Praying ROM 15:13- HOPE

May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13

In my darkest hours, I've asked God to make me a prisoner of hope. Philosophy professor and author Cornel West once wrote "I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope."

There are some circumstances that defy optimism. Age, disease, life. God doesn't prevent death, but He does offer eternal life in Heaven with Him. He doesn't prevent hardship or loss, but He does promise to get us through it.

I remind myself that no matter what my circumstances, God is with me and will get me through whatever it is I have to face.

As Christians, we are "called to hope" (Ephesians 4:4). While explaining the Spiritual 'Armor of God' in Ephesians 6:17, Paul says to put on the helmet of hope-in-salvation. If you keep in mind the ultimate hope we have of eternal life with God, thanks to the free gift of salvation through the sacrifice made by His Son Jesus on the cross- if you "fix your eyes upon Jesus," no matter how dark and ugly your present is, your future remains bright.

Praying ROM 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13

I used to like to write Advent devotions here on PPP. The last few years have just gotten to be too crazy-busy to make that work. Each of the candles on an Advent wreath represents a different virtue. There's the Prophet's candle of Hope, the Bethlehem candle of Peace, the Angel's candle of Love and the Shepherd's candle of Joy.

This past Advent, I'd been praying Romans 15:13 a lot. Mostly for myself, due to all the stress, depression and anxiety I'd been struggling with. But also for others. I genuinely wanted to share God's hope, peace, and joy with others whom I perceived really needed them.

In past Advent posts here, I've tried to explain or expound on each of these gifts. This time, I think I'd like to mash this list up with another list- the ACTS formula of praying (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). 

We'll see how that goes, (if it goes for that matter, tomorrow's the first day of a new semester). Tonight, though, I just want to share something about just one of these four; which one is most important.

When my wife and I taught at Los Angeles Lutheran High, we coached cheerleading. For a while she coached Varsity and I coached Junior High. Eventually, I coached both toward the end. Of course LHS had a fight song that cheerleaders danced to at pep rallies, but we also had a school song, an slower anthem. The tradition at LA was for kids to gather at the end of football games, point one arm to heaven and join in the song.

I don't remember all of the lyrics, but one line sticks with me- "may faith be ever more thy fame and love be thy rule."

For some Christians,  our religion is all about all kinds of rules. Believe this, don't believe that, do this, don't you DARE do that. It leads to a lot of fear and judgement, misunderstanding and competition. For my money the whole Bible boils down to one rule. This is what Jesus said-

John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love oneanother. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So assuming I write at least four more posts in the next week or so about Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, keep in mind what Saint Paul wrote-

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Lutheran High's School Song would make a pretty good mission statement, and for that matter, a pretty good epitaph for one's tombstone- I certainly want it to be true for this blog: May faith be ever more my fame, and love be my RULE.

Personal request for prayer-cover

Last Sunday I was installed as President of our church council. I'm not bragging to you, if anything I'm humbled to have been voted on, although its almost more of a volunteer position since so few people even want to serve on the church council. At any rate, while presumably the responsibility will be pretty mundane, even banal, I take it pretty seriously. Although, one former president has shared stories with me of anger, vandalism and threats that he received. I don't foresee any major controversies for us in the next year or two.

At any rate, if you're a regular reader of this blog or a "friend" of the facebook page, I'd still like to ask you to pray for me. Please ask Him to grant me wisdom, patience, deference, humility and whatever else He thinks I should have for this role. 

Please also pray for St. John Charter Oak; that we would live up to our mission statement "offering with open arms, the love of Christ." 

Thank you all. 

Me ka pule*,
Pirate Ted

("*Me Ka Pule" means "with prayers," in Hawaiian in case anybody was wonderin')

The prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16)

Blog Resolutions

Been thinking.

Been thinking I need to actually utilize this blog more.
Perhaps as I haven't tons of time anymore, it will be shorter entries rather than full-blown essays & devotions.

Been thinking, while I certainly still lean left politically & I'm not about to suddenly going to go quietly into the night, I'm thinking I may need to spend a little less time raging against the machine and more time reaching out to others regardless of party lines.

Post-Partisan
I've noticed that while Liberals and Libertarians disagree about the 2nd Amendment, they tend to both be worried about the 4th. So why fight about what we disagree about, when we could fight together for what we agree about?

I'll be up front with you- When I read Jesus' words, especially in Matthew 5 and Luke 6, and St. Paul's words in Romans 12, I see something radically different than what televangelists, radio prophets and Republican politicians are espousing. My personal faith walk and what Prof. Cornell West calls "deep-democracy" are both very important to me.

