue to testify to their hope in Christ, though it leads to imprisonment, torture and death.  I look forward to the great celebration in Heaven when we these martyrs receive their eternal rewards that move far beyond anything this life could have offered.

I submit to you a new definition: Insanity is living one's life by anything other than the will and promises of God.  Anything else leads to true desperation, trying in our own power to grasp for what only God can provide.  Lord Jesus, please guide me as I seek to break the insanity of self-reliance and lean ever more on your grace for my life.