Dancing in a Darkening World

Praying By The Rules

firedancer — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:14:23 +0000

Son, a couple days ago we were talking about prayer. I want to follow up on that. You see, it’s important that you get this straight in your heart and mind before anybody tries to confuse you with a lot of man-made rules and opinions and nonsense. Like so many other things in life, people tend to make prayer more complicated than it needs to be. And I know sometimes at church it seems like the folks who pray out loud are performing for the crowd or trying to impress God with what they say. Sometimes it even seems like they believe the longer and harder they pray, the better chance they have of convincing Him to do what they want.

I don’t honestly believe that’s how it should be. I mean, how do we talk? We sit down together don’t we? And we spend time. And we tell each other what’s on our hearts. We’re honest with each other, right? Do you think God wants anything different?

Jesus said God is our Daddy and that’s how we should approach Him. I’m willing to take His word for that, even if it makes some religious folks crazy. (A lot of the things Jesus said and did made respectable religious folks crazy at the time. But that’s something we can talk about later.)

Jesus and his friends talked about this stuff a lot and I have to believe that at times he got frustrated with them, because they could be really thick. He tried to explain this prayer thing and God as Daddy. He told them that their Daddy loved them and would never give them something that would hurt them. He told them that if they really needed something, just ask…plain and simple. Yet they turned around and gave Him the old “Yes, but…”

In the end, they said, “Look, Jesus, can You teach us how to pray?”

I know you know this story. But I want you to understand the punch line. Jesus’ friends were raised thinking that the way to please God was to live according to the rules, and they had rules for just about everything. They didn’t know what to do with a God who you simply talked to and walked with. They wanted to know the rules on prayer. The correct formula to use.

His answer was to tell them there is no formula. There is no correct pattern. True prayer is about talking and spending time together. He told his friends to avoid coming to God over and over again repeating the same memorized phrases and prayers. It might make someone feel good about doing their religious duty, but it’s meaningless to God. And boring.

(Now here’s that punch line I was talking about. People have taken the story, pulled out the example prayer that Jesus gave, and turned it into a religious formula that they can pray over and over again word for word, doing the very thing He told them not to do. Amazing!)

I tend to think the actual conversation went a little more like this:

“So you want to know to pray? Fine. I’ll pray. You be quiet and eavesdrop.

Daddy, I know we don’t always talk in just this way, but I also know that you know they’re listening in trying to get this. So I want to start by acknowledging and thanking you that while you are in Heaven, you’re also right here with me. I want to thank you for that amazing fact. And I want you to know that I want everything about our relationship and how I represent you to always reflect how good and pure you are.

I can see the ways in which the world is in conflict with You and Your desires, and I want to be a part of the solution. I want to cooperate. Use me today. Let Your Perfect Ways break through!

You know my needs. Provide for me and my family today. That’s all I have to say about that.

I want to start the day with a clean slate. I forgive and let go of the wrongs that have been done to me. Please forgive me for the wrongs that I’ve done and the ways I’ve messed up.

Guide me today. Keep me out of situations where I might be tempted to do wrong and dishonor you. In any situation where I do end up going head to head with evil, pull me out a winner in Your power.

It’s easy to get confused and distracted, Daddy. But I know that there is a Plan that’s bigger than me. And I know that it’s GOOD! Because it’s Your Plan. And only You make it possible. And it will show everyone how truly great and wonderful You are. Now and forever! So let it be.”

So in talking about prayer, I guess the best thing I can do is point you back to Jesus and tell you to be real and speak your heart. I mean, who am I to argue with Him?

I hope this helps. We’ll talk more later. I love you.

Rock On, Larry

firedancer — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:49:55 +0000

When I became a Christian in 1971, I ended up walking away from a lot of my closest friendships. Members of my band. People I grew up with. They didn’t understand and didn’t want to. There were a lot of new relationships that began to form, but there was a lot of grieving as well.

