Morning Prayer

This morning, as I walked through the church building, and into the Sanctuary - considering all of the planning, praying, and preparing that has gone into our celebration - I began to pray;

"God, I just want everything to be perfect..."

At that moment I was reminded that this may have been the very prayer of the Jewish religious leaders on the weekend that Jesus was crucified. 

The Jewish religious leaders had planned, prayed, and prepared for the celebration of Passover. Knowing that large crowds were entering the city, they watched as Jesus entered Jerusalem upon the back of a donkey, and a colt. As He entered the city they told Him to quiet the people - to quiet His followers - who were crying out "Hosanna". 

The next day Jesus entered the Synagogue and drove out money changers and those who were making a spectacle out of God's House - some of which were these Jewish religious leaders.

Now angry at Jesus and jealous of the attention that He was receiving, the Jewish religious leaders gave one of Jesus' followers a bride - 30 pieces of silver - for the knowledge of His whereabouts. Not only did they detain Jesus, they flogged Him, stripped Him naked, and hung Him on a Roman cross - hurling insults at Him as He hung suffocating to death. 

All the while they prayed;

"God, I just want everything to be perfect..."

And so, this morning, as I prepare to worship the Lord - who was not overcome by man - who did not stay dead in a tomb - who cannot have His plan thwarted - my prayer is;

"God, may Your will be done. If I have failed to prepare in any way for Your presence, make that aware to me. Then, after I have done everything that You have called me to do this morning, give me the wisdom and the ability to step out of the way and point to You, Jesus. God, may Your will be done."

Waiting for the Snow...or Something

Here I sit, at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, waiting - hoping - praying for the snow to start falling. Not only for the snow to start falling but for it to start falling quickly.

I am waiting for the snow to fall at the rate that the meteorologists forecasted these past few days.
I am waiting for the minimum of 8 inches of snow to begin at any moment
I am waiting for the maximum of 14 inches of snow to show up any time.

This "snow storm" was predicted to begin at 12:00 this morning and dump a significant amount of snow on our area through noon today. Yet, as I sit looking out the front window of my home, no snow! A bit of rain, but no snow. This "winter blast" was predicted to bring temperatures into the lower 20s and to continue to fall from there. Yet, as I look at the thermometer on our back patio, we are hanging in around 34 degrees.

It's not often that I pray for snow. No, the reason I and begging for snow this morning is because last night around 8:30 I decided that cancelling our Sunday morning and evening ministries was the most responsible thing to do. The reason that I continue to look out the window, waiting for the first sign of a winter blast is because I hate - let me write that again, I HATE - to cancel a worship service.  

I sat talking with my wife yesterday afternoon - considering and debating whether our services should be canceled today - and I told her how much I hated to cancel a service. Then I told her how difficult it was for me to express, and to explain, why.

Perhaps it is the thought that God's Name will not be praised and glorified in our church this Sunday morning.
Perhaps it is the thought that the Gospel will not be preached in our church this Sunday morning.
Perhaps it is the thought that those within our church family may decide that it is easier to sleep in then to open their Bibles, go to the Lord in prayer, or worship Him on this day that He has made.
Perhaps it is the thought that this may have been the day someone heard the encouragement that they needed or felt the love that they needed to carry help them manage the burdens of life.
Perhaps it is that thought that thousands within our community have never accepted the truth of Jesus Christ in their lives and that they will not have the opportunity to enter a church to do so this Sunday.
Or perhaps it is all of the above and so much more!

So, this morning, as I wait for the snow to begin - I will go and read my Bible, I will pray with my family, I will worship the Lord through song and through the life that He has given me on this day that He has created. And, I will leave everything in God's hands. This is not my problem to worry over and it is not mine to solve.

We Ask "Why?"

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:8)

This past Sunday evening I taught on the book of Job. Several thought come to mind as a person begins to read the book of Job. One question that I have been struck by time and time again; "What would come from a conversation between God and Satan concerning me?" Of Job God called him a servant, a blameless man, an upright man, a man who fears God and shuns evil, and said that there is no one like him in all the earth. 

If you have read the account of Job you know that this blameless, upright, God-fearing man was tested and tried - he lost his wealth, his home, his family, and his health. Yet, through all of this - even when his friends and his wife encouraged him to - Job did not lose his faith in God. 

There is an important thing to remember as we read the account of Job, we are privy to a conversation between God and Satan that Job never was. We see the details and hear the reasoning behind the suffering that perhaps Job never did. Perhaps Job felt as though God was cursing him and surely he felt as though the lot that life was giving him and the lot that God was allowing him to handle was not fair. Yet, he did not curse God and he did not lose his faith in Him. 

Looking at Job, watching him suffer and wrestle with the reality of his situation we find that it was because Job was "blameless and upright" and because he was "a man that fears God and shuns evil", this is why God chose Job to be the one to suffer - the one to face these cruel tests and unfair trials. 

Weekly I sit and hear of cruel tests that people are undergoing, horrible suffering that is going on, unfair trials that are being faced, burdens that seem almost unbearable. Daily we cry out to God, humbly bowing before His Almighty throne and boldly asking the question; "WHY?" And as we ask the question we are confronted with the truth; God is God and we are not. 

I know that you can do all things no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand. things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. (Job 42:2-5)

Sunday

This past Sunday a gentleman walked to the front of the church. He picked up the microphone and smiled. As music began to fill the Sanctuary he began to sing...

"I'm a thief, I'm a lier, I'm a murder..."

Fearfully, a six year old screams out from the back "what's he doing here?