Pastor Card’s Weblog

Prayer for January 2, 2013

Our scripture focus this week is from 2 Peter 3.9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

The first of January is when many people decide to embrace a new start. However, the success rate for New Year’s resolutions is abysmal. The media predicts the rate at which these promises will be broken before we even make them.

So what are we to do? Are resolutions to eat better or to exercise or to spend more time with those we love or to learn another language useless? Should we abandon these ideas—or as one commentator suggested—tell no one what we resolved to do, or better still—keep these resolutions reasonable and easy to reach?

On this second day of a New Year why not decide to go for the big one? Why not decide that this year is going to be a year to honor “on earth as in heaven”? Why not decide to seek to discover God’s vision for each of us?

Gordon MacDonald has three steps from his book Ordering Your Private World that would be helpful in ensuring that this year’s promises have more chance of being kept.
1. Start each day asking, “What do You desire of me today, Lord? What can I do that brings you honor?”
2. Ask the Lord, “Show me where in this world sin has not taken root so that I can see what you are revealing to me through Your loving heart.”
3. Ask, “Where can I serve You, Lord Jesus, by supporting and encouraging others?”
Last year I decided to ask myself these three questions every day. My success rate was not perfect, but on the days in which I made one of more of these my focus, I was truly blessed. The Lord stands ready to support us. The Lord waits patiently for us to seek guidance. Perhaps, those resolutions we easily forget are doomed not because we are weak, but rather because we believe it all depends upon us. We forget that God wants to help us—if we but seek God’s guidance.
Recap Prayer and Challenge: Dear Lord, Help us to remember that when we honor You we honor all of Your creation. Help us to remember that you are actively in our lives revealing your love to us. Help us to serve You knowing that there is no greater purpose. In Jesus name, help us to embrace a New Year knowing You do not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Amen.

Week 3, Day 20 is entitled: “Visualize God’s Blessings”

EMJR (Early Morning Joy Ritual) for Day 20

When I went back to school to train for ministry I was an “older student.” At Wesley Theological Seminary I walked into that first class with Dr. Sharon Ringe nervous and completely unaware of what was in store. One exercise that helped me was to buy tapes that showed how to remember things more easily. Those tapes explained how the mind remembers with vivid pictures. The premise was that in the process of taking in huge amounts of information, the mind is constantly eliminating things it believes we do not need to remember. It encouraged remembering things visually and making pictures. Newberry is encouraging us to create pictures in our minds that imagine the future. My problem is that I can see beauty in a finished picture—but I am not always able to see what might be drawn on that empty canvas.

In ministry, a pastor can wear a stole only after he or she is fully ordained. A close friend created a wonderful needle pointed stole for me using many of the Christian symbols. She created this free hand, and it is a one-of-a-kind stole that many people admire.

The uniqueness of the stole for me is that she created it and gave it to me before I was fully ordained. When times got tough in preparation for full ordination, I would look at that stole and visualize finally getting to wear it. Every time I do get to wear it, I think of how she created this and literally was visualizing my future better than I could.

What are you visualizing this morning?

Week 3, Day 19 is entitled: “Just Exchange It”
EMJR (Early Morning Joy Ritual) for Day 19
So we really cannot multi-task when it comes to thoughts???? I mean, trying “not to think about something” really does cause us to think about that very thing which we are trying to block out? This reminds me of a time when I was working through a deep hurt. A good friend placed a rose at my back door with the note, “this, too, will pass.” Every time I looked at the rose that day I move farther away from my sadness. Each morning, the first thing I do is reread my prayer journal entry from last year. Not only does this help me to see where God has helped me to grow—it shows me the things I thought were really big problems that have been resolved quite nicely.
I want to reiterate Newberry’s warning that “[a]ttempting to get rid of an unproductive thought by fighting it or trying to block it out will not work.” Too many times I have heard people say, “just forget it.” Newberry explains why the mind just does not forget things easily, especially things that have hooked our feelings. For me, asking the question, “Where is this going?” has helped.
I think we have all had times when we were happy, and then gotten ambushed by something unexpected and damaging happening. So we might think of God’s Word as a welcomed ambush that can redirect us. I have seen people’s moods change when a dear friend walked in the door. Imagine how we would feel if God was embodied before our eyes.
What do you think?