The Word, Prayer and Worship

I want you to think about an analogy that hopefully will shed light on life. Baseball is a sport that has design, rules, umpires, players, equipment and strategy. If God's Word is the collective knowledge of the game, and prayer is the conversation about how everything fits together, (we might call this the learning curve) then worship is the heart for the game. It is walking on to the field and playing the game for the love of the game. It is the obsession that one eats, sleeps and lives for the game. Today, life is determined by our circumstances, perceived and real, and by the collective shaming of our PC culture. People allow their hearts to be manipulated into places and things that they have no heart for. Once the heart grows cold, then the chaos and violence of idols dominate. Maybe it isn't so much that we need to get back in the game, (this is very important) but what is even more necessary is that we restore the heart for the game. Maybe then we will stop tearing at each other over preferences and being constantly offended.

Prayer and Words

Prayer is supposed to be a way that we get to communicate with the Creator of our Universe. One would think that if we really believed this, the kinds of words we use when we come into that kind of conversation would reflect the relationship that we have. How do we talk to our friends, our enemies, and those we love? What kinds of words and expressions do we use and how often do we even engage or desire to talk with them? Now if we truly believe that God is who He says He is, then we know that whatever words we use, He would know the reality of what we are saying. He would know whether we are trying to flatter, manipulate or just put in time so that we can say we had some words with Him. Meaningful words require a meaningful relationship. Meaningful relationships are not build around constant asking for stuff to better our lives, rather they are designed around mutual love, respect and understanding. Of course all this goes back to community and on what level do we engage and invite people into a conversation about the journey we are on.

Just Words

It seems like words have lost their influence in our image based culture, or have they. Just because we manipulate them and treat them with disrespect does not mean they have lost their power. Remember the little saying we would say as children - sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurts me. If I remember correctly we would say that because someone did say something cruel or hurtful and it was out attempt to feign their impact. I think about all this emotional bantering over politically correct words so that we do not offend. Well if words are not important then why do they offend? Then there are those God words . . . we call the Bible. His Word makes us tribal, hostile, humble and open all at the same time. His Words have a mysterious transforming affect on our behavior. I sense that words have far more power than we let on. It is my beleif that word hurt far more than sticks and stones and take longer to heal.

The Importance of Team (unity)

I'm amazed at the difference that team makes over pure skill. Our daughter has played fast pitch baseball for the last several years for MCHS. Prior to this year they had one of the more talented teams based on skill in the state. They won many of their games but lost a key one here and there to end their season not on top where they should of been. This year, while there are fewer skilled players and a lot more "just average" players, they have a team spirit that unifies and motivates beyond their abilities. They are doing great and are at the top of their division (which all the sports people did not predict) and continue to do amazing things. They have this rare thing called unity and it is a powerful force to be dealt with. They make more than their share of mistakes, but seem to pull through regardless. I'm curious what we choose to define us as a Church. Is it what we are good at (skills) or is it something far more mysterious? Do we obsess over our mistakes or move on in our unity to focus on the mission we are called? God has given us a gift. Paul encourages us to do everything we can to keep the unity given to us by God. Jesus prayed for our unity just before he walked the dark road to his cross. He prayed - Father may they be one as you and I are one so that the world may know me.