Who's Responsible for That?

On the day that the Alabama football team will be playing in the BSC Championship game, I thought it was interesting to review what I wrote during Saban's first season at Alabama......

So Monday, Saban ripped into his players as harshly as he has all season.

He questioned their character, he wondered why some of them made choices that led to suspensions, he lambasted the leadership, and then assaulted their commitment to winning.

If football is important to the players, then "they don't disrespect rules and regulations of the organization," Saban said. "What guy would make a choice, if football is really important to him, knowing that it's going to affect him being able to play?"

To him, not enough players are acting as they should, even though the coaches have made a "tremendous effort" to help them do so. The Tide has had to play at least half of its games this season with at least one player suspended.

"Who is responsible for that?" Saban asked.

Birmingham News 11/19/07

These words by Nick Saban made me stop and think about my own relationship with my Saviour. If Jesus and my relationship to Him is really important to me, why would I continue to make choices that would keep me from living the life that God created me to live. God’s tremendous effort resulted in the sacrifice of His only Son so that we might have the opportunity to be free. God ask so little of us- Love the Lord your God with all our heart, soul and mind and love our neighbor as yourself- and yet we continually live our lives as if our relationship to Him is not that important.

As Saban points out, “Who is responsible for that?” I continually try to take control of my life only to find that I fall miserably short of living the life that Jesus calls me to live. Having the power of the Holy Spirit (that same power that raised Jesus from the dead) living within me as a believer requires me to submit to Him daily in order to be who He created me to be….and I AM responsible for that!

If you are going to have healthy relationships, you'll need to spend time alone with God.  For Jesus, time alone wasn't a way of escape; it wasn't a selfish right. It was a conversation.  Even his time alone had a relational strength to it.   He talked to the Father, and he listened to him.  Jesus told the Father what was in his heart, and he listened for what was on the Father's heart.  If you will follow this simple pattern, you will quiet your soul and broaden your perspective.  You will focus your life.  And you will strengthen your relationships through this decision to spend time alone with God. 

The Relationship Principles of Jesus, Tom Holladay

Spending time alone with God has become my heart's desire.  I realized several years ago that God was calling me to a life of prayer and to encourage and challenge others to do the same.  I have come to realize that prayer is not just "conversation with God', but a lifestyle of developing a relationship with Him.  (I like to use the analogy of getting married and marriage...getting married (praying) is an event, but being married (prayer) is a process of developing a relationship that requires time together).

I love to get up early before there is any activity in the house,while things are still quiet and start my day with God.  I also enjoy reviewing my day each night with Him before I drift off to sleep.  But, I have to confess that many days I don't speak with Him regularly during the day, unlesss something or someone prompts me to do so.

 It was almost always late afternoon or early evening when I arrived, and as smoke from the evening cooking fires filtered through the rays of the setting sun, the call of the muezzin (a chanter in a mosque who intones the call to prayer) resounded across the fields, punctuated by the tinkling of the little bells tied to the necks of cows and goats as small boys herded the animals home for the night. 

Stones into School, Greg Mortenton

Adhan is called out by the muezzin in the mosque, sometimes from a minaret, five times a day summoning Muslims for mandatory (fard) prayers (salah). There is a second call known as iqama (set up) that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers. The main purpose behind the loud pronouncement of adhan five times a day in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. Loudspeakers are sometimes installed on minarets for the purpose. Wikipedia

While reading Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, I notice that there is a call to prayer in every walk of life for Muslims-no matter if they are in a large metropolitan city or in the most remote part of the country.   There is even an "app for that": Mobile Muezzin provides a new service to the Muslim community to ease the daily practice of the Islam: any Muslim observant can now download on his mobile phone a Java application that provides prayer hours for each day of the year. Also, everyone stops for daily prayers, from the highest official to those in the fields. 

How will I order my days so that prayer (time alone with God) becomes immeshed in the fabric of my day and not just morning or evening? 

Dear Lord, help me to be joyful always and pray continually; giving thanks in all my circumstances.  Use the Holy Spirit to prompt me during the day to stop and talk with you.  Immanuel, God with us!

One Opportunity at a Time

The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both.

1 John 4:21  The Message

Through his example, Jesus shows us how to love one person at a time.  Jesus could only physically be with one person or group of persons as he walked this earth in his human body.  How did he love?  He didn't spend all night make to-do lists of which people he would show love to the next day.  He didn't have some kind of prioritization grid through which everyone who wanted his love had to pass.  He simply loved people as the opportunity arose during the normal traffic patterns of his life.....Consistent love can only be expressed one opportunity at a time.

  The Relationsip Principles of Jesus, Tom Holladay

During a conversation with some friends at lunch on Christmas, we discussed how many folks I know on the road on which I live.  I meet and talk with them as I walk (which I like to do as often as possible).  Sometimes it's just a quick hello but more often than not, the conversations turn to family or recent events in their lives.

I had a full day of cooking ahead since we planned to have our "big" family dinner the day after Christmas, but felt the need to get outside for a brief walk that morning.  Usually, my walk is with Zoey, Kelsey's dog, toward the farm at the end of the road.  That morning, I decided to walk the other way since Zoey was snuggled up with Kelsey, who was sleeping late.

As only God could do, I ran into a neighbor that was outside moving dirt to make a new driveway beside his house.  I asked him the question that most of us would ask the day after Christmas, "How was your all's Christmas?"  When he answered "terrible", I was caught off-guard.

