Halftime

I remember halftime of the Nebraska – Missouri football game last fall. It was a Thursday night. It had rained three or four inches in Columbia that day. Nebraska’s offense had been anemic, at best, during the first half. The defense was playing well, but Nebraska trailed nine to nothing. Things didn’t look good.

At halftime, the Nebraska coaches and players must have done something right as far as planning and dreaming and motivation, because the Cornhuskers scored twenty-nine points in the second half and won twenty-nine to twelve. The team that was dominated became dominating. Because of the adjustments, the second half was much better than the first half.

Well, it’s halftime for me. I’ll be forty on February 2nd. The life insurance calculators have me living eighty years. So it’s time to go to the locker room, make a game plan, dream a little bit, get some inspiration, and then go play the second half. During the second half:

• I will not seek to be known as a good husband, father, and pastor. I will seek to know and to be known by my wife, boys, and people.
• I will spend more time relating to God through reading the Bible, praying, worshipping, and whatevering. Investing in growing this relationship has never been a waste of time. On the contrary, my time and energy spent with God has always been multiplied.
• My boys, ages 8 and 3, are trying to figure life out and I’m one of the two people who serve as their primary example. I will be a better example.
• I will listen more and talk less. I’ll seek to be more understanding of others and to be more interested in what God is doing in the lives of others.
• I will spend less time and energy trying to be successful and I will spend more time and energy being significant.
• I will be quicker to forgive during the second half. Others and myself.
• I will take more risks. I’d hate to get to the end of the game wondering what might have been.
• I will be myself and not who others want me to be or think I should be.
• I won’t beat myself up over mistakes I’ve made. Since I can’t change the past, I will learn from it and move on.
• I will be more encouraging of others. The words of encouragement I have spoken have been the best words to come out of my mouth.
• I will share my faith more actively. I would hate for anybody to miss out on the post game party.
• I will invest more time, energy, and resources in the next generation.
• I will spend more time and energy helping and creating systems that help the hurting, the marginalized, and the oppressed.
• I will spend more time with the people I love the most and enjoy the life I have remaining.

In Christ,

Craig

Passion

Thoughts on Passion

When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn. -John Wesley

There is no greatness without a passion to be great. -Anthony Robbins

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins. -Benjamin Franklin

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who believe that they believe in God, but without passion in their hearts, without anguish in mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, without an element of despair even in their consolation, believe in the God idea, not God himself. -Miguel de Unamuno

Authentic Friendship

Here is this morning's sermon. You can listen here.

Here are the notes and a study guide:

We all want to be known as influential, successful, or something else we see as impressive. In fact, we spend a lot of time and energy projecting an image of ourselves that we think will gain us acceptance from others. But this isn't who we really are, and if we aren't careful, we'll end up going through life without being truly known by anyone. And this will rob us of ever knowing true acceptance.

There are not many things in life so beautiful as true friendship, and not many things more uncommon.

One of the things we need most in life is to be known and accepted by somebodies for exactly who we are and then loved by those persons too much to leave us that way.

Questions to consider

What do you really want to be known for?
How are you practicing image management?

Authenticity

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. –James 5:16

Friendship is one mind in two bodies. -Mencius

Application questions

Do you let anyone know about your struggles?
Is there anyone who truly knows you and can accurately pray for you?

Encouragement

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. -Hebrews 10:24-25.

The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this? -Henry David Thoreau

Application questions

How can we encourage each other?
How can we push each other to deal with the shortcomings we try to hide?

Faithfulness

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. -Galatians 6:1-3.

Friends are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you.

Application questions

What does it look like to be "gentle" with each other's shortcomings?
How can we carry each other's burdens, those things that we shouldn't carry alone?

Acceptance

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. –Romans 14:1

Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. -Romans 15:7.

A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.

Application Question

How can we do a better job of accepting people where they are and then helping them grow into who they need to be?

THINK ABOUT IT

How do you fill in the gaps between the person you project to others and who you really are?

Do you give partial information or stretch the truth or bring up your successes every chance you get?

Watch yourself this week and look for signs of image management

How can you be more transparent and how can you make your real self known to others?

See also:

A wonder little book "The Way to Love" by Anthony de Mello
A sermon "Doing Life" by Andy Stanley
An excellent small group resource is ReGroup by Cloud and Townsend

Spiritual Hearing Aids

Here is tomorrow's column:

This is from my childhood friend, Jennifer. You can read more of her writings at www.gettingdownwithjesus.com.

Dad needed them badly, but he didn't want them at all. He was afraid he'd look like an "old fart," with chunks of hard plastic hanging on his ears, squealing with feedback now and then. So years passed, and he refused the hearing aids, and his world became more and more muffled. He'd respond in conversation with a repeated refrain: "What? What did you say?"