One of my chief goals with this blog (at least since 2007 or so) had been to show to my Liberal friends that not all Christians are Republicans and to my Christian friends that Liberals aren't actually going to Hell in any greater proportions than Conservatives are. From the looks of the Internet anyway, it seems to me that there are a lot more Progressives willing to be open about their faith and at least a few more right-wingers willing to concede that politics and religion aren't always monolithic.

Its still frustrating that folks around where I live don't get that global warming may have actually contributed to the recent polar vortex, they just think that the one's being disproved by the other. And it drives me crazy that I can't convince people that you'd reduce the number of abortions by reducing poverty or that even if the Bible prohibits homosexuality the 14th Amendment still prohibits discrimination- oh, and that the Bible also prohibits tattoos, horoscopes and shell fish.

Be all that as it may, I guess my feeling is that it would be more productive to talk about what I believe God wants us to do for others, rather than rail on what other believers seem to constantly rail on.

In other words, while I may still talk about politics here, I don't want it to be my sole focus. I'd rather have a soul-focus. I also want to be careful not to let it become too much of a stumbling block.

Ecumenical
I may have a deeply Lutheran background, but I've also got a pretty Existential one. I've got people I love and admire that are Quaker, Methodist, Catholic, FourSquare Pentecostal, Church of Christ, and no lots of non-Christians too. Not to mention non-LCMS Lutherans!

This blog has never towed the official synodical/denominational-line (thus the pirate theme). I want to make sure that readers and friends know that the conversations and debates sparked here and the prayers and devotions shared here are more about the "red-letters" than doctrinal committee documents.

Although, Lutherans (perhaps especially my fellow LCMS Lutherans) should not mistake discussion, acceptance, prayer and encouragement or even the mere lack of condemnation for condoning or promoting mistaken theology. Likewise, mentioning or even appreciating ideas from Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Agnostics or even Atheists should not be assumed to be Synchronism or Universalism. I am, and hope God will always keep me Confessional, Trinitarian, Pauline and Christo-Centric, here I stand, I can do no other.

Available
Unlike right-wing Christians, I actually appreciate and try to respect the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. I try to be very careful not to take advantage of my position as a public school teacher to us my classes as captive audiences for prostalizinng. As a Christian, I don't believe in coercion or manipulation as forms of evangelism anyway- only the Holy Spirit can work faith on someone's heart. Sure, faith comes from hearing, but that hearing is voluntary- Jesus didn't force anyone to follow him.

Be this all as it may; I also believe in encouraging and mentoring the whole student, spiritually as well as intellectually (so long as they approach me outside of the classroom, and I don't force my faith on them). Having said that- I have tons of students and former students whom I've prayed for and have asked to pray for me. If any of the kids in my wife & my Sunday School class wanted help with Social Studies, Art or Photography- you can bet I'd be willing to tutor them. Likewise, if any of my students at school want to talk about religion with me outside of class, or share prayer concerns- I will always be here for them.

Is There a Point To All This?
So I've been thinking,  my prayer is that God will use this blog to bless others this year- not just left-wingers feeling alienated or marginalized by their fellow Christians who assume that you can't possibly be a real Christian if you don't agree with every right-wing political position. To seekers. To those who have yet to find a fellowship family (church-home), to those who don't quite fit into the traditional church-institutions, to those adrift on the seas of the internet.

Please keep reading. Look through my archives of posts over the last 7 years, skim through the devotional series I've posted, check out my Pinterest board, pray with me on Instapray, like the Prophet, Priest & Pirate Facebook page. I have this compulsion to talk about God. I want to know Him more. And I'm convinced He created us to support each other in this world. C.S. Lewis said that everyone is born with a God-shaped hole in their soul. My prayer is that Prophet/Priest/Pirate has something to offer you. If it does, I can't ask anymore than that you say a prayer or two on my behalf. God knows I need 'em. Thanks.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. -1 Thessalonians 5:11 & Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. -Hebrews 10:23-24

Now Sing We, Now Rejoice

Come from on high to me;

I can-not rise to Thee.

Cheer my wearied spirit,

O pure and holy Child;

Through Thy grace and merit,

Blest Jesus, Lord most mild,

Draw me unto Thee! Draw me unto Thee!

Personal Bible Study of the Lord's Prayer

When I was in college, our professors used to tell us to use Scripture to interpret Scripture. The other day, it dawned on me that Jesus calls Himself the Bread of life and that a healthy faith-life really requires daily time with Him. So I dug around and found other verses which I feel like relates to and/or expounds on the petitions found in the Lord's Prayer. (It's in the Bible itself, in case you thought it was just a tradition the church developed somewhere along the line; see Matthew 6 and Luke 11).

Our daily bread

I tend to beg and plead with God when I get to the to the petition in the Lord's Prayer about giving us this day our daily bread (especially that last week before payday). But I bet you'll think about that part of the prayer differently when you remember what Jesus calls HIMSELF in John chapter 6, verses 33, 35, 48, & 51.