I spent a great deal of time diving deep into the Word, and prayer, talking to Jesus constantly, and talking to others about Him. One of the other things that kept me going was music. I had always been one of those people who had music playing all the time, and lived with a soundtrack going in my head. And that was one of my biggest struggles with my new faith. The music was terrible! I knew as well as anybody that the message of the stuff I’d been immersed in wasn’t pleasing to God, but it was honest and real and raw. It came from the heart of people who needed Jesus. People who wouldn’t listen to the hymns or choruses or bright sweet “Up With People” folk pop I was supposed to like now. Then I discovered Larry Norman. Here was a guy who touched my heart. He was unafraid to speak the truth and do it rockin’. I loved it. And the love of God came through to me and sustained me through some very lonely times through his music. I listened to it over and over.

I’ve followed Larry’s music and career and life through the years, like keeping track of an old friend I never actually met. And I’m saddened today to learn that he passed away last Sunday morning. His heart just quit. He had had his own struggles, but fought the good fight. And he gave himself away, in a good way. I guess there was just no more to give. I can be happy for him that he’s with Jesus now. But I feel like I’ve lost an old friend.

Goodbye Larry. And thank you. You’ll be missed by many…more than you knew. Be we knew. You told us. You were “Only Visiting This Planet”.

http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/news/Larry_Norman__19472008/30703/p1/

Whirlwind

firedancer — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:49:14 +0000

How do you speak in the midst of the whirlwind?
How can you see in the midst of the fire?
Feeling the tearings away still occuring and
Cherished distractions just turning to dust.
Your moorings are gone.
You’re adrift in His Presence.
A vision in ashes
And yet there is hope
As you’re caught up and held in the Spirit
And passion.
He comes as a Lover and pours Himself out.
It seizes you.
It captures your being.
You may have been called here before and withdrawn.
Afraid of being loved so completely
So fiercely
So intently.
Afraid when faced with the reality of being lost in Him.
Consumed in His love and loving.
But now, again, He says “Come to Me”.
And draws you.
And you press in.
Into the reality.
Into the embrace of Holy Fire.
This time you will not run away.
You will not push away.
You will not turn away.
You cannot leave.
There is nowhere else left.
You stay…
Consumed …
And alive…
In Him.

Link to “Andrew Meyer and the Greater Good”

firedancer — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:20:19 +0000

By now, the tazering (or would it be tazing) of a Florida college student at a John Kerry forum has been seen and discussed in blogs all over the web. I have jumped into a couple of those discussions, and was not going to post anything about the incident here. But the best laid plans of mice and men… (READ MORE…)

God’s Business?

firedancer — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:24:18 +0000

A friend of mine is a very successful personal investment counsellor. He also gives himself away. In many ways. His time. His money. The passions of his heart to bring healing and wholeness to people whose bodies and lives are broken or sick in some fashion.

I remember a conversation we had not too long ago. He was talking about praying for his business. He has people who have committed to pray for his business. A novel idea? We pray for ministries. But do we in the church pray for the guidance and success of our brothers and sisters in the marketplace? Why not? Are business activities somehow dirty or profane?

A lot of business people are made to feel like second class citizens in the church. If you can’t give your time to “real ministry”, or aren’t “called to full time service in the church”, then you settle for a life that is somehow spiritually second best. But you can still give, and support those who are pursuing the higher calling.

The practical fact is that most real people live the vast portion of their lives outside the walls of the church. And, statistically, most will never be actively involved any kind of institutional or programmatic “ministry”. They don’t have time or energy left for another activity or program. So is their assigned role to pay their tithe and be weekend spiritual spectators and cheering block while the professional Christians and their small but dedicated cadre of volunteers engage in the real work of ministry?

There is a different way of thinking emerging. A different way of understanding “church”. Many have paid lip service for a long time to the notion that the church is the entire body of believers and that all believers have unique and essential gifts and callings. And many have paid lipservice to the notion that Jesus really does desire and intend to exercise lordship over every aspect of life. And to redeem and transform and demonstrate His grace and power practically and overtly in every sphere of activity.

Today, these notions are being embraced more and more widely by people who are no longer satisfied with the lipservice. They want to see it happen. They want to start “doing the stuff”, as John Wimber used to say, in the streets. They are embracing a radical notion that most true apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, or people gifted and called to a multitude of other ministries, will never carry out their ministry within the structure of the institutional church. And even more radical is the idea that they are not intended to. Their calling by God is to live and move and minister in the context of the marketplace. Their home, their office, their 9-5. The doctor, the cop, the stay-at-home-mom, the construction worker, the mail carrier, the janitor. Their ministry is not something other than their job. Their lives are not that cleanly compartmentalized. Excellence and service and celebration and ministry and prayer and shepherding and mentoring and just being Christian is an integral part of the daily rhythm of life. Organizations like The Joseph Company and Harvest Evangelism are providing support and vision for this growing movement. And teachers like Os Hillman and Lance Wallnau are raising the expectation that Christians can actually be CALLED to the marketplace, and have an obligation to bring good news and transformation and godly excellence to their sphere of activity and influence, wherever that is.

