All the Time

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34.1

 

I have always found the instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5.17, "Pray without ceasing," to be a great challenge. After all, who can pray all the time? I have reconciled myself to this point by advocating a consistent and persistent attitude of prayer. Even if I am not actively focused on praying, I should be in position- emotionally and spiritually, at least- to be praying. I shouldn't need to "prepare my heart for prayer." I should always be prepared to pray. 

That leads me to Psalm 34.1. How can I always be praising God?

• First of all, my heart should be filled with blessing for God. Do not ever let yourself get in the position of being mad at God or blaming him for evil in your life or the world. God loves you. Bless him.
• Be careful with your language. Remember that even when you think it doesn't matter, or no one is listening, God can still hear the words that come out of your mouth.
• Focus your life on positive, beautiful and godly things (Philippians 4.8). It is easier to fill your mouth with praise when you fill your mind with God.
• Be a positive influence in the lives of others. There are many people who are longing for something good in their lives. You can help someone else experience the love and grace of Christ by blessing God.

Prayer:  Jesus, I love you and honor you. You are great and full of glory. May my life and my attitude and my words all be a blessing to you. Amen. 

The Lord's Prayer VII

Deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6.13

 

Let me offer a few thoughts to focus our prayer time today.

• Satan is an adversary who wants to disrupt our lives in every way. He is perfectly happy to possess, distract or obstruct believers and their prayers. We must be constantly vigilant against him.
• It may seem old-fashioned to believe in Satan, but there are too many things in the world that are evil. These events need an explanation and the devil fits the bill. Besides, why would we want to take a chance?
• Although it seems that Satan rules the world, Jesus teaches us that we can be delivered from his influence. Don't be defeated or discouraged by the evil you encounter. God is the winner!
• God is in charge of everything. We have a powerful ally in the battle against the world.
• The Lord is not only the ruler of all with more power than we can imagine, he is filled with glory! How wonderful to know that mediocrity is not the plan for followers of God. We are blessed.

Prayer: Lord God, it is with relief and joy that we are reminded that you are in charge and you are interested in our well-being. Thank you for caring for us. For offering victory over our greatest enemy and blessing us with your presence we thank you.  Amen.

 

The Lord's Prayer VI

And do not lead us into temptation... Matthew 6.13

 

The world is quite literally filled with temptation. We are bombarded in advertising, television, movies, music, everywhere. We are tempted to sin in every conceivable way. We are encouraged to indulge our physical, sexual, emotional and relationship desires. Temptations come at us and cause us to not think about consequences. We look at how other people live, at how fun that temptation looks, and it becomes easy to rationalize or justify almost any behavior.

Temptation is inevitable. There can be no question about that. There is no way that normal humans can avoid all temptations. But Jesus, in his prayer does provide some help. Temptations will come, but we must avoid dwelling on them. We must not be 'led into' temptation. Our approach to things that Satan puts before us must be a three step process.

1. When we are tempted, we must recognize and name the temptation as soon as possible. By identifying the temptation we lessen the significance of its power over us.
2. After recognizing the temptation, we must take every measure possible to eliminate it and get past it. Temptation would love to come into your brain and rest there for awhile. As soon as you see it, get rid of it.
3. Pray that you will be given victory over temptation and that it will not return. Never, never, never entertain the temptation, but rebuke it and pray that you can avoid it in the future. 

God has great things in store for you, but they will never come to pass as long as you focus on the temptations in your life.

Remember, being tempted is not a sin. However, when we focus on the temptations in our lives, we open the door to sin.

 

Prayer: There are many things that want my attention and my love, O God. Help me to discern the things that are from you and are good for me. Give me power and victory over the temptations in my life.  Amen.

The Lord's Prayer V

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6.12

 

Humans are notorious for their ability to blame others. Everything is always someone else's fault. We want everything bad that ever happens to us to be the responsibility of anyone other than ourselves. "The devil made me do it." "My parents were divorced." "My co-worker didn't do his job." You probably could add to this list.

But, in his model prayer, Jesus doesn't let us off so easily. He understands that each of us people is capable of sin and very likely to do so.  We should not be pointing the finger at someone else, but owning up to our own culpability in many situations. We need to be forgiven our own sins. 