Go ahead, look them up. I'll wait. In fact, why don't you go ahead and pray the Lord's Prayer right away after reading John 6:33-51. Mind blown? Let it sink in. 

It makes me want to seek Him in His Word & prayer more and daily. Hope it will you too. Why starve, when there's so much mana every morning?

This Advent, may HOPE take you prisoner.

Isaiah 2

New International Version (NIV)

The Mountain of the Lord

2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
    let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Last Sunday's Old Testament lesson (above) was a wonderful reminder for me. Isaiah gave us an image of Heaven, where man "ain't gonna study war no more." 

Keep your eye on the prize, look past and through the darkness at the light at the end of the tunnel. Discouraged? Depressed? Frightened? Stressed? Look past your present circumstances and remember that whatever your're going through, it won't last forever.

If we put on the helmet of hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8 & Ephesians 6:17), God's hope will protect our heads- God will guard our minds (Philippians 4:7).

Lets face it, the holiday seasons can be stressful; work, family, finances. So guess what, maybe instead of focusing on everything you have to try to get done and who you think you have to please and how you're going to afford it- focus on Jesus. What a gift! The creator of the whole universe gave His only begotten son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we too can be His beloved children! 

When you keep that love in mind, it puts things in perspective. That perspective has given me a new motto:

“I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.” - Prof. Cornel West

And this is why I have been praying this verse so much for myself and for others-  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -Romans 15:13

Psalm 33:20-22

New Living Translation (NLT)

20 We put our hope in the Lord.
    He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
    for our hope is in you alone.

Time for a Cease-Fire in the so-called 'War on Christmas'

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, -1 Peter 3:15

Why do some Christians become so hostile, defensive,angry, indignant, even downright belligerent about making sure to "keep Christ in CHRISTmas?"

If you truly believe that He is who He claims to be, then He certainly doesn't need mere humans to stand up for Him. God doesn't need us to fight for Him. And the truth is always able to stand by itself.

Instead, we should consider His example. Consider Philippians 2:3-8

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature] of a servant,being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himselfby becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Jesus didn't come down like Thor with a hammer and lightning and shout "Hey, look at ME!" Instead, He came as a frail, fragile, humble, poor, baby in a livestock feed-bunk.

 

Being sensitive to the cultures, traditions and feelings of others doesn't mean you're condoning apostasy. Being a Christian does not mean being territorial about His "birthday." So Jews, Pagans, Hindus, and Secularists all have festivals of light coincidentally this same time of year? So does materialistic consumer-capitalism, if you haven't noticed.

Originally being "Christian" meant being little-Christs, literally His imitators. How are we imitating Him when we are bullying others into silence and submission or whining about being allegedly victimized by the rest of the society? We are the mainstream majority here in the United States. There are certainly places where Christians face persecution and marginalization (Syria, Egypt, Nigeria) but the U.S. isn't one of them.

Back to 1 Peter 5, verse 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats do not be frightened.” and verses 17 & 18- For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

If we truly believe in Jesus, and want to be like Him, rather than DEMANDING that others honor Him, we will be ready, willing, and able to put up with whatever persecution might come. Both for His sake, and for the sake of those who would do us harm. Because that's exactly what Jesus did, He suffered and even died for the sake of those who hate Him.

It seems to me that all this getting prickly about this being a season just for Christ and Christians isn't very Christ-like. If anything it's pretty typically human. Sinful, selfish, short-sighted, human. 

O' Dark Early!

Psalm 119: 147

I am up before dawn crying for help. I find hope in your word.

Earth & All Stars

I love this hymn. It always used to be a "back-to-school" hymn (Lutheran K-8 & College). This year we hadn't sung it till today Lutheran Service Book #817. Based on Psalm 96:1, Psalm 149:1-3, and Isaiah 42:10-12.

Earth and all stars, Loud rushing planets Sing to the Lord a new song! Hail, wind, and rain, Loud blowing snowstorm Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done marvelous things. We too will praise Him with a new song! 

Steel and machines, Loud pounding hammers Sing to the Lord a new song! Limestone and beams, Loud building workers Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done marvelous things. We too will praise Him with a new song! 

Classrooms and labs, Loud boiling test tubes Sing to the Lord a new song! Athlete and band, Loud cheering people Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done marvelous things. We too will praise Him with a new song! 

Knowledge and truth, Loud sounding wisdom Sing to the Lord a new song! Daughter and son, Loud praying members Sing to the Lord a new song! God has done marvelous things. We too will praise Him with a new song! 

Praise God for Liberal Ideas in the Bible

I'm not sure how you can oppose affordable health care, helping the poor, providing economic and racial justice and equality, or immigration reform when you read this psalm. I know I have "liberal glasses on," but come on.

Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.