I was having a really great conversation with a friend of mine last week about faith, love and discipleship, and there came a point in our long discussion when the idea of dangerous prayer came up.
Dangerous Prayers are the kind of prayers I think we all need to pray more often, but are too afraid to pray. They are prayers that, in reality, are not actually *dangerous* per se- we aren't going to get murdered or accidentally blow up a bridge because of them, usually- but they are risky, in that God's answer to them is going to challenge the heck out of us! The example I was using at the time was in reference to praying for one's future spouse. This is a discipline I took up about a year ago, that I will regularly pray that God is preparing for me a wife who is godly, passionate, fertile, healthy, and going to challenge me a lot in my faith. I would call this a dangerous prayer because I am literally asking God to put me into a difficult relationship, because I just don't think I want something easy. But that's a story for another day.
Since we're talking about Dangerous Prayers today, I thought I would list a few others, and challenge you guys to pray some of them from time to time! :)
Pray for God to convict you of your sin. I figure this is a good place to start. It sounds pretty straightforward, but for a lot of people, the idea of *asking* Him to point out sin in their life is a terrifying thing. It's akin to asking your boss or supervisor what you can improve on at work. You just know there's going to be some stuff in there that you hoped nobody would notice, or that you were putting off fixing because of how difficult it is. And that's why this is a dangerous prayer, because it is so challenging, but so so worth it!
Pray for humbling experiences. This is one that I need to do more often, because it scares the heck out of me. Asking God to humble us is like a branch manager asking the CEO to make him receptionist for awhile- humility comes out of situations where we are lower, where pride is hard to come by. It is a good feeling being exalted, acknowledged publicly for good works, given a position of high importance, it all makes you feel more worthwhile. But the experiences that grow our character most and bring us closer to God are often the ones that are humble, behind the scenes and go unnoticed. This prayer is dangerous, especially for leaders, because it challenges our pride and invites us to step out of the spotlight and into the bathrooms with a mop.
"Break my heart for what breaks Yours" I couldn't come up with a way to phrase this one, so I'm just giving it to you as is. Asking God to help us see things the way He sees them is a dangerous prayer, but an amazing one. Often we see people who are so compassionate that we are blown away, and we wonder how they do it. It's because God has given them the gift of compassion, and they are able to see people and situations in a different, more holy light. This prayer is dangerous because it first takes acknowledging that we have built up so many expectations and biases that we are, in that sense, very disconnected from God; and also because having such compassion can move people in incredibly unexpected ways. Ready to do a lot more crying? If you're not, pray for humility first, then pray this one ;)
These are just a few examples of the dangerous prayers we can pray, but I'd like to challenge you to think of a few more, and start praying them from time to time! :) I read a book awhile back and am blanking on the title and author, but they listed quite a few and I just loved it. So if I find that, I'll come back and edit this post, but until then, that is all I've got! :)
Blessings,
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Bible in a Year: Week 6
This week, the majority (if not the entirety) of the Old Testament readings involved graphic description of the temple (see most of the second half of Exodus).
I was considering writing up a three-hundred page report about that, but then I decided I would talk about something else instead. You're welcome.
Today I want to take a look at Psalm 34:1-10.
As a student, I find it challenging at times to live out my faith at school. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm barely ever at school to begin with, but the rushed lifestyle of a student makes it difficult to find time to minister to your classmates and such. But we are called to bless the Lord at all times and continually have His praise in our mouths. So this kind of passage, for me, is both a fantastic reminder of God's promise and His love and gifts for us, and also a push to be more intentional about taking whatever time I can to reach out to my peers and share the gospel with them. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do that yet, but it's something I will be praying about over the next couple of weeks.
So I'd like to challenge you to do the same- find an area in your life where you're having difficulty shining His light, and ask Him to show you how you can make a difference there!
Shalom,
I was considering writing up a three-hundred page report about that, but then I decided I would talk about something else instead. You're welcome.
Today I want to take a look at Psalm 34:1-10.
As a student, I find it challenging at times to live out my faith at school. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm barely ever at school to begin with, but the rushed lifestyle of a student makes it difficult to find time to minister to your classmates and such. But we are called to bless the Lord at all times and continually have His praise in our mouths. So this kind of passage, for me, is both a fantastic reminder of God's promise and His love and gifts for us, and also a push to be more intentional about taking whatever time I can to reach out to my peers and share the gospel with them. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to do that yet, but it's something I will be praying about over the next couple of weeks.