There are a couple of more things for us to realize, however. First of all, depending on which gospel you are reading and which translation of the Bible you are using, this verse is translated as debts, trespasses and sins. Each of us has to deal with our sins. We might call our sins by other names to try and make ourselves feel better and look better to others. We will convince ourselves that we have made mistakes, gotten off the path or simply need to make a course correction. But its all sin. And we are all guilty (Romans 3.23).

Secondly, our personal forgiveness seems to be tied to our willingness to forgive others. Humans have a tremendous capacity to hold a grudge. Here is a word of advice: Get over it! The only way that you can live a fulfilling, fruitful and peaceful life is to forgive those who have wronged you. 

Forgive, and be forgiven.

Prayer: I am sorry, God, for all the things that I have done that are not pleasing to you. Forgive me. Allow me to know your grace and peace. May I be willing and able to forgive others, according to your word and your love.  Amen.

Lord's Prayer III

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6.10

 

Here is a pet peeve of mine: When we recite the Lord's Prayer aloud in worship, we create a misconception. We say the prayer like this is two different ideas. We typically get into a rhythm. There is a certain cadence with which we say the prayer. We say:

Your will be done...

On earth as it is in heaven.

Unfortunately, that would lead us to believe that  we should pray for God's will, and that we should pray that earth should be like heaven. Those are both good and noble objectives for prayer, but what Jesus is asking us to do is much more simple- and much more difficult.

It is simple because we are to pray that since God's will is always done in heaven, it should be done on earth as well. This is a perfect corollary to the previous part of the prayer. When God's Kingdom is manifest fully it will be inevitable that his will will be done. 

It is difficult because of the tremendous burden that this puts on us followers of Jesus. We must always be looking for God's will. This means that we should be praying over each decision that we make, even the most simple and mundane. To be a follower of Christ, to pray in the way that he has taught us, means that we pray for God's will in every situation.

What would Jesus do?

 

Prayer: Jesus, we do not always understand your will, but we long for it. We do not always appreciate your will, but we want it. Help us to know what your desires are for us and give us the courage to live according to your plan. Amen.  

 

Lord's Prayer IV

Give us this day our daily bread. Matthew 6.11

 

In their wilderness journeys the Israelites collected manna each day. They could only collect enough manna for today. They were prohibited from stockpiling it. In fact, if they collected more than they needed for one day, the surplus manna would get rotten and be infested with maggots. Jesus' instruction on prayer recalls that time and that dependence on God.

There are two things that we should especially note here.

1. God will take care of us for today. We are not promised anything more. Each day we are to go to God with our needs. If we take this seriously we need to be in prayer each day. You and I may get frustrated by not knowing God's long-range plan for our lives. We might get discouraged or feel as though we are getting nowhere when we have to ask for help over and over. But remember, he does provide enough. Always. 

2. You and I are required to recognize our dependence on God. The natural state of humanity is to exercise independence and make our own decisions. We want  to be on our own all the time. But here Jesus encourages us to remember that we are children of the Father. Like the children of any parent, we need to always be mindful that we need God for everything. He is not just a source of encouragement and comfort when we are in need. Everything we have, all that we know, comes from him. We need God and his work in our lives and world for everything.

This is not a nice prayer for food. It is not grace before a meal. This is nothing less than a declaration that we make affirming our faith and relationship to God.

 

Prayer: Lord, be with us today. Don't let us be discouraged about the future. Help us get through this circumstance. Give us an answer for today's problem. Then remind us that we always need you. Help us to depend on you for every part of our lives.  Amen.

The Lord's Prayer II

Your kingdom come. Matthew 6.10

One of the things that we can be sure of in this life is that this is not how God intended for things to be. We live in a sinful, fallen, corrupt world. Satan has caused people (all people) to sin. Our sin, and the sin of all humanity, has caused turmoil, strife, disaster and more all around the world.

Sometimes we can see God at work in our sinful world. There is a new baby, a miraculous healing, a glorious sunset. We hear testimonies of a life turned around, redeemed from addiction, crime and wasteful living. We know that there is more to this life than the unfortunate condition that we find ourselves in. 

God has a kingdom that is not a part of our status quo. His kingdom is one in which he rules and controls everything. And all of that is for the good, the blessing and benefit of his people. That is the kingdom that followers of Christ long for. Our hearts cry out for God to reign in our lives and in our world. We seek the protection that he can offer.