Sadly, his sister who lived in Georgia was murdered by her husband.  His brother discovered her body and the body of her husband (murder-suicide) the weekend before Christmas.  Oddly enough, I had already heard this story at a gathering on Christmas day, but did not know that it was the sister of my neighbor. As our neighbor recounted the story, I was moved to tears (as anyone would be).  When I asked what I could do for them, he said, "just pray that we will be able to make it through".  God taught me long ago to never walk away from a prayer request, so we prayed together with the dirt-moving machine running right in the middle of the road.

I don't think it was a coincidence that I felt that little nudge to take a walk that morning.  I know that God wanted to pour out His love to my neighbor that day. It had little to do with me (How could I possibly say or do anything that could console someone at a time like that?) but had everything to do with God using me to be his hands, feet and heart.....one opportunity at a time.

Dear Lord, Help me to recognize those opportunities that You provide each and everyday to share Your love. Help us to give way to Your love in our lives so that it can be given to those we meet everyday.  Immanuel-God with us!

He Never Gives Up.....

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7 - 10

Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away.

So he said to his mother, “I am running away.”
"If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you.
For you are my little bunny.

This passage in Psalm 139 always reminds me of the book by Margaret Wise Brown, The Runaway Bunny. I loved reading this book to my girls when they were younger.  I have to wonder if the author had this passage in mind when she wrote the book because it is a wonderful analogy of how God pursues us, no matter where we are in life.

This morning while I was reading Ann Spangler's devotional, Praying the Names of God, I ran across the fourth century prayer called St. Patrick's Breastplate:

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,

Christ be behind me, King of my heart;

Christ be within me, Christ be below me,

Christ be above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,

Christ all around me, shield in the strife;

Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,

Christ in my rising, light of my life.

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,

Christ be behind me, King of my heart;

Christ be within me, Christ be below me,

Christ be above me, never to part.

Check out this beautiful rendition by Angelina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJx_Lu4PymE

Dear Lord, thank you for never giving up on me and pursuing me throughout my life.  Help me to be aware of your presence as I pray the prayer above....Immanuel... God with us.

Just a Few Words....

The things we truly believe emerge day-to-day. It’s the conflicts over who makes the coffee, who cleans up the mess, who gets to go home early, or who gets the biggest piece of pie that test whether it is Christ who lives in us or if we’re still saying, “It is I who live.”

Growing with Purpose: Connecting with God Every Day, by Jon Walker

While I've had one of the best Advent seasons I can remember, Big Red is working hard to divert my attention to one small statement that I read on a facebook post. 

I've struggled over the last couple of years with feelings of being left-out of gatherings or events with people that I considered as friends. Those struggles have resulted in many sessions in prayers of forgiveness as well as lessons learned about being friends with those that might feel the same as I.  As a result of my prayers, God has sent people to me that have filled my heart with love and compassion in ways I could never imagine.

Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throught the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  1 Peter 5:6

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  Ephesians 6:11

So, as I begin this day, I will declare that God orders my day and is in control of my schedule. And, that Big Red will not win by using words to divert my attention (he is always scheming in ways that infuriate me once recognized)!

Thank you, Lord, that you have won the victory over evil. Thank you that we are not fighting flesh and blood (each other) but our struggles are with the evil one and that we have, with the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, the means to overcome.  Help us to relinquish control of our lives (schedules) to those things that you would have us do. Amen

Immanuel, "God with us"—Jesus is the greatest of all the promises of God. In him God's promise to dwell with his people is fulfilled in a way that is more astonishing than anything we could have imagined. But there is more. We are not only to dwell with God but to be indwelt by him through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Praying the Names of God, Anne Spangler, December 18th http://www.crosswalk.com/

In whom you, with the rest, are united together as a living-place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:22

Why does it feel so good to have everyone (family and/or friends) together in your home at the holidays?  What is it about their presence that gives us that feeling of warmth and happiness?

Most of those feelings come from reconnecting (usually through direct conversations) with those whom relationships are important or with those that we have shared some life experiences.  Those connections  and conversations strengthen our souls and give us a sense of belonging. 

I find that if we take the time to be "present" in conversations with others (whether family, friends or strangers), God uses His Holy Spirit to connect our hearts in ways we never imagined.  We can share God's love with others without even knowing it. 

There's been many times over the last several years that God has allowed me to leave a conversation or the visit with a friend with that feeling of warmth and fulfillment.  I have learned (through God's guidance) to slow down and keep my attention on the conversation at hand as well as be "present" without distractions or allowing my mind to race foward....I think some may call it "being in the moment". 

Not only can we have those moments with others (earthly beings), but God allows our hearts to connect with Him through the same type of experience...prayer. 

Immanuel, God with us, help me to be the living-place of Your Holy Spirit as I slow down and allow your Spirit to connect me with those that need to feel Your love.  Keep me mindful that You desire to be in a loving relationship with me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

So, what present do I give Jesus?

I have been challenged to be more intentional about preparing my heart for Jesus during this Advent season. Over the past several weeks, He has been faithful in answering my prayer to give me opportunities to share His love.  As I review each day at night before I drift off to sleep, I have been blessed by recounting the day's activities and those times that were clearly orchestrated by God in response to my prayers.  Spending the night with a friend going through a divorce, a precious conversation with a elderly lady as she recounts some  memories of a friend that has just passed away and an opportunity to serve a group of ladies that are not in my circle of friends are just a few of those opportunities that have come my way.

As Christmas day quickly approaches and I finish my shopping for family and friends, I am challenged this morning to give thought and listen to what will be MY gift to Him. As only God can do, I am led to the following passage in Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?  Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  

After giving my heart to Jesus forty-four years ago, I will ask Him to help me offer these three as my gift to Him this Advent season.