Keeping the Morning Watch

Many years ago someone coined the term “Morning Watch” to refer to the practice of spending the first thirty minutes of the day seeking God. While I dislike the idea of legalistically saying, “every ‘real’ Christian keeps the morning watch,” I recommend the practice because spending time with God is an important part of growing in your relationship with Him and doing it first thing in the morning is a great way to orient your entire day towards God’s purposes for you.

There are three main components to the morning watch.

First, take time to focus your thoughts on the Lord. Thank Him for the new day and the joys and challenges that it will bring. Devote yourself to Him and tell Him that you are going to follow Him. Tell Him why you are going to follow Him. Spend time enjoying his presence.

Second, read a portion of the Bible. Ask the Lord to speak to you as you read. It is usually best to read in a systematic fashion, but the goal is not to “finish the Bible in a year” or to “read a chapter a day.” Instead, read until the Holy Spirit begins to show you something in the Word, then stop and listen. What is God saying to you? Is there a promise to claim? A command to obey? An aspect of His character to worship? A sin to confess? Respond to the Lord appropriately.

Third, hold up your concerns for the day to the Lord. Ask him for wisdom and direction as you go about your day. Ask him to provide for your needs. Ask Him to bless friends and family members. Hold up difficult relationships and ask him to help you navigate your way through them.

Finally, thank him again for the wonderful day that he has in store for you, whatever it might bring!

The Lost Coin

Do you remember finding a penny when you were little? Maybe it was on the sidewalk or in the parking lot. It was your lucky day!

Here's a quick question: Do you still stop for pennies? If you were heading into the grocery store and saw a penny on the ground, would you pick it up? If not a penny, how about a nickel? A dime? A quarter?

What is the value of stopping and reaching to the ground to pick something up?

I ask this because yesterday I noticed a penny on the ground and I walked right by. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I was in a hurry. Or maybe it was too much of a bother. Or maybe it was dirty and would make a mess. Or maybe it seemed a little foolish to get excited over a mere penny.

I really didn't think about it until this morning when I had my devotions and read Luke 15. In this chapter Jesus tells several parables about the heart of God. He talks about the shepherd with 100 sheep who discovers one is missing. He sets out on a long search for that sheep and won't rest until he finds it. He tells the story of the woman who lost a coin and turns the house upside down looking for it. He tells the parable of the "Prodigal Son," which is really about the son who stayed home and didn't share the father's joy at the return of the prodigal.

It made me stop to wonder if I treat people like I do the penny in parking lot. Do I realize the value of the people? Do I stop to consider that the person that I am sitting next to at a basketball game is one for whom Christ died? Or that the clerk at the store is precious to Him?

Do I take the time to stop and demonstrate how important each person is?

Or am I in too much of a hurry? Or is it too much of a bother? Or do I think I might get dirty? Or do I think I would appear foolish?

There is greater joy in heaven over one who repents than ninety-nine who need no repentance.

A Fun Sunday Afternoon

Sunday afternoon was a blast! First, we joined almost everyone who was at the Sunday service in taking a tour of the new building. Because of the cold weather, the company's construction crews have been busy working inside in our building. Most of the walls are framed in and it was easy to see what the building was going to look like. I even put a board across the joists of the platform to get a feel for what it is going to be like. People had tons of questions and were looking for things that they could do to help. It's easy to believe that in a few weeks the project will be done to the point of our being able to move in. I'm looking forward to it!

Even more fun was going to the DQ afterwards (could this become a weekly after church event?). I got a chance to talk to the two people who are heading up our youth ministry. All I can say is, "Wow!" We've gone from four or five kids a few years ago to thirty. It was great to hear the stories of God's work in people's lives and to have the chance to have their enthusiasm rub off on me.

After a few minutes at home I went back to church to sit in on our deaconate meeting. This is an incredible group that is trying to figure out how we can do a better job of caring for people. They are so eager to be the hands and feet of Jesus that it really inspires me.

What a great day!

The Ship is Leaving Port!

