National Day of Prayer

The Bible calls us the Body of Christ and calls us to prayer every day.   Here in the United States, the government calls us to prayer just one day a year, The National Day of Prayer. 

There are three ways everyone in the Body of Christ can get involved this year.  This has been an opportunity for us in the United States since 1952. However the Bible has always encouraged both national as well as individual repentance.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) 

Prayer not only brings us closer to God it brings us closer to each other.  The Body of Christ has the unique responsibility to call on God to forgive us of our sins and restore us to the Nation that was founded on His name.

#1 GO TO YOUR LOCAL CHURCH AND PRAY!

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”   (Mark 11:17) Think what it would be like if our churches across our cities, counties, states and the nation each became known as a house of prayer!    Talk with your pastor, make sure that there is some opportunity for your congregation to gather and pray on Thursday, May 4th.  Go with your family and friends!  Post the name of your church and any activity here!

#2 PRAY IN JESUS NAME       #PRAYINJESUSNAME

Jesus said,  “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20)   All too often, Christians are intimidated to pray in public in Jesus name. This is unfortunate as we have assurance of God’s presence and his provision when we pray in the name of Jesus.  On May 4th, use the hashtag #PrayInJesusName along with any @NationalPrayer social media tags you may be using on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.  Let people know you are praying for the country, for our leaders, our nation and for persecuted Christians worldwide.

#3 WEAR THE CROSS

Our First Amendment gives us religious liberty including the ability to exercise our faith in public, at work and in our schools. Wear a cross on a chain, your shirt, your label or on your hat!   Wearing a Cross or Crucifix has been determined a “reasonable accommodation” for employers and other institutions.   If we don’t exercise our religious liberties, we will eventually lose them.

The National Day of Prayer was established to communicate clearly with every American the need for personal repentance and prayer.

IT’S TIME WE DEMONSTRATE THE UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST BY COMING TOGETHER AND PRAYING ON AMERICA’S NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER.

Join us in helping spread the word!   Tell your church, tell your friends.  Sign up here! 

Paid Holidays

It’s interesting how busy we can get around the holidays. I’ve observed that where you work or if you work doesn’t really matter when it comes to keeping busy.  Some people work retail (where you have to work during the holidays) while some get paid holidays.  They both stay busy as does the fortunate few that don’t have to work but still find the holidays as busy times with gift buying, travel and entertainment.

Being really busy may be great for the companies, the stores and the people that want you to buy the products or use their services.   There are sales on everything from computers to cars, from tablets to toys.  Restaurants, hotels and the highways are full with people eating, drinking, dining, vacationing and driving….hopefully not all at the same time.

Not the way they were supposed to be.....

Holidays weren't supposed to be like that.   There was a time when most people worked a minimum of six and often seven days a week.   As much of the economy was based on agriculture, there was always a field that needed attending or an animal that needed to be brought in or taken out. Holidays and Feasts were designed to change that routine, to rest, if just for a few days. 

Many of the holidays in ancient Israel for example were tied to the seasons and associated with different harvests.   The Passover is celebrated at the time of the ancient celebration of Pesach.  Pesach was the early spring harvest of barley.   The Succoth, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, was a late summer celebration of the wheat harvest.   These were times to pause and remember the blessings of the Lord.  While there was always some busyness associated with these holidays, they were to be different than the busyness of everyday.

Our holidays in the United States (i.e. Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Christmas, President’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, etc.) all started with the honor and purpose of the remembrance but also a pause…..a time off from work and the routines of life.  

Three-day weekends

Interestingly, the government has tried to move these holidays when possible to Monday to embrace a three-day weekend.  Unfortunately, the effort to create more ‘free time’ has actually created even more busyness as we now have the opportunity to think bigger, travel further and experience even more.

I’m old enough to remember that stores were typically closed on Sunday and most businesses were closed both Saturday and Sunday.    There was a time when looking to the future meant even more leisure time for working people and families.  I’m afraid the present trend is even more busyness. 

In your time of busyness, pause for just a moment to remember what we are celebrating and be sure to thank God as well for the many blessings we all enjoy.

Commitment takes commitment!