So I'd like to challenge you to do the same- find an area in your life where you're having difficulty shining His light, and ask Him to show you how you can make a difference there!
Shalom,
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Hardcore Brokenness: The Examined Life
Warning: I am probably going to get a little philosophical today. You've been warned. Completely.
For the past month, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my own flaws and brokenness, in an effort to better understand the things that keep me from growing in my relationship with God. It's been an interesting process, and definitely rewarding and insightful, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's actually a healthy way to go about things.
Don't get me wrong- it's definitely a good idea to be aware of the areas where you're struggling, so that you can bring them to God and lay them before Him in full submission to His grace and glory, and ask Him to be at work in you to change them. What I'm not sure about is whether or not it is a good idea to carefully examine one's own life on such a regular basis, with the goal of being critical and trying to improve.
Plato gives this analogy about life in a cave- you spend your whole life living in said cave, understanding it on a purely physical level, then one day you somehow come out of that cave, and are given incredible insights into the 'real world' outside. Then you're sucked back into the cave, and you're forced to go back into your regular life while simultaneously being made aware and conscious of the world outside, only nobody believes you because "that's too meta bro"
This raises the question about whether or not ignorance is truly bliss- would you be happier to keep living your simple, monotonously cave-life, or to have your eyes opened to the truth and the things beyond but to have them unattainable because you're thrown back into the cave again?
All this to say, I've been reading philosophy textbooks recently and they got me thinking (as they are wont to do) about whether or not this series is actually good for me, and if I'm going about it the right way or not. I think if I continue to live 'the examined life' and *intentionally* reflect on things like this, all I'm really doing is being overly critical of myself and not letting God just call me out on things, which makes it feel all too artificial.
That being said, I'm going to discontinue this series as a regular, weekly thing. I may come back to it from time to time, but only when it flows naturally and comes from legitimate places. I will still continue the trend of having a new post up every Wednesday, however, so do keep checking back for more!
Yours in Christ,
For the past month, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my own flaws and brokenness, in an effort to better understand the things that keep me from growing in my relationship with God. It's been an interesting process, and definitely rewarding and insightful, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's actually a healthy way to go about things.
Don't get me wrong- it's definitely a good idea to be aware of the areas where you're struggling, so that you can bring them to God and lay them before Him in full submission to His grace and glory, and ask Him to be at work in you to change them. What I'm not sure about is whether or not it is a good idea to carefully examine one's own life on such a regular basis, with the goal of being critical and trying to improve.
Plato gives this analogy about life in a cave- you spend your whole life living in said cave, understanding it on a purely physical level, then one day you somehow come out of that cave, and are given incredible insights into the 'real world' outside. Then you're sucked back into the cave, and you're forced to go back into your regular life while simultaneously being made aware and conscious of the world outside, only nobody believes you because "that's too meta bro"
This raises the question about whether or not ignorance is truly bliss- would you be happier to keep living your simple, monotonously cave-life, or to have your eyes opened to the truth and the things beyond but to have them unattainable because you're thrown back into the cave again?
All this to say, I've been reading philosophy textbooks recently and they got me thinking (as they are wont to do) about whether or not this series is actually good for me, and if I'm going about it the right way or not. I think if I continue to live 'the examined life' and *intentionally* reflect on things like this, all I'm really doing is being overly critical of myself and not letting God just call me out on things, which makes it feel all too artificial.
That being said, I'm going to discontinue this series as a regular, weekly thing. I may come back to it from time to time, but only when it flows naturally and comes from legitimate places. I will still continue the trend of having a new post up every Wednesday, however, so do keep checking back for more!
Yours in Christ,
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Hardcore Brokenness: An Intro to 2012
What a cheerful way to start the new year!
Over the last couple of days, God has been convicting me hardcore of my own brokenness. I think I had gotten to a point in my walk where I was overconfident. I felt like I was doing so many things right that I could get away with not dealing with issues in my character. Over the last couple of days, I have made a couple of bad decisions, most small and unnoticeable, but all of them enough to make me think twice about them after.
I think over the last few years, I have always been aware that God was up to things in my life. I was always aware of what 'season' my life was in- be it a season of growth in leadership, or knowledge, or giftings- but I always just attributed that to 'what God is doing while I sit back and watch things happen.' It's always been about noticing the trends in the things that I'm learning about and trying to think about how to apply those things in my life. What I realized is that never have I felt like I had to really do anything for any of this to happen- it was just a matter of blindly trusting God to work through me. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that kind of faith.
