TEACH US TO PRAY

by Barbara Chadwick

Dr. Theodore J. Wardlaw, President of Austin Presbyterian Seminary tells the following story:

“There is a small, but once-large, Presbyterian church in Nashville that was founded in the wake of the commencement of the Second World War. Its pastor, previously at the prominent Presbyterian congregation downtown, had been a thoroughgoing pacifist for at least a decade. In the wake of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor – a time when thoroughgoing pacifists, or pacifists of any kind, were hard to find in this country – this pastor had preached a passionate sermon against war and, predictably, had ignited the wrath of many of his parishioners. Over the issue of the freedom of the pulpit, the pastor and some nine hundred of his supporters left that church and founded this new one: a pacifist Presbyterian church, in a Southern city, on the eve of our involvement in World War 2.

I heard this unusual story years ago, and later, when I was in Nashville for a short visit, I had to go see this church. An architecture enthusiast, I was curious as to what it would look like, How would its roots in radical pacifism affect its appearance? It looked like lots of Presbyterian churches formed in that era – in a lovely neighborhood, shaded by the canopy of large trees, all stately and rectilinear with its abstract glass and stone exterior. The thing about it that startled me the most was what was carved in stone above the main entrance to the sanctuary. If I had even thought about what pacifists might carve in stone over the doorway to their sacred space, I might have imagined a fiery scriptural critique of establishment religion – something like, ‘Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream…’ or ‘I hate, I despise your feasts and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies…’ or Pilates’s tired question, ‘What is truth?’  What I saw instead over that entrance surprised me. It was Luke’s account of a plea by one of Jesus’ disciples: ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’

These lonely rabble-rousers had searched the scriptures and had wisely carved in stone over their church’s doorway a reminder of the heart of Christian piety: the quiet, steady, relentless discipline of prayer.”

His story struck me because I’m very concerned about our country and often say, “If we as Christians would just stand up and be true to our beliefs in everything we do, we would make a big difference.” 

You know the word “Christian” means “little Christ’s.”  Sometimes, we want to just blend in with the world. We don’t really want to be radical. We don’t want to stand out from the crowd.

Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research, says: “I suggest we tweet thinking more about Jesus and less about politics. That’s just basic Christian prioritization.”

We need to pay attention to what we’re here for. We need to plead with Christ to, “teach us to pray.” Lord, teach us to love and care and give in Your name.

Remember that the heart of Christian piety is, “the quiet, steady, relentless discipline of prayer.”

YOU ARE GOD'S LETTER

by Barbara Chadwick & Jodi Denning

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:3

            If you knew that your life was to be a letter from Christ to someone’s heart would it look any different from today or yesterday? Read this story from Jodi Denning, a very special woman with a loving heart who ministers to hurting women.

I have to share a story…  Erika (the young woman living with my husband and I) shared something this week with me that blew me away (and gave me a BIG dose of humility about my own Christian walk).  She is a hostess at Applebee’s, and does the seating of customers.  One of the waitresses is pretty ugly to her, calls her names, curses at her, gets in her face, mocks her for being a Christian, etc.  A large group came in to be seated, and they should have been in the waitress’s section but there were no clean tables, so Erika seated them in another section.  The waitress came up and spitefully chewed her out and cursed at her for not seating them in her area.  Erika said she did begin to get mad inside, but God gave her the ability to say calmly “I’m very sorry.  I would have seated them in your section, but there were no clean tables.”  The waitress stormed off.  Erika said she thought about the waitress’s accusations, name calling, etc. and she started feeling anger building up inside her… but then she said she prayed and asked God to take it away.  And here’s the part that blows me away.  There was a break in customers coming in to be seated, and Erika said she felt prompted to go clean some of the tables for the waitress.  I’m sure my jaw dropped when told me that part!!!  She’s only been a believer about a year, but WHAT spiritual maturity!  She said “I need to show her how Jesus makes us (believers) different”.  She also prayed for the waitress as she was cleaning her tables.  The waitress didn’t say anything to Erika, but you can BET she noticed.  Then the next group that came in, Erika seated them in that waitress’s section.  This made me SO aware of how I respond when someone treats me ugly like that – I withdraw, clam up, and tend to back way off.  She chose to serve that person.  My mind immediately went to Jesus’ prayer from the cross – Father, forgive them… they don’t know what they are doing.  Oh for the courage and self-control to LIVE THAT OUT! 

