In my first post, I talked about the first of five helps to anchor your life in Christ.  As a reminder, these steps don’t do the anchoring; only a relationship the Lord Jesus Christ can.  However, practicing these 5 things great greatly influence the level of anchordness (is this a word?) that you feel.

Step 1 – a Broken-In Bible

Step 2 - CALLOUSED KNEES 

 Talking is relating and relating requires talking.  Prayer is talking to God and is absolutely essential to a relationship with Him.  At my college roommate’s funeral, I had the privilege of talking with Pat Conroy.  He related that several times a year his grandpa, Pete, would stay at their home for a month at a time.  When he did, he always slept in the bottom bunk and Pat in the top.  He said every night his grandpa would review his day with the Lord.  “Lord, you know that today I tried to talk with that woman at the store about You and …” I think sometimes we try too hard to be profound when we pray when all we need to do is talk with God.  Do you?  How often?  About what? 

Next Post: Worn Out Shoes

In the Scripture passage from Sunday, January 31, (Romans 6:12-14) Paul said, “Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”  Presentation has to do with who you offer yourself to. In fact, if you think about it, that’s what worship is – loving God and offering yourself to Him.  When we pass the offering plate, it’s just one way you have of offering yourself and the substance of your life to God.

  Paul is saying to us that if we present ourselves to God, we will become more like God.  On the other hand, if we present ourselves to sin, we will become more sinful. We have a tendency to think that what really matters is what we do.  But doing is always caused by something else.  It is that something else that presentation addresses. 

 This passage of Scripture teaches that we will all be determined by what we present ourselves to.  In other words, if you think all the time about money or work all the time to get money, it’s going to be very difficult for you to be generous or people-centered.  If you think all the time about drinking, it’s going to be very difficult for you to stay sober.  If you think all the time about being sophisticated, it’s going to be very difficult for you to be down to earth and available to the people around you.  So what you present yourself to, who you hang out with, what you spend time thinking about, and what you value in life are going to be the great determining factors of your life.  It’s no wonder that people who set these ungodly values are surprised by their ungodly actions when they really meant to do something else.  Good news.  If you present yourself to Jesus Christ repeatedly, guess what will happen then?  That’s right.  You’ll become more like Him, and you will do His will more readily.

             When we are born again we are given the power of the Holy Spirit so that we will be naturally drawn to God and have the ability to relate to Him.  Yet, many of us who have that natural ability don’t use it.  We’re like a person who has the capacity to be a great pitcher but never picks up a baseball or picks one up only to toss it around the yard from time to time.  If you are born again, you have the Holy Spirit.  You have the ability to present yourself to God over and over again and to find increasing joy in it.  Do you take advantage of the opportunities we offer here at the church to present yourself to God or are you just coming to Sunday school and church?  Is it a duty or is it an opportunity for you to draw near to Him and present yourself to Him? 

             The Scripture says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8).  This is the same as saying, “Present your bodies to God as an instrument of righteousness” (Romans 6:13).  That is, present yourself with the desire that God would use you for a righteous purpose.

             A few months ago when I felt led to preach the four sermons for Christmas, I was bothered because I wasn’t going to read the Christmas story and the sermons were coming from the Gospel of John, which doesn’t recount any of the birth narratives.  Yet I felt strongly led to do it.  The sermon I felt the most strongly led to preach was the one from this past week titled, “The Gift of Eternal Life.”  However, I felt it was a little out of place at Christmas.  Every time I thought about changing it, the Spirit of God said, “Don’t do it.”

             At the 10:00 service, I felt good about the message and how it went, but at the 11:30 service when the invitation was given and a lot of young people who were here for the Chick-Fil-A Classic Basketball Tournament came forward, I thought, “That was God’s purpose in putting this on my heart.”

             The experience this past Sunday was very different from many of the other times we’ve hosted these young people from around the country.  We had about 20 or 25 people come forward at the end of the worship service making different kinds of decisions but all moved by the Spirit of God.

             I’m grateful to the Lord that He led me to do that and gave our church the opportunity to see that kind of response to His message and the work of the Holy Spirit.  Keep praying that the Lord would work in my heart, in the hearts of each staff member, and in the hearts of the lay leadership in our church.  God is good.  He is at work in this world of ours to will and to do for His good pleasure and for His glory.  It is a joy to be a part of that.  I hope it is for you too.

            This week it was my privilege to go to Astor, Florida, and give the eulogy for the recent passing away of my college roommate Bob.   It was a very satisfying visit to be able to spend valuable time with his wife Lani, and their son Robbie.   The experience of losing Bob has been one of sadness and grief, and yet, I have a profound sense of satisfaction and peace about it.  Let me tell you why.

             This was the second person in my life – my dad being the other – that I could tell I was going to lose before it happened. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I asked myself, “What will you regret having not done or said if you lose him?”  With my dad, there were enough things I wanted to do that I needed to write them down, and then I made sure I did them.  With Bob, it was a list I didn’t need to write down. 

     While it is  sad to lose Bob, it is not crushing.  God has arranged life so we are not in control of all the things we’d like to be in control of.  Part of finding peace is trusting Him with that.  This may be something you can file away, and as you move through experiences like this in life, you’ll be able to ask yourself that question and then follow through and do it.  I don’t know when I’ll get that fateful call, but it probably won’t be long.  Be in prayer for his family.  He’s been a wonderful friend, and when I look at our church, I think his faithfulness in college is part of what made this possible.

For this blog and the several to follow, I’d like to share with you DICK’S FIVE RULES FOR THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE that have worked for me in keeping it fresh and meaningful for quite a few years.  Please don’t think I’m implying it’s fresh and meaningful every day. 

Rule 1:  SET ASIDE TIME WITH GOD.  I certainly pray when I’m riding in the car, as I’m heading into a meeting, or when I’m on the way to or in the middle of a ticklish situation.  These times are important.  They involve the discipline that Brother Lawrence called practicing the presence of God (in a famous book by that title – well worth reading).  However, they are insufficient to developing a walk with God.  They are more the outcome of a good relationship or walk with God than they are the cause of a great relationship.  As with everyone you are close to, you have to spend dedicated, focused time with that person – time that you sacrifice in order to spend that time with him or her.  I don’t think there’s a set amount of time you need to spend with God to have a successful walk.  I’ve heard lots of speculation about the amount of time you need to spend, but it seems to me to be just speculation or personal experience.  However, one thing everyone whose walk I respect has in common is dedicated time with God – time when they’re off alone with Him.  These times will vary as to amounts and intensity, probably dependent upon life circumstances, personality, and sense of need.  Is this a daily aim of yours?  It should be.  The blessings of dedicated time with God are enormous.

Writing is easier for some than others, and journaling doesn’t bless everyone.  However, a huge number of people who thought it would not help them and they wouldn’t like it have found it is an awesome help.  It might help if you think of it as your God blog.  Tell Him what’s going on, what you wonder, need, hate, love, and want.  He is interested in the hairs on your head, so He surely cares about this other stuff.  Journaling works best for me when I’m trying to solve a big problem.  But there have been times when it was my routine way of interacting with God.  No, I make no attempt to be absolutely consistent in how I relate to God, but I am very disciplined in spending personal time with Him every day.  I need Him, and I want my actions to show that.  So – journal or prayer blog – I don’t think it matters what you call it.  But if you try it, it might just help you.