My meetings are still going on, but I can tell that the ship is not only moving, but it is leaving port!

I am amazed at the people that are rising to the surface and taking on leadership responsibilities. It looks like in many ways the hardest part of the whole process is going to by my "letting go" and allowing others to run with their ministries. Duct tape may be involved here.

Actually, I enjoy watching other people "make it happen" because I know the sense of satisfaction that they are going to derive from allowing God to use them. Being a Christian is not a spectator sport. It involves following Christ and becoming involved in what he is doing. Helping other people step into ministry is an awesome thing to watch.

Last night the Trustees met. After getting the ball rolling, I left the meeting and allowed them to sort out themselves how they wanted to tackle their ministry. After waiting around a while I looked in to see how they were doing and saw that they were praying. I thought that was terrific. We have a bunch of guys on the Trustees who are seeking God for how to do their ministry.

We're leaving port and heading for open waters!

The Ship is Moving!

One of the goals this year is to work on the organizational structure of the church. To make that happen right now means a bunch of meetings for me, which is okay because it is going to get us where we need to go. The best part about these meetings is that they are with people that I enjoy being around and working with. What a great bunch of people God has put together!

Sunday we had a board meeting and tonight night we had an organizational meeting for the deacons and deaconesses. There was a wonderful spirit of cooperation at these meetings and a leader arose for each of these groups. That has been a real matter of prayer for me. The next step of growth for our church is to see strong leaders assume responsibility for much of the ministry that takes place, which will allow me to focus on the Word of God and prayer. Sounds alot like a New Testament church to me!

One person who had been with me at both meetings said, "The ship is moving, and once it's underway it is much easier to steer!" Amen!

Your Kingdom Come

This afternoon I spent some time in prayer. I usually use the Lord's Prayer to lend a structure to my prayer times. Today as I prayed "your kingdom come" I spent time submitting myself to His Lordship in my life, but then I began to think about what that meant to me. I recognized that I saw that primarily as a "limiting" thing: I would submit to the circumstances he led me into, that I would avoid sin, that I would seek to obey him, etc.

But what if it means something else? What if submitting to His Lordship also means living in anticipation of what He is going to do? What if submitting to His Lordship means that it is possible to walk on the water? What if submitting to His Lordship means stepping out in faith and seeing Him do miracles? What if submitting to His Lordship means living a "march to the sea and it divides" lifestyle?

In that case, submitting to His Lordship isn't limiting, but launching. It isn't kneeling, but jumping. It isn't silence, but singing.

I actually think that it is both limiting and launching because following Him means releasing our dreams for his and embarking on the greatest adventure of life.

Mourning the Packer Loss

It's taken a while, but I am finally able to talk about the Packers loss in the NFC Championship game. It's hard to get so close to the Super Bowl and lose. The Packers haven't done that very often, especially on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

So how do I cope? First, I watched the Packers play the Patriots in the Super Bowl. That's right, the Packers and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Packers won! I know, it was a few years ago, but at least I know what the outcome of a Green Bay/New England Super Bowl clash would have been if we had beat the Giants.

Second, I cope by asking all of the Vikings fans that needle me how their team fared and whether they have a copy of the Vikings Super Bowl victory. That usually shuts them up, but some Vikings fans are pretty well beyond hope of reasoning with about the superiority of the Packers.

Finally, I ask myself the big "Why?" question. For me, I don't understand why the Packers kept running screen plays that never worked. It didn't seem like they gained more than 4 yards total on about a dozen screen plays. Did they run them because they were "in our game plan"? Or was it because "We like them"? Or was it because "We always run screen plays"?

That made me wonder about the things in my life that I am doing that aren't producing the results I want. There are some things I do over and over that aren't accomplishing anything and may actually be taking me away from where I want to get to. I do them because "I planned them" or "I like to" or "I always do that". Pretty dumb reasons to do something that doesn't work. It might even cause me to miss my goal altogether.

Which leads me to the moral of this post: Before you criticize the Packers, take a long look in the mirror!