Pray for me!

Yesterday when I arrived to our Community House, where we have Sunday worship cell. There was a boy waiting to talk to me. He pulled me aside and said "You have to pray for me right now!" This boy is 14 and often seems tuned out during spiritual discussions we have during worship or cell group, but here he was desperate for some prayer. It turns out he had a situation at school where he had a physical altercation with a teacher and is facing a suspension of 10 days for pushing past a teacher. He was hungry but was 2 minutes late for entering the breakfast room at school so was told to wait for lunch. He gets that there was a better way to handle the situation but now faces a 10 suspension. That being said after we had prayed I thanked God for having such a privilege ... to be available for a young man that wanted to pray so bad.

He already had been praying all weekend himself but he said he remembered that he learned in cell group that if you prayed with other people it made the prayers stronger. I guess he has been listening.

I have the best job in the world.

You can join us in praying for Brandon.

The complicated path to the simple gospel

I have been in thought these days on what, during my day, are the important things. The important things to glorifying Jesus and building his kingdom. The truth, as I am finding it, is that many of the seemingly important things in my day are not that important however great they may seem to me. I guess I am seeing that if I have not stopped to actually be with someone who needs Jesus than I have not fully walked out MY call. I am not trying to make a blanket judgement to throw on everyone else; I am only sharing where I find myself.

Here's the thing. There is a lot of administration and strategic planning that must exist to walk out mission, I am at the place these days where I am feeling less and less satisfied when I spend more of my day in "administering" it rather that flowing through it and joining with Holy Spirit to impact the lives of Gods children.

For me personally I am realizing that I can use administration and planning as protectionism from getting my hands dirty in relationship and touching a dying world. It is hard work to actually go get in the world, to not pass by the blind beggar without stopping and reaching out with pure love. Also the administration and planning can become tiresome so that I do not have very much energy left for actually ministering to the world and the body. This is a problem as the first should never prevent the latter.

So that being said, what are the important things? well, I am anew discovering a few.

1. Everyday there is somebody, somewhere in my day that needs to know that Jesus died for them and that he has a plan to bring freedom into their situation.

2. There is a brother or sister that needs encouragement.

3. The gospel lives in so many of the things that are unimportant to the world, and I have eyes to see it if I choose.

4. If I am planning my day and then administering it more than I am living it I need to do it differently tomorrow.

5. If I am not spending a significant amount of time in Gods presence and word than I am doing it on my own.

6. His grace is enough.