He acquiesced a couple years ago, and was fitted with a set of hearing aids that tuck discreetly behind the ear. When I see the flesh-colored plastic behind his ears, I remember my own hearing problem.

I need hearing aids, too -- not for my physical ears, but my spiritual ones. The world is shouting at me with buzzing Blackberries, whirring washing machines, and spiral-bound schedules that read like run-on sentences, page after scribbled page. "God where are you?" I cry out. "What did you say?"



And I think of the people who seem to hear Him so well over the din of their day. They readily quote Scripture, and have answers, and seem poised under pressure. And me? I stumble and fumble and jumble the words and can't hear the Voice. Maybe I've been too proud, at times, to wear my hearing aids.

The National Institutes of Health report that only about one out of five people who would benefit from hearing aids actually use them. Perhaps they think their hearing isn't so bad after all? Perhaps I think the same. But in my inner spirit, I know this: My hearing problem isn't too small; my pride is just too big. The voice of that green monster named Pride shouts: "You don't need God's help. You can handle it on your own." I know how sweetly the Voice speaks when I do wear my hearing aids. I scold my busy-self for not doing so often enough: When I know how much better I hear with hearing aids, why do I sometimes refuse?

And so I push the pause button on my life to listen for the still, small voice of the Great Big God. I mute the voice of the green monster, and I put on my hearing aids like this:

I fall into the secondhand chair with the wooden arms and I open the Book. And in the Living Words, He speaks. I don't hear an audible Voice, but I hear reverberations from Spirit to spirit. He woos me with His Voice in the Word.

Lord, Forgive me for the times I pass by the chair, and turn me back to the Voice that woos: "Jennifer! Jennifer!" Your Word is my best hearing aid. Strip me of my pride, and draw me back into Living Letters that make ears tingle. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Amen."

Thanks Jennifer.

In Christ,

Craig

Pinewood Derby

Friendship

I'm talking about biblical friendship Sunday morning. One of the things we need most in life is to be known and accepted by somebodies for exactly who we are and then loved by those persons too much to leave us that way.

Authenticity

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. –James 5:16

Friendship is one mind in two bodies. -Mencius

Encouragement

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. -Hebrews 10:24-25.

The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this? -Henry David Thoreau

Faithfulness

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. -Galatians 6:1-3.

Friends are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up and sometimes they lean on you.

Acceptance

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. –Romans 14:1

Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. -Romans 15:7.

A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.

Bigger Frying Pans

Here is yesterday's sermon. You can listen here. Here are some of the notes:

Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked.The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small. We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith? As we begin our future, let's look for a bigger frying pan.

What are you doing that is so big that if God wasn’t involved you would fall flat on your face?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. –Matthew 6:31-34

• Seek God.
• Live obediently.
• Depend on God.
• Don’t worry

Let me rephrase the question:

What are you praying about that is so big that if God wasn’t involved you would fall flat on your face?

Do you really want to spend another year going to God with the little stuff that is probably going to be taken care regardless of if you pray or not?

Pray: God, if You don’t it won’t

Here is my challenge to you: This year I want you to commit to latch on to something that is bigger than you and I want you to be relentless in praying for this.

I want you to ask God something that honors and glorifies Him for how big He is. When we go to God with something big, God is not bothered…God is honored.

The size of your prayers determines the size of your God.

God can move mountains

• Overcome addictions
• Help me heal from a broken heart
• Use me as a blessing to my city
• Help me raise these kids to become men and women who will change the world
• Help me beat this disease
• Allow me to leave a legacy at this church so that others may know how big You are

Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
Father, may your name be kept holy.

May your Kingdom come soon.
Give us each day the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’

He calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’

But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.

Keep on seeking, and you will find.

Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. -Luke 11:1-13

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What do you usually find yourself praying for?

Read Luke 11:1-4. What do we learn about the basics of prayer from the model that Jesus gave us?

Read Luke 11:5-8. What do we learn from the boldness and persistence of the person in this parable? What does this tell us about how God wants us to approach him?

Read Luke 18:1-8. Is there anything that you have prayed about as consistently and persistently as the widow? What have you seen God do with that request?

Read Luke 11:9-10. What is it that you want God to do this year? What will you ask, seek, and knock for on a consistent basis?

How should we adjust our group prayer time to take into account what Jesus taught about prayer?

THINK ABOUT IT

When you pray, what do you find yourself praying for? Please help me not to be late. Please, just help me pass this next test. Lord, I really need to close this deal. Ultimately, what does it all add up to? Is there anything that you are praying for on a consistent basis that will not happen unless God steps in? How should your prayer time change based on what we've discussed?

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

When will you set aside time this week to begin praying for something big?

CHANGING YOUR MIND

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:9

See "Asking Big" from Andy Stanley
Click here for Campus Crusade for Christ
See "Leading with Vision" a wonderful book edited by Dale Galloway