Sex & The Lord's Prayer

I stumbled upon a couple of things that got me thinking. The first one was about The Lord's Prayer.

"When we say 'Hallowed be Thy name,' we are praying,

'May the whole of my life be a source of delight to You and may it be an honor to the name which I bear, which is Your name. Hallowed be your name.'

The trouble is that we so frequently know there are great areas of our lives that are not hallowed." (Jesus Teaches on Prayer by Ray C. Stedman)

Throughout the Bible, you will notice that every area of life becomes eligible for being lived God's way, for being hallowed: Work, family, recreation, time, talents, power, government, entertainment, stressful, creative areas, money,...and sex. All of life finds its fulfillment within the intended purposes of the God who created us.

After I read Stedman's words, my mind went back to another thing I had read recently.

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes extensively about marriage.

Now, we often use 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings ("Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.")

You've probably heard it. It is a great passage, a poetic passage; a passage I've used at many ceremonies. But it's not the passage I'm talking about.

If you turn back just six chapters in that same letter, you see a very different type of instruction on marriage.

I Corinthians 7 is apparently in response to a letter the Corinthians sent Paul. "Now for the matters you wrote about," is the way Paul begins. And what follows may surprise you. Take a look. Paul's going to talk to us about the birds and the bees.

"The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband." (v4)

Did you hear that? The Apostle is telling the husband and wife that they need to be together. That intimacy is a part of our "marital duty" to our spouse.

Does that shock you? When's the last time you heard the Church instructing people to have sex?

The Church often gets the reputation that we're trying to keep people from being intimate and enjoying each other. Not necessarily. Read on:

"Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer." (v8a)

Think about that for a moment. The only reason Paul lists for not being with our husband or wife on a regular basis is to PRAY. How many couples have been so committed to prayer that they fail to take time to "fulfill their marital duty"?!

I know praying is important but I don't know too many people who want to pray THAT badly!

No, I'm guessing that most of us have other reasons we're not spending time together.

Maybe he's thoughtless.
Maybe she nags.
Maybe we think the other is only interested in selfish desires.

Those problems and a truckload of others keeps us from fulfilling our marital responsibility.

And I don't simply mean the animal, physical act.

I mean the emotional acts of playing, laughing, or hugging.

The social acts of talking and listening.

The affectionate, creative act of finding ways to let your husband or wife know they are THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WORLD TO YOU.

I think all of that is wrapped up in Paul's instructions to "fulfill our marital duty".

How often could we avoid extra-marital affairs if we faithfully, tenderly fulfilled our marital duty?

How many TV's would be turned off or internet sites have to go out of business if there was a healthy, mutually-enjoyed relationship in the marriage?

Ask yourself, "How am I doing at hallowing my marriage?"

You may never say The Lord's Prayer the same way again. I hope you don't.

Grace & peace

You've Got it All

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3)

Did you hear that?

We have everything we need for life and godliness.

Staggering, isn't it?

Do you feel ill-equipped?

You have "everything you need".

Do you think the idea of living a Christ-like life is WAY OUT OF YOUR REACH? Only for others?

You have "everything you need".

Do you feel overwhelmed and unable to face the tasks & challenges of the day?

You have "everything you need".

Say that verse again. But this time, put yourself in there.

His divine power has given ME everything I need for life and godliness through MY knowledge of him who called ME by his own glory and goodness.

Maybe you're like me. I need to pause in the midst of the day-to-day struggles in life and be reminded that He has provided all I need.

I have to take a deep breath, step back and be reminded of the gifts He has made available.

I need to "be still and know that He is God" because life can really mess with me. And if I'm not careful, I forget that I have everything I need for life and godliness.

Instead, I live like I've got nothin'.

So next time you or I feel like life's got us in a chokehold, and we're about to go down for the count, let's remind each other that we've got everything we need because of him who called us.

Grace & peace

Psalm 101

I've been living in Psalm 101 this week. It is one of the readings assigned in the book I'm currently using.

A couple of passages have captured my attention.

I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life -
when will you come to me? (101:1-2)

These verses just seemed to "sing" to me as I read them out loud this morning at the piano in the sanctuary. So much so that a melody came to my mind.

(We're going to learn these verses in a new song together Sunday for those of you who will be in church.)

Another phrase that caught my attention was, I will set before my eyes no vile thing (v3).

If the Psalmist needed to say that in his day, how much more do we need to be vigilant about what we set before our eyes today?

Isn't this a great prayer for us to pray for our children or our spouses?
"God, help them to set no vile thing before their eyes."

"Vile things" are everywhere.

- Images and thoughts that would twist the good God has created. (Money, sex, power. All can be healthy and God-pleasing. But all can be used to destroy too.)

- Systems and sets of priorities in the world that tell us WE are the center, the beginning, the end, the most important thing; and cause us to neglect God and those around us.

Think about our entertainment, our relationships, our talents, our time. They can be used in "vile" ways. (One synonym for "vile" is "worthless". There are lots of things that are worthless. There are things that tempt us to live worthless lives and spend our energies in worthless ways.

OR we can live in ways that ADD value to life.

Here's another phrase I'm contemplating:
Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land (v8a).

"Every morning".

If the Psalmist had to work hard, consistently, daily, to set his mind right, do I need to do any less?

When we talk about a daily devotional time, this is why.

"Every morning....PUT TO SILENCE..."

