praying it safe.

I used to think that prayers for travel mercies were the devil. Like they belonged in the toilet right next to the prosperity Gospel and copies of Your Best Life Now . Didn't Jesus say that he who seeks to save his life will lose it? 
 
Where are the dangerous prayers? The ones with real moxie, the ones with gut-twisting gumption that tenaciously insist, "Whatever you need to do to take me deeper, Lord... do that." Past every semi-truck as we grip the steering wheel just a little tighter, around every precarious curve, and through every yellow light - to pray in simplest benediction: "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done." More than life, limb, health or heart-break to contend that His will be done; nothing more and nothing less. Instead so often we mechanically let loose from our lips a shallow and faithless "Lord, keep me safe" for little other reason than that we hold our lives so very dear. 

I'm writing as I stare down the barrel of a 42 hour 2,900 mile drive. In fact, by the time this blog is posted we'll be well on our way to Chicago. Maybe it's coincidence that my Bible-reading took me past Ezra yesterday.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.
Ezra 8:21

Now... I'm not taking a 5 month journey by foot. I don't have 1,500 people to look after. I'm not on a mission from the King of Persia. And I don't have the weight of revitalizing an entire nation's faith. No, I'm making a 4-day road-trip home. I'll eat junk-food. I'll listen to good music. And I'll enjoy the company of my girlfriend. 

But how do I reconcile my faith with my very real travel itinerary? I don't want to "be safe" but God knows that for His glory I want to be safe. I want to take every risk and compromise every luxury (even my health) for the advancement of the Gospel, and I'll do it as long and as doggedly as He lets me. I'll take it from Ezra. Who considered the task before Him to be so sacred that he declared a fast, humbled himself, and sought the face of God. He experienced God's goodness very tangibly, every step of the journey. From Babylonia to Jerusalem. 

Revitalizing Hymnody

I love the great hymns of old. 
Masterpieces. Magnetic harmonies. 
Water gushing out like clarion calls to the Great Amen and enfolding from hearts bent low beneath a million tons of reverence. I grew up listening to these… twelve-part harmonies to Oh For A Thousand Tongues To Sing… Organ blaring to Crown Him With Many Crowns. And the words linger on my tongue – even now envisioned in this wandering mind stands resolute the image of King Jesus, and no amount of crowns can do Him justice.

And then every organ player disappeared off the face of the earth. Hymnals gathered dust and eventually found their way into cardboard boxes. The church moved on and those who cared left for smaller congregations. The organ got sold and the hymnals still sit like Andy’s forgotten toys in some dark attic.

I will openly admit - the Church desperately needed to keep up with the times. Overhead projectors and felt-boards truly needed to go. Drums and lights needed to be recognized as legitimate instruments of worship. I mean, every generation of the church needs to find their way in contextualizing the Gospel to the lost, but did we really need to trash the hymns?

All of a sudden instead of chewing on a verse of Come Thou Fount I was handed happy-meal-anthems – one line to be sung Fourteen THOUSAND times at the top of your lungs. You know them and I won’t offend you by listing them. But I also won’t pretend like I don’t love them… Some of my most intimate encounters with God while worshipping Him have been in the midst of meditating on a single thought “You Never Let Go” or “I Belong To You.” They are searing truths that burn their insignia into the flesh of my heart.

I’ve noticed in the last few years, however, a growing hunger for Hymns within the Church. And to my giddy-church-boy surprise Musicians have been responding with a multitudinous mass of re-made hymns being punched out and poured into some very thirsty hearts. They don’t sound exactly the same as when Grandma used to sing them, but they carry with them the same potency, same depth, same reverence for the Almighty.

To name just a few bands doing something new with old hymns:

• Page CXVI

• Wayfarer

• Ascend The Hill

• Kings Kaleidoscope

This may be weird but here’s one last thought: If anyone is looking for a good devotional book, go to your church and ask for a hymnal… and if your church doesn’t have one – then go two blocks to the next church and ask them. Cozy up to a hymn, memorize it, pray it, sing it, live it.

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What’s your favorite hymn?
What’s your favorite re-made hymn?
How often does your church sing hymns?

short-term christianity

Lord, please don't let this be a two-week thing...

Mid-summer Christianity is an odd bird.

Sometimes its stunning to think of.

Sometimes you wanna rip your hair out.

The world is flooded for a few months with a swell of Gospel-carriers. Youth groups in slums you never knew existed. College students, absolutely nuts about Christ, backpacking through Europe and nomadic steppes. Right now there are Christians sharing the Gospel for the first time with someone who is receiving it with joy! Yes, so many haven't heard the name of Christ... and YES, we really blow it in short-term missions... often... but for a few months the American Church hikes up her long jean skirt, gives up Her time and resources, and takes a jab at it. Somewhere between Jesus saying "Go" and Revelation's multi-ethnic worship service, people are going. Albeit clumsily as we go, the Bride walks into the harvest fields and, with shaking knees, obeys.
Yes... I said "jean skirt"... 

Mid-summer Christianity is more than over-seas missions work... ya know? On the outside it looks like Bible camps, men's retreats, church camp-outs, women's conferences, and CREATION FEST. But on the inside it's about taking some serious steps deeper into the heart of God, cozying up to Him, and staying there. It's about experiencing God first-hand and not just learning more about Him.

There are some who will go seeking God in summer events and return broken, beat-up, and alone... sometimes because of sin but often because The Holy Spirit is doing a distinct work on the heart - bidding one to a spiritual intimacy deeper than a tingling of the senses can attain. But most, however seem to experience some new and profound dimension of God's heart that grips and captivates them. We blow off the dust from our Bibles, stick our noses deep in the recesses of forgotten scriptures, and remember how to pray. 

And then...
We come back from our Mid-Summer experience with God, get on our knees and through tears and clenched teeth we scream something like:

Oh God, PLEASE don't let this just be a summer thing!

All the while there's this lump in the back of our throat tossing with fear, "I'm terrified that in a couple weeks my life will not have changed one bit." We pray that prayer hoping in the off-chance that if we scream it loud enough and mean it hard enough God might keep the ball rolling.

I want to press hard on that lump in our throats until we remember that we have unlimited, unconditional, unrestrained, inexplicable access into the presence of God Almighty through Jesus Christ. Any time, any day, any where. 
 
A steady, rhythmic, even-paced, daily walk with God in devotion trumps summer "highs" every time. For the one who walks steadily with their God, the mentality shifts to: All the time, every day, everywhere.

You're not in India anymore... SO? The Lord of The Nations goes with you - walk with Him and the flame in your heart for the lost will grow. You don't have a charismatic preacher letting loose on you for 3 sessions a day... SO WHAT? The God who spoke stars into the sky and breathed your first breath deep into your lungs has something to say to you and will speak if you'll listen!

Your mid-summer event was short term, your faith doesn't need to be.


So push back the lump in your throats my friends. 

Today is a good day to be in the presence of God.
Tomorrow is a good day to burn brighter for the King of Kings. 

Cling to Him. Tightly. 
Cozy up to Him, and never leave.