Our prayer needs to be that God's kingdom would be the reality that we live in every day. 

Prayer: Lord, we are unhappy with the way the world is. Fix it, we pray. We ask that your kingdom, your reign and your rule would come into our world today. May our reality be that we are your subjects. Fill us with a longing for your work in us. Amen.

God's Answers

Are you ready for some honesty? Can you handle it if I share with you a real problem that I have? Don't think bad of me, but sometimes I get very frustrated because my prayers seem ineffective. I know that God is out there somewhere, but it seems that he is not listening to me. I am sure that there are times- sometimes it seems like weeks, months or years- when he doesn't answer at all. The Bible teaches me that God is there, that he cares about me, that he listens to my prayers and that he always answers me. But in reality, it doesn't always feel like that.
So, what can I do? How does God speak to me? What can I know for sure about God and his answers to my prayer? I think that there are many ways that God answers us, but his response to our prayers generally fall in only a few categories.

• Go. There are times when God answers right away. He looks at my life and blesses me. There are times when my desires are consistent with God's will and he gives me an answer to my prayers that is resoundingly affirmative. I can be certain that God is in charge and that he is encouraging me to move forward.
  
• Slow. There are other times when I think I know what is best, but it just doesn't work for the Lord. He may support the idea that I am praying for, but the timing is off. Maybe I need to work on my relationship with God, or with others, or even with myself, but his answer to me is “not yet.” This doesn't mean that God is telling me know, or even that he is not answering at all. It means that God is trying to work on patience in my life. There will be an answer, but I have to wait. I can proceed, but I need to be sure that I am operating on God's time.
  
• Whoa. Sometimes I get ahead of God. I have a great idea, or at least I think its a great idea, but God is not quite ready for it yet. I need to stop what I am doing, at least for a season. I may get to go again, but not now.
  
• No. Brace yourself. This is the answer that we usually don't want to hear. But there are situations in which we need to pay attention to God's denials. But remember this, when he says no, it is always because there is something better that God has in mind for us.
  
• I don't know. One point of clarification here: God knows everything. His answer is never “I don't know.” But, often we think the answer is I don't know. Almost always, when we think the answer is I don't know, we can find God speaking one of the other answers to us.
  

Today, you may be frustrated because you are not hearing from God, or at least you are not hearing what you want from God. Know that he is speaking to you. Remember that there are many answers that he might be giving. As you pray, ask God to help you hear his voice, even if he is saying something you don't want to hear.

The Lord's Prayer I

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name. Matthew 6.9 

When we pray, at least as Jesus taught us, we are to begin our prayer with an address and with worship.

Our address is an intimate expression of a relationship. When Jesus taught us to pray to our Father, it wasn't a formal or unfamiliar greeting. The idea of calling God Father was completely foreign to the disciples. God was seen as being far away from humanity. He was not someone that you could know personally. When Jesus suggested that we address God in this way he was offering us the opportunity to have a personal, familial relationship with God. Think of saying 'Our Father' in the same way that you would say "Hi, Dad!"

Perhaps the hardest word in the Lord's Prayer is hallowed. After all, no one uses that word anymore. It has become archaic and subject to misinterpretation and misunderstanding.  Let me offer some suggestions to help with that.

• Hallowed comes from the same word as Halloween, which is All Hallow's Eve, the night before All Saint's Day.
• Hallow also shares the same root as holy, holiness, whole, wholeness and holistic. Being holy is more than just a spiritual experience for a few Christians. It is the desire of God that all his children be "whole" and "holy."
• God serves as our example for holiness.

Finally, it is crucial that in our prayers we recognize who God is and offer our praise and worship to him. That is what it means to hallow God's name. I challenge you today to love God and worship him.

Prayer: Lord God, you are great and holy. I offer to you my love and honor. You are great and greatly to be praised. You are high above me and all that I know. I am humbled in your presence. Speak to me, O God, and make me like you, holy and whole. Amen.

Eyes Wide Open

Have you ever tried praying with your eyes open? It can be dangerous. I mean, there are distractions everywhere you look. When I am looking at the world I can get easily sidetracked in my prayers. I notice a person walking outside my window, or a family on a bike ride, or a bird, or the sunlight, or traffic seems a little heavy today, I wonder what's going on uptown. That's where everyone seems to be headed. What am I missing out on? Did I forgot something important at the library? Maybe someone died. I miss my grandma. She was such a great prayer- warrior. Ooops. I'm supposed to be praying.