Another great prayer starter:
"Every morning put to silence voices that compete for my attention"
"Every morning put to silence noises that would cause me to fear or worry instead of trust"
"God, put to silence things that really aren't that important so I can concentrate on the most important issues"
"Father, put to silence voices that tell me I'm alone or forgotten by You.

What is the Spirit impressing upon you right now that you need to "put to silence"?

My prayer for you today is that the Spirit will use Psalm 101 to help you sing God's praise through the way you live.

Grace & peace

Joyful Noise

I'm getting ready to do my part for Vacation Bible School (August 4-8) here at the church.
I work with the kids on the music for the week.

Last night I received the CD and the book of songs. This weekend I'll begin to learn it.

Yesterday I was praying for VBS. And I was dreaming:

- Dreaming of a room full of loud kids who are excited about God

- Dreaming about adults who are learning the stories and songs with the passion of a child

- Dreaming about a God who enjoys people learning about Him

This scripture came to my mind:

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. (Psalm 100:1)

That's from the New International Version.

The old King James Version I remember reading as a child translates that first phrase this way:

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD...

A "joyful noise".

What are joyful noises you hear?

A baby cooing.

A group of friends laughing.

An engine starting. (If it didn't start before, that would be joyful, wouldn't it?)

The "SMACK" of the baseball off of a wood bat.

Your favorite song.

A babbling brook or waves against the shore.

Apparently God enjoys our praise of Him in that same way we enjoy our favorite noises.

So I invite you today to make a "joyful noise" in your car, or your shower, or your favorite chair. Use your ipod or your voice. Do it in silence or at full voice.

But either way, make a joyful noise.

Grace & peace

God on the Move

Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:8)

Sometimes it feels like the light is passing and the darkness is dominating.

But this passage tells us just the opposite: the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Are you looking for those places?

Here's one.

I have a friend named Todd. We lived in the same area for a short time. While he was here, Todd shared his story and mentioned he had cancer. The prognosis wasn't particularly good. The cancer was difficult. It wouldn't be easy to operate on because of its structure. In fact, Todd was told it might not ever be possible to operate at all.

Todd and his family moved away last year. But he recently sent an e-mail updating us on his story.

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Dear Pastor Jeff,

In your recent email you asked for testimonies of what God is doing in our lives. Please share with your church my testimony. The chemo that I have been taking for the past year has greatly reduced my cancer. My oncologist says that it is time for the surgeon to take a look and see if they can remove surgically what was before inoperable! This is a tremendous answer to prayer. I will let you know when I have a date for surgery and of course let you know what the results are. PTL!

Todd

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I wonder how many of us are tempted to think, "God's not doing anything like that where I live. I don't see Him working."?

Is it possible that He IS working, we're just not seeing Him? Is it possible He IS speaking, we're just not listening?

There are several ways we discipline ourselves to see Him and hear Him: prayer, scripture, meditation, worship, fasting, and meeting with other seekers are just a few.

Have you built these disciplines into your life?

Maybe you feel overwhelmed at the prospect of adding all of them.

Why not pick one of these areas and begin to build it into your routine.

Not sure which one? Ask God to make it plain to you.

If the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining I want to be a part of it, don't you?

As a matter of fact, God's promise is that we will be: its truth is seen in him and you!! God will make the light shine in and through us if we're willing to cooperate with Him.

Grace & peace

Lost in Translation

Language is a funny thing. We can speak, but does that mean we said what we wanted to say?

Language is intended to communicate. But if the hearer doesn't get the message we intend, our communication wasn't successful.

Add on top of that talking to someone who speaks a different language. Communication gets difficult.

Scripture is sometimes like that.

Here are several examples of translations of Philippians 4:5:

"Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand."
(King James Version)

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
(New International Version)

"Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand."
(Revised Standard Version)

Which of those translations communicates best to you?

The word that is translated "moderation," "gentleness," or "forbearance" can also be translated "yielding," "kind," or "right-minded" depending upon the context (according to Bauer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). According to Strong's Concordance it only occurs one time in Scripture.

As I was reading about this word, the thought struck me:

- It is our task to find a way to translate the Gospel into language our friends and family can understand.
- It is our calling to live the Good News so that they hunger and thirst to know God.
- It is our privilege to show Christ through our attitudes, actions, and words.

What will people hear from your communication today?

May God help us today not to let anything get lost in translation of His Spirit to our world.

Grace & peace

"Where is God at Work?"

I've spent the last 2 weeks at the Nazarene Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. The topic of this 2 week seminar was discernment, or "How do we sense where God is at work?"

The whole two weeks, I had this phrase running through my mind:

He who has an ear, let him hear (Revelation 13:9 and seven other places earlier in the book).

I came back excited to hear what God has to say to us.

Then Sunday came...

At one point in our church gathering, I asked if anyone had wanted to speak about God's activity in their life. (I remember the "old-timers" at churches where I grew up calling these "testimonies".)

We tend to be a pretty quiet crowd during worship. Sometimes when I ask questions like this, no one responds.

But yesterday, before I knew it, a number of people talked about how they have experienced God at work in their midst recently. It was a great time of sharing and realizing that God is moving among us.

Then I asked people to pray about something.

"Would you pray about being a part of a prayer gathering this Wednesday? I'd like to see those of us who have an ear...hear what God wants to say and do."

I have no idea how this will go or how people will respond. But it's an attempt to see if God is up to something, and how we can get in on it.

Grace & peace