But what was missing was intentionality on my part. It's always been about sitting back and letting things happen, and never about being the co-pilot. It was lazy. Lazy growth. It's like planting a flower in a spot that gets perfect sunlight and is conveniently placed right under a drop of water that falls like once or twice a week, just enough to give it the hydration and nourishment it needs to grow, then going inside and watching it happen. It's like buying those little cups of microwavable Kraft Dinner instead of getting a box and cooking it yourself (or, you know, making real mac 'n' cheese, but whatever).
Over the last few days, I've felt God really convicting me of my need to be more intentional about dealing with the issues in my character. 2012 is definitely going to be a season of growth in that area for me. I expect this year to break me. God's going to tear me in half, have me in tears, punch me in the kidney and break my heart at least once. I also expect this year to yield incredible results. I expect God to pull up all the things I've let harden my heart, to bring things out of the darkness and into the light, and to show me how to become a better servant in His Kingdom, starting with the way I am in my heart.
So I'm going to invite you to open up to Him this year: Ask him to break you. Take the chance. I'll be praying for this every day. I fully expect to be an emotional wreck within the next month or two. Exciting! Expect a post about this every Wednesday! There will also be other stuff at random times, but I am trying to be more regular about my posts, so you can check back every Wednesday for a new post about how God's changing my attitude this year, as well as at other, less planned times in the week for just general postings.
Prayerfully yours,
Tom
Over the last couple of days, God has been convicting me hardcore of my own brokenness. I think I had gotten to a point in my walk where I was overconfident. I felt like I was doing so many things right that I could get away with not dealing with issues in my character. Over the last couple of days, I have made a couple of bad decisions, most small and unnoticeable, but all of them enough to make me think twice about them after.
I think over the last few years, I have always been aware that God was up to things in my life. I was always aware of what 'season' my life was in- be it a season of growth in leadership, or knowledge, or giftings- but I always just attributed that to 'what God is doing while I sit back and watch things happen.' It's always been about noticing the trends in the things that I'm learning about and trying to think about how to apply those things in my life. What I realized is that never have I felt like I had to really do anything for any of this to happen- it was just a matter of blindly trusting God to work through me. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that kind of faith.
But what was missing was intentionality on my part. It's always been about sitting back and letting things happen, and never about being the co-pilot. It was lazy. Lazy growth. It's like planting a flower in a spot that gets perfect sunlight and is conveniently placed right under a drop of water that falls like once or twice a week, just enough to give it the hydration and nourishment it needs to grow, then going inside and watching it happen. It's like buying those little cups of microwavable Kraft Dinner instead of getting a box and cooking it yourself (or, you know, making real mac 'n' cheese, but whatever).
Over the last few days, I've felt God really convicting me of my need to be more intentional about dealing with the issues in my character. 2012 is definitely going to be a season of growth in that area for me. I expect this year to break me. God's going to tear me in half, have me in tears, punch me in the kidney and break my heart at least once. I also expect this year to yield incredible results. I expect God to pull up all the things I've let harden my heart, to bring things out of the darkness and into the light, and to show me how to become a better servant in His Kingdom, starting with the way I am in my heart.
So I'm going to invite you to open up to Him this year: Ask him to break you. Take the chance. I'll be praying for this every day. I fully expect to be an emotional wreck within the next month or two. Exciting! Expect a post about this every Wednesday! There will also be other stuff at random times, but I am trying to be more regular about my posts, so you can check back every Wednesday for a new post about how God's changing my attitude this year, as well as at other, less planned times in the week for just general postings.
Prayerfully yours,
Tom
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New Year's Eve
Well, it's the 31st of December, 2011, and you know what that means: It's New Year's Eve! As of about 7 or 8 hours ago, there have been people partying in various time zones to celebrate a new year, all over the world! (Except maybe China. They'll get theirs in February)
People have been asking me all week if I'm excited for the new year. I think I definitely am, and I think a part of the reasoning behind that is that I was a little unsatisfied with 2011. Or at least, this is what I have convinced myself of. So, I've decided I'm going to write a post reflecting on ten things that were particularly great about 2011, so that I can look back fondly and not remain convinced that it was mediocre!
1. 2011 was a big year for me in terms of blogging stuff- in that, so far, it was the ONLY year for me! So that's kind of exciting! I have had over 1600 hits since I started writing in June, and that number just keeps growing! Thanks to all of my readers, regular or occasional, for making that possible!