But there is an upside.

 When I have my eyes open, I can be praying for that family walking. I can be reminded to thank God for the birds, the sunshine and all his blessings to me. I pray for those who I see. You see, if we allow it to happen, watching the world can be a great aid to prayer time. Give it a try. You might like it.

Dear Lord, I don't want to be distracted by the cares of this world, but I want to be sure to  be in tune with your work and your creation. Show me the needs that I can pray for and the things that I can do to bring your kingdom on earth. Amen.

Ways to Pray

This year we have been focusing on spiritual growth. Our primary exercises, or disciplines for doing this have consisted of Bible reading and prayer. There are many other things that will help you grow in your faith. Do not think that these are the only methods to use in getting closer to God. However, I believe that prayer and Bible study are the most simple, universal and effective ways to enhance your relationship with God. If you will do these things, you will find your faith growing significantly and quickly.

With all of that being said, let's look at some practical approaches to prayer. I am convinced that many Christians are simply intimidated by prayer. It seems so holy, so directed at the “other” that we don't even start praying. What follows, then, is a series of solutions that are accessible and simple for anyone.

• Pray with a journal. I often (almost daily) write my prayers. It gives me a record of what is important to me and what God is teaching me. This also keeps me focused on my prayer times. I can look in my journal and know how faithful I have been. If I am not writing my prayers, I may not be praying.
• Memorize prayers. Everyone remembers prayers that they said as a child; “God is great,” and “Now I lay me...” But there is value in memorizing prayers as an adult. Learn and pray the Lord's Prayer or the 23^rd Psalm. Make those prayers, and others, a regular part of your prayer time.
• Use prayer reminders. Write a prayer request on a sticky note and put it on your bathroom mirror, your office door or some other visible location. Every time you see the note, say a short prayer for that person.
• Pray aloud. I often find that praying silently easily leads to mind wanderings for me. Although this is very discouraging, it is avoidable. If I am actually speaking, I tend to stay more focused.
• Pray while you are driving (but don't close your eyes). There is a lot of driving time that is wasted. We listen to radio programs that may not be good for us and generally lose all the time we are in the car. Make your car a “prayer closet.”
• Text message prayers. Get a friend or prayer partner that you can pray with. Use text messaging as a simple, quick and effective way to keep in touch and up to date with needs and prayer concerns. Texting gives an immediacy to your prayers.
• Sing your prayers. Sometimes you will find that a particular song or hymn speaks exactly to the needs in your life. Sing to the Lord.

There are many more ways to pray, but you surely can find one here that will get you started on your path to a deeper relationship with God. 

It's Not Car Food

The advent of fast food in general, and the 'drive-thru' window in particular, has not been kind to the interior of the typical American automobile. It is not uncommon to find a missing french fry under a floor mat, or to discover that the source of that mysterious, gag-inducing smell, came from a long-forgotten Whopper that made its way under the passenger seat. I am a guilty person, but I am hoping that some of my unfortunate experiences might serve as lessons for the uninitiated. Be warned. Some foods are not intended for the car.

To begin with, let's cover the basics. If it takes more than one hand to eat, it's not car food. Keep at least one hand on the wheel at all times. Secondly, be sure that whatever you are eating while driving does not take a lot of organization. By this I mean, keep your eyes on the road. If you have to look for your food, strategize the best way to hold it, and closely monitor it's approach to and entry in your mouth, it's not car food. Finally, you should not have a buffet in the front seat of your car. Limit how many items that you plan to eat. Plan your menu based on the available table space (empty seats and/ or center console area) and cup holders.

Well, there are the ground rules. Now here are some specifics. The following are not car food.

• Any ice cream product that does not come in a cone or on a stick.
• Pizza.
• Any Mexican or Chinese food.
• Pasta.
• Soup.

How to Study the Bible

There can be little doubt among Christians that the Bible is the beginning place for spiritual information and growth. Our prayer lives are important, but we must never take for granted the Holy Scriptures as we learn about God and his will for our lives. The Bible serves as the foundation stone for everything else that we believe, do or value. We have spent time discussing the importance of reading and studying God's word, and we have considered some tools that will assist us in understanding the background and meaning of the Bible. Now let's consider how to study the Bible.

