Praying to be great

Matthew 18

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

On Thursdays my grandson Oscar, who is now 11 months old, comes to our house. On Friday’s I work on the debris-field he leaves behind. If greatness in the kingdom is like Oscar, here is what I should be like: passionate curiosity; endless joy in simple repetition; zero self-consciousness; bouncing up each time I fall down; total ignorance of convention; vivid emotions right near the surface; transparent expression of happiness and sadness; and in the end a great relief in going home. Jesus gives us a lot of table-turning, inside-outing, mind-bending images, but this has to be the topper. Want to be great in God’s eyes? Forget all the noble biographies and hero-worship movies. Try to find your inner-Oscar (or Oscarina) and live that way with all the enthusiasm you can possibly muster. And enjoy the weird looks you get all day long.

Lord, when I think about it, you lived like a little child and it drove all the adults crazy. Help me just live this passage and not even try to understand it. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying to know God better

Matthew 10

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Jesus says these words to his raw recruits as he sends them out to villages he himself will soon visit. Before we begin any project, venture or day, the most important questions we could possibly ask is: what is God like? I know that sounds strange, but I think that’s what Jesus is driving at. If we begin with an analysis of the difficulties or of our own sufficiency, we’re likely to be discouraged. But if we start with what God is like, everything changes. Here is what Jesus tells them and us about God: he knows and cares about everything. Sparrows don’t mean much to us, but God is conscious of each member of the global population of sparrows, and of the warblers, finches, hawks, etc…. as well as the moths, beetles, worms, etc. God has an exact count of your hair strands — in other words God knows more about you than you know about yourself. Do you see why that changes everything? It may seem like you are alone and God is off dealing with more important stuff, but in reality that’s not what God is like. Your God is intimate, personal and paying attention. Live today with that comfort …. and that accountability.

Lord thank you for paying close attention to me. I want to make the most of this day. Expand my brain to take in the thought that you are with me every second of it. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying for change

John 3

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Today in D.C. is the memorial service for Chuck Colson. As an idealistic young man, I went to Washington after Watergate to fight people like Colson. But then God intervened. Chuck became a hero of mine as God transformed his gifts and attitudes in such a way that he ended up serving tens of the thousands of prisoners and their families around the world. I want to honor his memory in two ways. First by acknowledging a few Minnesota friends (named Al and Lee and Chet and Wally) who came along side Chuck and loved and prayed him through all the ups and downs of recovery and ministry. And second by remembering these words of Jesus to Nicodemus that state Jesus’ unequivocal conclusion that people can change. In 1974, no one dreamed what Chuck would become or accomplish. The same God who got a hold of Chuck and used him mightily can get a hold of you and me, too. Ready and willing to change?

Lord thank you for the beautiful example of Chuck Colson’s life, for his human friends and his divine friend Jesus. Help me embrace the possibility of change in my own life and what you can do with a fully yielded me. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying to press on

Philippians 3

¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Paul had been beaten and jailed in this town of Philippi. While he and his friends were singing hymns in the dark, they were miraculously released. So the first recipients of this letter had already seen Paul live out what he is talking about. One of the differences between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing Jesus is experiencing his power. And Jesus’ M.O. is to show us the power when we need it most. A piece of wisdom created by soldiers in WWI was the difference between a hero and a coward: the hero is brave one minute longer. Whatever you are facing, use it as an opportunity to know Jesus by pressing on and being brave until Jesus’ power arrives.

Lord I know that the heart of any relationship is trust. No matter how tough things get, I will keep trusting you. I ask you to help me at my point of need: so I can know you better ….so we can be closer than ever… and so others can see our power and want to know you too. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying to go

Matthew 24

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

These are the last words of Matthew’s gospel, and he gives us this succinct closing charge of Jesus to the closest followers. A few points really stand out to me. First, although he is giving them (and us) an important task, he retains the authority. We can only do what he says as employees, not as the bosses. The direction of the Holy Spirit and the secular forces of history are going to take these eleven to India, Rome, Turkey and all over. And followers of Jesus are going be created where ever they go. Ironically, just as Jesus-with-a-body is disappearing, he tells them he will “always” be with them. “With” may be the Bible’s key preposition. We are part of this holy diaspora. As you go to work, school, stores, the gym or wherever today, believe God is sending you as part of a sovereign plan. Believe God is with you and that as you conspicuously live out Jesus’ commandment to love God and your neighbors, that others will want to follow too.

