Sun, Nov 1st - 2:57PM

  I can truthfully say that I’ve never written anything for anybody, without including myself.  No brag, just fact, because none of us can escape being fully human, no matter what our egos tell us.  Adding to that a bit, I most usually see something in myself first, and it triggers thoughts about what everyone else experiences, which I always picture similar to my own.  I do hope that’s correct!

  I have noticed in my brain what I would term “disconnects”, and I would think they’re common to many others.  I read in 1 Corinthians 13:12(a), the well-known verse, ‘For now we see in a mirror, dimly,…’, and I acknowledge it as true – but I immediately fail to apply it to my heart, and instead it just lodges in the “Religious” section of my brain until I hear it again.  And when I hear it again, again I miss the impact of the statement and think instead, “Well, yes, I’m familiar with that verse….”

  I feel this verse is true 100% of the time, but I usually fail to apply it to ME.  But if the verse is true, should I ever be satisfied with seeing ‘dimly’ – I don’t think so.  I prefer to challenge my own religious comfort, and desire to become unsatisfied with my dim view, and that is not comfortable – like exercising…”No pain, no gain”.

  Thank God, Jesus Himself is the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, and I can, and should ask for more.  But when I ask for more, He often directs my attention to areas of problems in me that need to be opened – so the wisdom He then gives actually is of benefit, and has a home in me.

  Right now, I feel just like I did the day I got lost in a wood-lot.  I never meant to get lost, and didn’t really feel I even could get lost – but I did.   I wouldn’t blame you for asking, “What did he mean by any of that?”  Really, I’m not naturally obtuse…

  My human natured brain automatically disconnects me from the reality of God’s Word – and I don’t even know it when it happens.  I not only see through a ‘glass dimly’, I probably spend most of my life living dimly, and the only way for me to break free is to ask Jesus to reveal my dimness to me, and for that, I have to ask myself the ugly questions I usually avoid.  There, that’s simple enough, isn't it?

  And with regard to the “real world”, I had no idea how dark it was until I reached out to the Light.  The entire limit of what I can do is to keep reaching, and never let myself settle for the status-quo.  And if I don’t limit the Light, He will take care of the rest…but I have to be honest with myself, and sometimes it hurts.

  So ask yourself the hard questions – feel the pain as it cuts into your own darkness, and let Him unpack those areas in yourself that we all have – and need healed.

  He allows bumps in our roads so we won’t be comfortable enough to go to sleep.  Isn’t He good?!

John

Sun, Nov 1st - 9:34AM

  Let’s be very honest today.  We don’t have to admit anything to anyone else, but let’s be scary-honest with ourselves.  Agreed?

  Let’s ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions:

• When we pray, do we pray in hope, or in faith?  (There is no “both” answer allowed)
• Are we supposed to pray in hope or faith?  (ditto)
• Where in the Bible does it say ‘Without hope it is impossible to please Him’?
• On a scale of 1 – 10, where would I place my personal level of unbelief?
• Did Jesus, our eternal example, pray in hope or faith?  (What did He say as He began His prayer outside of Lazarus’ tomb?)

  I think that’s good enough for openers, don’t you?  If we are really honest with ourselves, we answered the first question, “Hope”, didn’t we?  My main point with this essay is to point up that hope without faith – Hope that isn't first created from Faith, is Unbelief.  Isn't that a nasty little secret?

  One of the things I do periodically is to lead corporate prayer during our church worship service.  Having been involved in this activity several times in the last few months, on a rotating basis, I find myself grappling with the issue(s) raised by my questions above.  This morning, facing another bout of prayer leadership in about 45 minutes, I feel trapped, guilty, critical, potentially rejected by my peers as a complainer and yes, angry.  All these emotions are flowing through me like hot, mixed oil, and I’m trying to find a path through to the other side – and do it all in 45 minutes!  Frankly, I don’t have a lot of Hope I’ll find the path this morning, and here’s some of the reasons why:

  I believe prayer is vital – I can't stress this enough, but I also believe we usually say it’s vital while secretly, perhaps even unbeknownst to ourselves, find it an odious burden we don’t really like or understand.  Lip service to the importance of prayer runs rampant through most congregations, and ultimately will be a stunning indictment of that body.  Let’s face it – do we understand what prayer is, how important it is to God and us, how to do it, and very importantly – how NOT to do it?  I have to admit, I’ve usually seen nothing to indicate a “Yes” answer to any of those questions.  What I have seen is: HOPE. 

  I know this is coming across as harsh, but then, so is pain when it tells us something’s wrong.  When we pray for a sick brother to be healed from a deadly disease, how much Hope will cause God to answer the prayer, when a ‘grain of mustard seed’ Faith will move mountains, much less cast the burden of the disease off our brother?  He doesn’t need our Hope – he desperately needs our Faith.  And from God’s point of view, should He prioritize our Hope and heal our brother, or should He try to teach us a vivid lesson about praying in Faith, while He takes our brother home?  I don’t know, it’s always risky for me to ask a question about God’s point of view, but I don’t think He minds it when I do.

  So let’s get to the summary, because my 45 minutes is running out:  HOPE COMES FROM FAITH – NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. 

  According to the Bible we say we believe – We are the ‘Body of Christ’.  That’s right – you and I are His body.  So when’s that gonna start?  Shouldn’t we be praying like He did – right now? 

  So where on earth is our FAITH?

John