To begin with we need to reiterate the importance of reading the Bible. In the words of the famous Nike ad, “Just do it.” You do not need to learn everything before you start reading the Bible. Just start reading it. There are a lot of aids at this point. Find a schedule that will work for you. There are many online resources to help with this. In addition, we have a schedule that we are following as a congregation for 2012. Choose something and get started.

Now that you are started, ask yourself the following questions about your reading each time you read.

• What does this passage say? Decide what it is that the Biblical author is trying to communicate. You can do this by using some resources that will assist you in understanding. A study Bible or a commentary might be helpful. It could be that you will want to read the passage in some different translations. Start by reading the passage slowly. Ask the big questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Learn what is happening and what is being said in a passage before you move on.
• How does this passage apply to me? Bible study is perhaps the most important thing that you can do on a regular basis. But the value of that study is severely limited if you don't follow it up by learning what you should do about it. The Bible calls us to action. It is a great source of information, but more importantly it is a book of instruction. When studying God's word think about what you should do because of what it says. How does a passage affect you? How should you think?
• Why is this passage important? To begin with we need to understand that all the passages in the Bible are important. Some are more or less relevant to us than others, but all are equally a part of God's word to us. With that disclaimer out of the way, pray about the significance of a passage. Not how important it is compared to other passages, but rather, answer why it is important to you. What is God trying to teach you with this passage? What is it's significance in my life?

There was a Christian song that was pretty popular several years ago. The hook of the chorus was “Read the book; don't wait for the movie.” That should be our approach to the Bible. We need to jump in and have a go. Hopefully you are now feeling more prepared to do that.

Things my Dad Says

My Dad is better than yours. And to prove it, I offer the following life-lessons. This is wisdom from the lips of Dewey L Miller, Sr.

• That smells like money! (upon approaching a particularly pungent hog farm)
• I bet that suit cost him a pretty penny! (upon seeing this weeks outfit on the Porter Wagoner Show)
• This is the standingest one church I have ever been to! (upon attending any congregation that asks you to stand, even once)

So now you have a little insight into how I have developed my rather complicated life philosophy.

Praying, Plain and Simple

I am convinced, as many of you are aware, that Christian people want to pray. They believe that they should pray more than they do, but they feel ill-prepared and untrained for the task of prayer. Part of this is because of some false perceptions of prayer. For example, we often labor under the assumption that praying is about telling God what we want. We read or recite a list to him, and we think that our responsibility for prayer is complete. However, as we grow in faith, we come to learn that prayer is not about a 'wish list,' but a relationship. Being with God is more important than telling him what we need.

As we continue on this year-long journey of spiritual growth then, we should agree that the two most important steps to improving our prayer lives are simply, 1) learning to pray, and 2) just beginning to pray. What follows are some samples of ways that you can pray. These models of prayer include times for asking God to meet our needs, but there are other aspects of prayer as well. These patterns will help you get started.

The idea behind using patterns for your prayers is not to enforce a strict formula, but rather to suggest some topics that will enhance and strengthen your prayers. Use the following patterns to guide you to deeper levels of prayer, rather than to oppress you with rules and obligations.

• ACTS- This is an acronym. The letters of ACTS give you a handy reminder of some areas for prayer. Use this to remind you to have a well-rounded prayer time. A- adoration: Praise and worship God for who he is. C- confession: Confess your sins and repent of your wrongdoing. T- thanksgiving: Thank God for all the blessings that he has provided for you. S- supplication: Ask God to meet your needs.
• PRAY- This is another acronym. P- praise: Offer to God words of praise and adoration. R- repent: Repent of the things that you have done, as well as the things that you should have done, but have not. A- ask: This is where you ask God for the things that you need, and for the needs of others. Y- yield: When we yield to God we echo the words of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but yours.”
• PATH- Yet one more acronym. P- praise: Give to God your allegiance and glory. A- ask: Again we ask God for the things that we need. T- thanksgiving: Thanking God for answers to prayer is essential. Don't forget to also thank him for the blessings he provides that you haven't specifically asked for. H- help: There are areas in which you need God's help that don't fit into any of the other categories. We need help making decisions, finding direction and forgiving others, among other things.

There are some suggestions. Now its time to start praying. Try praying in these patterns for the next month. You will find that you grow much closer to God.

