a drop of water

here are some random thoughts that i needed to consolidate for a while.  they are unsorted and not quite developed enough to have their own entry.

worship is like a son or daughter making a song for their dad. they confidently and excitedly compose and perform it, without ‘mature-adult’ reservations, where perfection is not measured by technicalities but a right heart.

i am resolved to never use the Bible to force someone else live a certain way, treat me or respond to me a certain way. i can not say the bible says this, so you must do it. i must say that the Bible says this, so i will live this way, treat you and respond to you this way.

when you pray for someone, the goal is simple. you want them to walk away feeling loved by God (and you).

C.S. Lewis had this idea of living with the weight of glory. live as if everyone you come in contact with is an eternal being. every action, everything you say, everything you think about someone weaves an eternal connection between your souls. you both will eternally be in one of two places, hell or heaven. i realized my perception of life is very linear. i see it as having a beginning and an end, but its really like that, at least for my soul. that’s a sobering thought and has a lot of ramifications.

you are not responsible for giving what you do not have, but as christians, you are responsible for giving out of your own experience with God. (Acts 3 – silver and gold i have none, but what i have, i give to you).

there is a ridiculous amount of undercurrents going on in relationships between people. real people, those who speak their mind, are refreshing. people who want people to be real and speak their mind are even more refreshing. i wish we (i) would say what i mean and do what we say. i think that the cliche, there is a time and a place for everything, has evolved into a face-saving, facade dependent culture where people turn what needs to be done into what needs to be said.

also, i thought rant was a good category from goingthewongway.com so i’ve added that to the labels.

A few weeks ago we studied Acts 3 together. We talked about how Peter and John restored the crippled man’s dignity, by looking directly at him and asking him to look directly back. As I think back about the study, I’ve sort of decided that “Throwing money at the problem won’t work.”

We have this idea that throwing money at something that looks like a problem, could eventually be a problem, or already is a problem. How did this come into a christian world view and somehow supplant prayer and/or actual manpower. We treat money as a spiritual currency, when its prayer and action that should be our spiritual currency. I can for sure say that I am a miser of action and probably a pauper in regards to prayer, both in the negative sense. I am a miser and rarely spend my action and energy on something worthwhile. I am a pauper in that I do not have a storehouse of private prayer to pour out and spend on those around me. Money is easy to give, because we are told, money, mammon, can become an idol / god in our life, so I feel proud of myself when I give it away or spend it on a good cause. In giving money, I can often relinquish my responsibility of it’s result, because I can say that I gave it up. I’m not saying money is not important, but I am saying that it would be more powerful if the money we give is just the tip of the iceberg that is made up of prayer and personal action.

from a few weeks ago at coast home group (oikos)…just some random thoughts on Acts 2:42-47
Dear Heavenly Father,

42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
I pray that we would be devoted to your word; that we would be constant and courageous in prayer, steadfast and attentive and unremittingly caring and valuing fellowship and the breaking of bread together. I pray that we would include people in our lives so that we have community and accountability for our actions and thoughts and ideas.

43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
I pray that we would see wonders and miraculous signs in the lives of people around me; emotional and physical healing, relationships between friends and family restored, things that are impossible with man, but possible with you God, be done. There are so many needs around me that seem impossible, so many physical and emotional needs, that I can not even begin to solve. There always seems to be a matching of physical with emotional healing, and so I pray for both in the people around me who I see are hurting.

44All the believers were together and had everything in common.
I pray that we could count our possessions, our money, our time, our energy as gifts and resources from God, which we have been given the opportunity to meet the needs of people around us. I pray against selfishness and the pride that says we have a right to what we have earned, when in reality, everything good is a gift from God.

45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
I pray that we would be willing to sacrifice our own safety and security to make someone else’s position better. I pray that we would resist the American value that what we own defines our worth and realize that all we have the right to do is give what we have and be defined in Christ’s calling in our lives.

46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
I pray that we would meet daily to pray together and to sharpen each other and to keep each other accountable to God’s calling. I pray that we would have glad and sincere hearts when we eat together and spend time together, not to puff ourselves up but to help each other run the race as if to win the prize, being vulnerable with each other.

47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
I pray that you would allow us to release our plans for our own safety and security, so that we might follow your directions in our lives, gaining the relationships and being the positions to be your hands and feet in this world, so that the number of hearts praising you would be added to daily.

in Jesus name, amen.