2. I turned 18 this year! (This is the part where anyone reading my blog who *didn't* know how young I am goes "what?!") I am now officially old enough to be considered an adult, to vote, to buy alcohol (at least in Montreal) and to gamble! I don't particularly want to do most of those things, but it's still nice to have options!
3. I met an amazing Australian, Nathan Royters, who is totally awesome, on fire for Christ, and I'm excited to say will be moving in with me this summer when he gets back to Montreal!
4. Emmaus got a rector! In June/July (I forget at this point) we were blessed with the arrival of Keith Ganzer, a fantastic preacher and all-around cool guy who's been a really great addition to our community.
5. I got a laptop! And just in time too- I got this thing and about a week later, my desktop PC decided it hated itself and died. It's not beyond the point of fixing, I'm just too lazy and not computer-savvy enough to deal with it. Maybe that will be another goal for 2012...
6. I went to Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp for the first time ever, and met a whole bunch of really amazing people! Shout-outs to Mark Latulipe, Paulo Gonzales, Liam Julien, Mike Still and all the others!
7. Thanks to Mark, I got my first real job! I've been a proud member of the Braxon team since September, cleaning carpets and such, along with Paulo! I also got another job, as the janitor at St Stephen's Anglican Church in Westmount, so I guess this year has been a really good one in terms of work stuff.
8. I also started an acapella band, the Brovertones, with Paulo, Nathan, Tim Blais and Josiah Henderson! So far we've only really worked on one song, and only three of us were there for it, but it sounds really great and it's better than nothing, I think!
9. I wrote a song! And while it's true that I was hoping to be done with it back in July and am still ironing out some kinks, I'm happy to say it will definitely be ready for release sometime in the next month or two, recorded and everything! So keep an eye out for that!
10. Last but certainly not least, I got to spend even more time working with the lovely kids at the Emmaus Youth Group. I've known most of them since before I was their age, so it's been such a blessing watching them grow up and being able to be a part of their lives!
So, after writing all that, I am no longer convinced that 2011 was a mediocre year. It was pretty darned exciting actually! And I'm even more excited to see what God has in store for me in 2012.
Cheers,
Tom
People have been asking me all week if I'm excited for the new year. I think I definitely am, and I think a part of the reasoning behind that is that I was a little unsatisfied with 2011. Or at least, this is what I have convinced myself of. So, I've decided I'm going to write a post reflecting on ten things that were particularly great about 2011, so that I can look back fondly and not remain convinced that it was mediocre!
1. 2011 was a big year for me in terms of blogging stuff- in that, so far, it was the ONLY year for me! So that's kind of exciting! I have had over 1600 hits since I started writing in June, and that number just keeps growing! Thanks to all of my readers, regular or occasional, for making that possible!
2. I turned 18 this year! (This is the part where anyone reading my blog who *didn't* know how young I am goes "what?!") I am now officially old enough to be considered an adult, to vote, to buy alcohol (at least in Montreal) and to gamble! I don't particularly want to do most of those things, but it's still nice to have options!
3. I met an amazing Australian, Nathan Royters, who is totally awesome, on fire for Christ, and I'm excited to say will be moving in with me this summer when he gets back to Montreal!
4. Emmaus got a rector! In June/July (I forget at this point) we were blessed with the arrival of Keith Ganzer, a fantastic preacher and all-around cool guy who's been a really great addition to our community.
5. I got a laptop! And just in time too- I got this thing and about a week later, my desktop PC decided it hated itself and died. It's not beyond the point of fixing, I'm just too lazy and not computer-savvy enough to deal with it. Maybe that will be another goal for 2012...
6. I went to Crosstalk Ministries' Senior Youth Camp for the first time ever, and met a whole bunch of really amazing people! Shout-outs to Mark Latulipe, Paulo Gonzales, Liam Julien, Mike Still and all the others!
7. Thanks to Mark, I got my first real job! I've been a proud member of the Braxon team since September, cleaning carpets and such, along with Paulo! I also got another job, as the janitor at St Stephen's Anglican Church in Westmount, so I guess this year has been a really good one in terms of work stuff.
8. I also started an acapella band, the Brovertones, with Paulo, Nathan, Tim Blais and Josiah Henderson! So far we've only really worked on one song, and only three of us were there for it, but it sounds really great and it's better than nothing, I think!