Why Should You Pray More?

As we have been reflecting on spiritual growth this year, we have been focusing primarily on Bible reading and prayer. Those are two of what I call the Four Most Important Things. The Four Things, in no particular order are:

• Bible Study
• Prayer
• Christian Fellowship
• Ministry

Each of these elements lend themselves to the spirituality of the Christian believer. Be sure to participate regularly in each of those “disciplines” for your spiritual health.

In this article I would like for us to think about the question of prayer, and especially why it is valuable for us to spend more time in prayer. To that end, let us consider the following answers to the question of why we should pray more.

• We should pray more because it will help us to know God better. Like a conversation with a friend, prayer will allow you to reveal things to God, and help you to gain deeper insights into his person and his will for your life.
• We should pray more because it is gives an indication of our level of commitment to God and his ways. When we love him more, we will spend more time with him.
• When we spend more time in prayer, we are able to pray for more needs. You can pray more specifically for more things; for missionaries, family members, lost loved ones, the ministries of the church, etc.
• When we spend more time in prayer, we long to spend more time in prayer. It is intriguing how this works. The more time you spend with God, the more time you want to spend with God.
• We should pray more because our conscience pricks us. We do not pray enough presently. For peace of mind, spend more time with God.
• We should pray more because our spiritual growth depends on it. If you want to grow in your walk with the Lord, spend time in prayer.

There are more reasons than these to pray more. In fact, there are enough different reasons that each person reading this could have their own specific rationale for praying more. But the bottom line is this: The reason you pray more is insignificant. You need to pray more. Get started. Don't wait another day. Pray to the Lord as if your life depended on it- because it does.

Why Read the Bible

For this year we have been focusing on getting everyone (as many people as possible, anyway) to read the Bible. To that end everyone is encouraged to read from the New Testament every day. By reading for just a few minutes each day we will have read the entire New Testament by the end of this year. What a great accomplishment for any Christian, but especially for those who are trying to learn as much as they can about God and his word.

The question that we haven't addressed yet is “Why should we read the Bible?” Most of us agree that the Bible is good, and that we feel like we should read it, but too often we don't think about it beyond the 'ought to' of it. Let's change that, shall we? Here are some reasons to read the New Testament. You can take them as that, or view them blessings that we receive when we read and know God's Word.

• Reading the Bible gives us valuable information. When we know what God has said in the Scriptures we can use it to help ourselves and others.
• Reading the Bible can help keep us from falling into error. It is easy to listen to some one's explanation of the 'truth', but if we have studied what the Bible says we know what the truth actually is. Compare the teachings of others with God's Word.
• Reading the Bible gives us information and context to share with others, those who are believers and those who are not yet Christians. One of the calls that all Christians shares is to teach and admonish others with the Word of God.
• Reading the Bible is the best way to learn about Christ. You can listen to sermons, attend Bible studies, read Christian books, but the way to learn the most and to grow the quickest is while reading the Bible.
• Reading the Bible is perhaps the best way to receive comfort in times of trial. In times of grief, stress, discouragement or loneliness we can turn to God's word for patience and comfort.
• Reading the Bible is a way to be approved by God. The expectations of the Lord for his followers are often too high for us to grasp, but a great starting place is to learn the Bible.
• Reading the Bible also builds us up, spiritually, intellectually and emotionally. Scriptures are a source of healing, strength and encouragement.

There are a lot more ways that we will benefit from Bible reading and study, but that will give you a few ways to get started. If you haven't begun this incredible journey yet, now is the time.

Lent Again!

Five years ago this week, February 21, 2007, I first posted to this blog. Actually it was Ash Wednesday when I first wrote here. And now, these years later, it is Lent once again. Time for reflection, introspection, repentance, changing my ways, renewing commitments and the like.

I am not the same person I was five years ago. A part of that change has to do with some of the reflections that I have posted here. I have grown and developed. Generally I think I am a better person today, but I am sure there are many ways that I am not. It would not be completely wrong to think of this period of time as one long Lenten period in which God has been molding me. For the most part I have willingly submitted to his work and am satisfied with the result.

The frequency with which I write has diminished greatly over these years. I have several possible explanations, or contributing factors.