As I wrote in my bio, I believe our faith calls us to be in the coffeeshop, in the street, in the marketplace, dilletante, meddling in simply everything. I’m not a full-time minister. But I’m a full-time minister. And I’m called to prayer. And I’m called to be a businessman. There can be no disconnect there. And there shouldn’t be.

Back to my friend. As we shared time and coffee at downtown joint, he told me that his real moment of peace came when he was re-reading the Sermon on the Mount, and he heard the Spirit of God say to him, “Quit fussing over tomorrow. When you do that, you’re don’t look any different than the non-believers around you. How can I bless that? You just be where I’ve called you, do your job, and do it with excellence. I’ll take care of the rest. If you take care of MY business, I’ll take care of YOURS!”

MARKETPLACE PRAYER 5

firedancer — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:10:35 +0000

Father,

Keep me close today. Keep me in your Presence. Let me bask in you. I want to worship you and celebrate everything you do today. Every task you give me. Every conversation. Every encounter. Lord Jesus, redeem my time. Show me how you want to excercise your loving Lordship and influence through everything I do. Holy Spirit, bring blessing, and peace, and healing through the steps I walk today in the world. Thank you. I love you.

MARKETPLACE PRAYER 4

firedancer — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:15:13 +0000

Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

Some mornings it is so difficult to give first pause to time with you. The events and responsibilities of the day come shouting for attention at wake-up. I know you understand. Lord Jesus, I guess this is why you so often withdrew to a solitary place early in the morning. So I thank you now for the time of worship and pause. Listening for the day. And just being before you. Your mercy and love are overwhelming. Your sustaining hand is so undeserved. Your glory and your heart to pour that glory out into human vessels.
I see daily how much I need to spend time in your presence. Being renewed in mind and spirit. The spirit of the world, the spirits of discouragement and wrath and division and judgment and condemnation are in constant war with your Spirit, your mercy and offer of destiny and resurrection power. Your Spirit of Truth. I thank you for your mercy in my life. teach me and change me and renew my heart to love as you love. Let me live every moment under your anointing and continue to hold out your Truth and redemptive options. I love you.

MARKETPLACE PRAYER 3

firedancer — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:14:24 +0000

Father,

I begin this morning worshipping you. I want to give you my time and efforts and submit to your agenda, holding mine loosely to hear your voice and do your will. I want to plan and build only on Your foundation, that the house I build will be Your House. You are Jehovah Jireh, my provider and warrior. Lord Jesus, my friend, my Redeemer King, my Captain, I lift you up. Make my character, mind, and actions yours. And Most Holy Spirit, I desire with all my heart to be totally controlled in oneness with You, the Father, and the Son. Saturate me. Quicken me to your desires and movement, that we truly would move as one. Let me stay in the Presence, the Holy of Holies, as I move through this day and week, from task to task and person to person. I offer myself to you as worship. I love you.