That’s a beautiful letter, written by God. May our actions show Christ’s love as clearly as Erikas’s actions so that the world will know who God is.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR OPPORTUNITIES

by Barbara Chadwick

As we walked up to the front door of KFC we saw a man sitting beside a backpack. Beside the backpack was a hand lettered sign - HUNGRY.  I told him to come in with us and order whatever he wanted. He seemed grateful and said, “Thank you.”  When we got inside I saw several people look at us with interest.

Waiting for our order we asked where he was from. He said he’d been around and in different places but now he had custody of his son and he wanted to find a job and someplace to live and a church. He said, “I believe in God. People have told me the Mormons are no good and others say the Catholics are no good. Whatever denomination you come up with someone will say it’s no good. The Bible doesn’t say you have to go to church in order to be a Christian. I just believe in God.” I invited him to our church and then our food was ready.

He had ordered his “to go” so he said, “Thank you and God bless you” again and left. We found a table and started eating. As we were eating, a man came up behind me and said, “I want to commend you folks for getting that man some food.” Had others noticed as well?

So. Isn’t it interesting. All the people that came in that door saw him there but didn’t invite him in – because…?

-          lack of money?

-          haste to get back to work?

-          they’d been taught not to get involved for fear of getting hurt?

-     they'd read that some indigents are not really needy but scam artists? 

-          distaste? (He did have tattooes all over his face. He did smell like he hadn’t had a bath.)

Jesus said in Luke 10:27, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And in describing who is our neighbor He tells the story of a man who was robbed, beaten and left for dead. A priest and a Levite passed that way and saw him but they crossed to the other side of the road. A regular guy, a Samaritan, came along. He bandaged his wounds, put the man on his donkey and took him to an inn. Notice that he didn’t just leave him right away. “He took care of him.” (verse 34) Then when he had to go he gave the innkeeper money with instructions to care for the man and a promise to reimburse him for any extra expense he might have.

Then Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell in the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.  And Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

I’m afraid I don’t have Jesus definition of mercy. It’s easy to buy someone some burritos and say, “God bless you and goodbye.” But in Jesus story, The good Samaritan cleaned and bandaged his wounds, took time out of his own schedule, took him to an inn and paid for his care and recovery. In addition he planned to come back and check on him!

So if we’re going to “Go and do likewise,”  we’ve got to seriously develop some mercy. We need to have some determination and practice. Then we need to be on the lookout for opportunities.

SUPPORT

by Barbara Chadwick                                                

 

“The problem with your thumb is tendonitis. You must wear this brace to support your wrist and thumb.”  The Dr.’s pronouncement was firm.

Tendons and ligaments are connective tissue. Ligaments connect tissue to bone and tendons connect tissue to muscle. Each one is necessary for the body to function properly. When they’re damaged or torn they cause pain and dysfunction.

The church body is like that also. Have you known people who seem to be spiritually wounded or damaged?  Words and actions are either like darts or spears or like balm to the body. They can either sever relationships or heal the connective tissue of the church.

Just as the physical body is made up of different parts – each one necessary – the church body is composed of different parts. The Apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12:12 …as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body; so also is Christ, - and verse 27: Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.   Then in Ephesians 4:15-16 he says, But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head – Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Relationships are like connective tissue. They need to be supported and nourished. Paul’s words are firm. He uses the command form as he shows us how we can do this throughout Ephesians:

1.      Be forgiving – 5:32

2.      Be compassionate – 5:32

3.      Be kind – 5:32

4.      Walk in love – 5:1

5.      Be imitators of God – 5:1

6.      Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord – 6:7

7.      Be strengthened by the Lord – 6:10

8.      …your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace – 6:15

9.      In every situation take the shield of faith – 6:16

10.  No rotten talk should come out of your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need in order to give grace to those who hear. – 5:29

So let us build up the body of Christ in love so the church can function properly; so people can see God’s grace and love in action, through words and deeds that imitate Him. Be a supporting ligament! Support each relationship, each connective tissue, if you will, with smiles, hugs, and encouraging words!