9. I wrote a song! And while it's true that I was hoping to be done with it back in July and am still ironing out some kinks, I'm happy to say it will definitely be ready for release sometime in the next month or two, recorded and everything! So keep an eye out for that!
10. Last but certainly not least, I got to spend even more time working with the lovely kids at the Emmaus Youth Group. I've known most of them since before I was their age, so it's been such a blessing watching them grow up and being able to be a part of their lives!
So, after writing all that, I am no longer convinced that 2011 was a mediocre year. It was pretty darned exciting actually! And I'm even more excited to see what God has in store for me in 2012.
Cheers,
Tom
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Life in a Lava Lamp
So, I'm marathoning the second season of NBC's hit series "Community" today (ah student life, aint it grand!) and just watched an episode where Chevy Chase's character, Pierce, loses his mother. The rest of the characters spend the whole time talking about death and religious beliefs and what happens when people die.
What I think is great about this is that it raises the question of what happens to us when we die- specifically, it deals with the separation between body and soul. In Pierce's case, his fictional "reformed-neo-buddhist" cult has convinced him that his mother's soul has been vaporised and turned into a lava lamp, or something. So this got me thinking- as a Christian, I know that I have salvation in Christ and when He returns at the rapture, I'll be off to Heaven to worship God in eternity. Pretty rad! But what happens in between the death of my earthly body and the second coming of Jesus? Good question!
Let me just say now that I don't claim to have the answer! But I'm super excited for the day that I find out. Last year, our youth group had a sort of panel discussion with the leaders and some guest panel members, and the teens asked questions about the Bible and about faith and stuff. One of the questions that came up was "What happens when we die?" Our guest, Professor Ian Henderson from McGill University's New Testament Studies dept. (and also father of one of our teens), gave an answer of what he imagines death to be like, and I really liked his answer, so I'm going to re-phrase it and talk about it here a little!
Essentially, his idea was that when we die, we lose consciousness (obviously) for whatever amount of time it takes for the rapture to happen, and regain consciousness when it happens. He likened it to the way we feel when we sleep- we sleep for hours and hours, and whether we sleep for two hours or ten, we're not conscious enough to know how long we were out for. So dying is kind of like sleep! We lose consciousness, and when Jesus comes back to earth, we regain that consciousness, and because we weren't conscious that whole time, we all feel like it took the same amount of time. Also, a cool thought- when we wake up from sleep, we are refreshed, and I like to think that when we wake up from death, we are sort of refreshed again, in an even more amazing way!
What do you think about death and life afterward? How do you feel about that sleep analogy? Does your dead mother exist in a vaporized state inside of a lava lamp? Would love to hear your stories!
What I think is great about this is that it raises the question of what happens to us when we die- specifically, it deals with the separation between body and soul. In Pierce's case, his fictional "reformed-neo-buddhist" cult has convinced him that his mother's soul has been vaporised and turned into a lava lamp, or something. So this got me thinking- as a Christian, I know that I have salvation in Christ and when He returns at the rapture, I'll be off to Heaven to worship God in eternity. Pretty rad! But what happens in between the death of my earthly body and the second coming of Jesus? Good question!
Let me just say now that I don't claim to have the answer! But I'm super excited for the day that I find out. Last year, our youth group had a sort of panel discussion with the leaders and some guest panel members, and the teens asked questions about the Bible and about faith and stuff. One of the questions that came up was "What happens when we die?" Our guest, Professor Ian Henderson from McGill University's New Testament Studies dept. (and also father of one of our teens), gave an answer of what he imagines death to be like, and I really liked his answer, so I'm going to re-phrase it and talk about it here a little!
Essentially, his idea was that when we die, we lose consciousness (obviously) for whatever amount of time it takes for the rapture to happen, and regain consciousness when it happens. He likened it to the way we feel when we sleep- we sleep for hours and hours, and whether we sleep for two hours or ten, we're not conscious enough to know how long we were out for. So dying is kind of like sleep! We lose consciousness, and when Jesus comes back to earth, we regain that consciousness, and because we weren't conscious that whole time, we all feel like it took the same amount of time. Also, a cool thought- when we wake up from sleep, we are refreshed, and I like to think that when we wake up from death, we are sort of refreshed again, in an even more amazing way!
What do you think about death and life afterward? How do you feel about that sleep analogy? Does your dead mother exist in a vaporized state inside of a lava lamp? Would love to hear your stories!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)