LABOR DAY–Keep Dancing

firedancer — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 16:08:28 +0000

I really hadn’t intended to take a summer hiatus from writing. It just worked out that way. Actually, I’ve taken a summer hiatus from a lot of things. I may well end up hiatus-ing from some of them through the fall as well. But this blog won’t be one of them. At least not regularly. But I’m afraid the posting won’t be regular either. Life’s just not like that right now. So if you’re one of the eleven or so folks who’ve been waiting with baited breath for my return, you might want to subscribe to a feed so you know when I’m writing.
     So why the time off and what’s it got to do with Labor Day?   Well, several years ago, I was in a leadership seminar taught by man named Claire DeGraf. It wasn’t one of those high energy, high intensity, low content events that are so common. This was real. It was about priorities, and integrity…about doing the right thing no matter what. It was about developing excellence in your field without being consumed or defined by what you do. And that was probably the key point that I came away with. We are not what we do.
     At one point, Claire asked us to look honestly at those people in our lives who were most important to us. Who are the people who would be most impacted if you were to drop dead tomorrow? Where would your absence leave the most significant and long-lasting hole? Those people, those relationships, ought to be your first priority.   Business? Career path? Hobbies? Aquaintances? Even church or civic involvements?   You might be missed or mourned, but the hard truth is that you would probably soon be replaced.
     Yet those are the things to which most of us give the vast majority of our time. And they are the benchmarks we fall back on when asked who we are.   When introduced, we’ll give our name, and if the other person seems truly interested in more information, most of us begin defining ourselves by what we do.
     So we have a national holiday celebrating labor. Workers. I guess that’s alright. It does provide a nice guaranteed long weekend to finish out the summer. Having only been a member of a union for three days, I’ve never been immersed in that subculture and I’m not sure how many folks actually attend labor rallies or parades in the spirit of the holiday. I’m just struck by how our culture in general is driven to view people on the basis of work. He’s an engineer. She’s an accountant. How’s so and so doing? Oh, he’s unemployed?
     Dutch Sheets, a minister from Colorado, has done a lot of writing this past year about America being controlled by “the spirit of Mammon.” I guess I would concur. After all,  the health of the nation is defined by market indices, housing starts, unemployment statistics, fuel prices, gross national product, national debt, budget deficits, trade agreements, etc., etc., etc.    Financial issues are the leading cause of divorce in America.
     My own summer has been largely consumed by two things: family, and a new business start-up. It hasn’t been easy to keep the two in balance, or in perspective. And I can’t say that I’ve been entirely successful. My wife and I struggle with income and budget matters like most of the folks we know. We have bills. But we also have a family with needs that are not financial. And those require our attention too. A grand-daughter about to turn one and her parents learning to be parents and partners.   A second daughter entering year 2 of college, out on her own for the first time. And a six year old son beginning first grade. All of whom need time and love and wisdom and example from their Mom and Dad.
     I can’t help thinking that in years to come, they will have learned more from how we handled things than from the things we said. Our faith. Our priorities. Our time. What really, practically, turned out to define us. Reflection on this process will probably provide fodder for a number of upcoming posts here.
     Labor Day? Here’s my agenda. Stop. Take a breath. Reflect and refocus. Pray. Love. And always look for ways to keep dancing in a darkening world.

MARKETPLACE PRAYER 2

firedancer — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:57:58 +0000

Father,

Thank you for this day. For new beginnings and fresh mercy and anointing every morning. I want to stop everything and bow before you today again…to worship you.
And Lord Jesus, I want to tell you afresh today how much I love you and need to be with you. And want a clear sense of your presence moment by moment in my life. You are my focus. You are my reason to be. I want to weigh everything in my life, my relationships, my activities, my business, against the standard of your measure. Nothing else will do.

Lord, the responsibilities of the day can seem overwhelming. Like Israel when Pharoah doubled their workload. But I choose this day to focus on You. On your kindness. Your generosity. Your good intent for me. I am yours. Empty me of all vain thoughts and pursuits and let me be guided by Your Spirit. Let me be free from the tyranny of the urgent and the tyranny of self, free to hear from you clearly and pursue the best rather than simply the good. Let me never settle for mediocrity. Make your glory known through the works of my hands and heart and mind. My words and my deeds.

Let me know what it means to prophesy to the winds, to call forth life, to walk Nehemiah’s night watch and be a repairer of the breaches. Let me live my life with eyes wide open like the prophet’s servant and the sons of Issachar, discerning and seeing as you see and knowing what to do.

Let me be more in love with you tomorrow than I am today. Align my heart with yours. Holy Spirit, teach me, fill me, guide me, use me in every way possible. Send your angelic servants to do your will in my life and sphere of influence.

You are SO worthy of my attention, my fascination, my obsession, my passion. Let me stay here in your presence. In your Fire! Your Holy Fire. Consume all that is not of you. Accept it as an offering. Accept the offering of my life today. Thank you for our daily bread. Forgive my sins, stumblings and my choices to remain distant in areas. Keep me from temptation and deliver me from the schemes of the enemy. Your Kingdom Come. Your Will be done. All the glory, power, and authority are yours. I love you.