The phrase ‘overnight success’ is all too often applied by the news and general public but rarely embraced by the people that are the so-called overnight successes.   Rarely does success happen overnight.    A video on YouTube may go viral and for a brief moment have lots of people viewing it but it hardly merits the word ‘success.’

Success is typically only achieved over time.  Because it is often a lengthily process the necessary ingredient includes commitment.

Commitment is more than a one-time decision; it is only proven over time.   In a way, you could say that commitment itself requires a commitment.

I have a number of friends that have decided to change the direction of their lives and are determined to do something that is altogether more satisfying, likely has more of a lasting impact and sometimes provides a financial payout.  This last result, the financial payout, is usually the least of the motivating factors.

While we measure success often in terms of dollars and cents, most of the successful people didn’t start off with the dollar objective as the primary motivating factor. If they did, they often would have lacked the commitment to be able to commit themselves to the long-term effort required to be successful.

We recently celebrated Thanksgiving and most people are aware of the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.  However at that first Thanksgiving, of the eighteen adult women that survived the journey on the Mayflower, thirteen died the first winter and another died in the spring leaving only four to help prepare the feast.

I’m an annual pass holder at Walt Disney World here in Florida and I’ve had the opportunity to go through the exhibit that highlights both the success as well as the early failure of Walt Disney.  He had the commitment to commit himself to finding the recipe for his ultimate success.

Successful people make the commitment to learn, to grow, to ask the necessary questions so that they can improve their ideas, their management style and take advantages of opportunities that come over time.  These opportunities also will require a commitment of time, materials, effort and yes, even more commitment.

Memorial Day and Remembrance

My grandparents called Memorial Day Decoration Day.   Memorial Day dates back to 3 years after the Civil War (before their time) when the head of an organization of Union veterans established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.  It is believed that date of May 30th was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. 

Another interesting story of the origination of Memorial Day is that African Americans, all former slaves, founded Decoration Day at the graveyard of 257 Union soldiers labeled "Martyrs of the Race Course," a few years earlier in Charleston, SC. 

Regardless of the actual beginning for all Americans Memorial Day is a great day to remember those that have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.   This day is a holiday, a day of remembrance, a day to remember "lest we forget".

I remember the very first Men's Study that I participated included a book called “The 12 Stones” and was a study of the book of Joshua.  This is why it was called the "12 Stones" 

4 When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5 He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:4-7)

These stones that Joshua had been told to assemble were memorials.  It was a reminder to the people that God had done something amazing, that the Jordan River had been stopped for the 12 tribes of Israel to cross over. 

When our two kids were very young my wife bought a book written by Shirley Dobson and Gloria Gaither called, “Let’s make a memory”.   These two women encouraged young moms to be sure to make memories, create traditions for the family that the children would remember.  To this day (and my daughter recently confirmed) the kids remember going out to breakfast the first day of school and dad's famous ‘egg sausage souffle’ on Christmas morning.   

The great memories and traditions are like vacation souvenirs without the dust.

The Bible has more to say about making memories

Deuteronomy 4:9: "But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of our your life; make them known to your children and your children's children." 

I've had a little time to think about it and likely there are three really good reasons that we are reminded to remember..

1. Traditions, memories and memorials help us remember the past.   The significant milestones. including graduations, the birth of children, family vacations, holidays…all help us remember the blessings and good times.  Even the scars on our hands and knees, the previous wounds that have healed help remind us of faithfulness, our healing and restoration.  These all represent and remind us of both the good and the bad that make us who we are
2. Remembering keeps us grounded in the present.   One of the more common movie and TV plots are protraying people with amnesia.  It's always amusing to see all of the problems they get into.  Our remembering keeps us present.  We all have tasks to accomplish, friends and colleagues we interact with daily and much that needs to be accomplished.  We need to remember who we are and what we are called to do.
3. Remembering the past and being grounded in the present keeps us focused on our future.   All of us are headed towards eternity and keeping that in focus provides clarity and comfort in the present.    I remember my first trip to Europe,  I didn’t get to fly business class with my boss and his boss but I flew coach.  It was small plane but the trip passed quickly without much discomfort as I knew where I was going.    It needs to be the same for us with regard to eternity.  

Hebrews 12:1-3 summarizes this opportunity

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.