• I have found other outlets for my writing that have kept me from writing here. I have published a couple of Bible study books, a Vacation Bible School curriculum and written a novel.
• I have moved to a different ministry setting that is occupying more of my time.
• My family situation has changed several times and in significant ways. More of my attention is now required at home than it has been in the past.

But the significance of Lent is still present for me. In these 40 days, no matter how busy or distracted I am or may become, I will focus on my relationship with Jesus. He will be my priority.

Simple Bible Study Tools

This year I have been (and will continue) trying to encourage you (and me) to think seriously about developing spiritually. The focus of my articles (and sermons) has been to give you some practical tools for growing in faith. My hope is that by the end of 2012 we will all have matured as disciples of Jesus Christ.

There are two primary ways that we are looking at this year: Prayer and Bible Study. The more time we spend in each, the more we will find ourselves becoming like Christ. The problem that we have is that too often we are clueless about how to go about praying. We get easily overwhelmed by trying to read the Bible.

First of all, let me say that I believe it is a misconception to think that the Bible is hard to understand. In earlier English versions we find language that has become archaic. Consequently, since the language is difficult we assume that the concepts are difficult as well. This is a very easy issue to overcome. To understand the text of the Bible with complete clarity, get a Bible in a translation or version that you can understand. I use the New King James Version, but some more accessible versions include the New Living Translation, the Message and the New International Version.

There are some other resources that will easily help you as you learn more about God's Word. The internet has become a tool for many things, including the Bible. Some of my favorite, and most helpful websites, include http://www.biblegateway.com/ . Bible Gateway is a collection of Bibles that can be searched by word, topic or verse reference. I use Bible Gateway on a weekly basis. Another excellent resource is net.bible.org. It is a new translation that includes a multitude of study notes and explanations.

There are many other resources to consider in your Bible study as well.

• A study Bible comes complete with commentary, explanatory notes and concordance.

• A concordance will help you find a verse by know a word in the verse.

• A Bible commentary will help to explain a particular passage in a way that makes it easier to understand and apply to life.

• A Bible dictionary will offer definitions for hard to understand words and concepts.

All of these items are available for loan in the church library or the church office in addition to be available for purchase at any Christian bookstore or at christianbook.com.

Happy Bible reading! Understanding God's word will make a world of difference in your life.

Adopt-a-Block Proposal

Purpose: Because we cannot expect hurting and unchurched persons to come to our worship services, we will take the message of the grace of God to them. We will become pastors to the various neighborhoods in and around Argos. Our priority will be to build relationships with people who need the grace of Christ, but may not even know it. We will serve everyone regardless of their past or their present reality. We believe that God is no respecter of persons, and therefore, we cannot judge or condemn either. We will work to build up those who are struggling, hurting, lonely, isolated and victimized. We will serve those who feel as though they do not need God. We will love all and serve all, while lifting up One.

Outline: The Adopt-a-Block ministry will include (but not be limited to) the following-

• Each week (probably Saturday) a group from the church will serve in the same neighborhoods.

• We will go in groups of two or three to knock on each door in the neighborhood.

• We will ask for pray concerns and work requests.

• We will become friends, mentors and confidants to those we serve.

• We will clean and sweep the streets, walks and yards in the neighborhood.

• We will collect and dispose of trash and debris.

• We will offer assistance in any way we can.

• If we cannot make contact with someone at a home, we will leave a connection card.

• We will offer to pray for the residents of the neighborhood.

• We will leave church and personal contact information so that residents may follow up with us as needed.

Philosophy: The most important elements of the Adopt-a-Block ministry are:

• Consistency- We must be regular (weekly) with our contacts and visits.

• Perseverance- We must be willing to continue this ministry for several months (years).

• Relationships- We must be willing to love others and allow them to love us.

• Transparency- We must be real. Phoniness will be recognized immediately.

Timeline:

February- Brainstorming and approval of ministry.

Promoting ministry to the congregation.

Prayer for success of ministry.

March- Recruiting of volunteer ministers.

Selection and scouting of neighborhoods.

Prayer for success of ministry.

April- Details of work projects finalized.

First Adopt-a-Block Saturdays.

May- First big event outreaches (block party)

Potential Ministries:

• Feeding program

• Home repair and maintenance

• Emergency child care

• Children's ministry

• Community give aways

• Job fair/ employment preparation

• Worship services

• Parenting workshops

• Cooking classes