Lord help me make the leap from that ancient hillside to my regular Monday morning. Send me out as your employee and ambassador this morning. I will count on you to be with me as I try my best to do it right.  Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying for moms

John 19

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

This is one of the beautiful details the ugly crucifixion story, told by (I believe) eyewitness John. In Jesus’ abundant life of love, this is one of his most generous acts. It is significant that almost all the bold, adventurous guys have deserted Jesus, but these four women are with him ’til the end, or what they thought was the end. This act of Jesus, in agony on the cross, to do a divine adoption ceremony whereby John and Mary are bound for the rest of their lives is an amazing act of kindness for his mom and an amazing contribution to the subsequent life of leadership for John. When I visited Ephesus in western Turkey, where John became the bishop, they pointed out what they thought was Mary’s house up on the hill. Many think one of Dr. Luke’s sources for the intimate details of his gospel is Mary herself. On the day when we especially honor mothers, Jesus shows us how. Moms need and deserve our attention when we’re at our busiest. And maybe Jesus is pointing out a mom somewhere he wants you to adopt.

Lord thank you for the sacred relationships that define life on this planet. Thank you for the moms each of us have, biological and otherwise. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying for the kingdom

Matthew 13

³¹He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³²Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” ³³He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Jesus came to reveal God and put a lot of effort into trying to convince us what life is under God’s sovereignty. This idea of the kingdom is a place that seems to have its own physics, its own law and economics and math. Jesus tells us about it through images and stories to show us it’s not entirely an extra-terrestrial concept, but hidden all around us. Every apple seed has the potential of an orchard in it. Every jar of yeast has millions of loaves of bread in it. That’s because one of the central features of the kingdom is exponential growth. Little tiny things become huge under God’s loving care. You are a seed. You are a pinch of yeast. Don’t buy into the lie you don’t matter. In God’s eyes you can be the start of something very, very big. Seeds and yeast are too simple–grasp how crazy that truth is and grow anyway.

Really Lord? Something huge and nourishing and productive that starts with my little faith? If you say so. Let’s do this. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying to do what God wants

Matthew 21

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Only Matthew tells us about this harsh encounter between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem, a few days before the Cross. Jesus tells a simple story with an outrageous conclusion to try to reach the people who are about to kill him. In the world of faith, these two imaginary siblings are kind of a universal pair. A lot of us talk a good game, like the second brother, but our results are minimal. And then there are some, like the first brother, who for a time refuse God, but eventually obey. As Jesus is telling this story, he probably has a now-faithful tax collection (Matthew) and a now-faithful prostitute (Mary Magdalen?) standing right behind him. Jesus has used two despised groups of people to show up the pillars of the community. Which of the two brothers do you resemble? The talker or the doer? I’ve been more the talker lately (ok… for the last 25 years), but the chance to turn and obey is always there.

Lord I welcome you to challenge my delusions about myself. What I say doesn’t really matter. Today I will go into the vineyard of my life and do what you told me to do: love you with everything I’ve got and love the neighbors I encounter today. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying to make the most of today

Ephesians 5

¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God….

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live —not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Paul wrote this letter to his favorite church in Ephesus from a jail cell in Rome. In between these verses and for the rest of the chapter, Paul talks about all the evils the days are full of. We do especially live in a time of aggressive temptation, as every human flaw seems to have been commercialized, but it’s always been the same: life is about making moral choices. I’m thankful that God’s main plan to make us more moral was not an explanation, but an example: a perfect example in the life of Jesus. In short, Jesus was the most moral person who ever lived because his life was so full of doing the right things that the wrong ones had zero room to grow. Paul was a pretty good example too, and I think he autobiographically describes his own life: “making the most of every opportunity.” For me, it never works to say “I’m not going to do that … not going to do it…. not going to do it.” But when my life is full of love and sacrifice, I find that the difficult moral choices are made before they ever get presented.

Lord your will is love. I want to be so occupied with following your loving example that I give the evils of the day no shot. I will make the most of every opportunity I have today to love. Amen.

~by Steve Moore

Praying to not be troubled, but believe

John 14

¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Jesus said these words just before heading off to Gethsemane, arrest, torture and death on the cross. It’s a tall order for the disciples to not be troubled in the face of what was about to happen. But he said it. It seems our hearts are prone to being troubled, but according to Jesus: only when we let them. Jesus asks them to do something else with their hearts instead: believe. We face the same choice hourly: being troubled or believing. How does believing avoid troubledness? By getting us to focus on the unseen love and provision of God instead of the obvious difficulty in front of us. If you are dealing with death, sickness, money problems, separation or one of the other common plagues of humankind, I think Jesus is saying: ‘Don’t be troubled…. believe.’ God is more real that your circumstances. And God’s long term plan is miles better than your current fears. Believe that and change your heart; and then face what comes.

Lord thanks for letting us listen in on how you comforted your friends during their worst hours. Help me realize that being troubled is optional and preventable. I believe you’ve got me and that matters more than any grief or pain I face right now. Amen.

~by Steve Moore