How to pray for one hour

At New Life Community Church we are in the midst of 21 days of prayer and fasting. Part of this includes each New Life location hosting 24hrs of non-stop prayer from 7pm on one day to 7pm the next. At New Life Lincoln Park where I am our 24hrs starts tonight. We have over 30 people signed up for 1hr blocks to pray for one another, our church, and our city.

Praying for an entire hour?!? Wouldn't you fall asleep? What all could you possibly pray about for that long?

Praying for an hour may seem intimidating at first but for the person prepared the time in reality flies by. At the end the prepared person would be checking the clock on their phone with astonishment asking, "That's it? That was an hour?"

Here's how you get ready to pray for an hour:

5 simple steps to get the most amazing study Bible on the planet right now (for free)!!!

One of the most important things for someone who loves Jesus to be engrossed in is the Bible. Not to merely read it but to study it, learn it, and live out its message. That type of study takes time, work, and resources. For the last 10+ years the best tool I've found and used for my own study is Logos Bible Software. It is the most amazing resource that actually saves me time and makes the work of studying fun and easy.

I'm incredibly pumped about a new resource that Logos has recently released, a brand new study Bible called Faithlife. There really isn't anything else out there like it and it has the potential of empowering the church for Bible study like never before. Check out this short video that gives an overview:

Some of the best reminders about God - Pt 1

Sometimes the best place to be reminded that God is all knowing is in the midst of a situation where you have no idea what is going on. 

Maybe the best time to be reminded that God is in complete control is in the midst of an hour where you have no idea what to do.

The trick is to to not allow your situation to define who God is, but to allow what is true about God to help you define your situation.

Some apostates have come about because they gave the power of definition to their situation and in turn the character and heart of God became misinterpreted and misrepresented. 

Batter My Heart

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

This is one of my favorite poems, a sonnet by John Donne.

It is a dangerous prayer to ask God to batter your heart in such away that it becomes untangled from all other things but Him. But such a prayer must be offered, that we would be divorced from all other allegiances and found only with eyes for Him.

A dangerous prayer, a possibly difficult prayer, but a necessary one.

Thankfulness for someone who encouraged thought

A great man of God passed away yesterday: Chuck Colson.

There are leaders of the faith who have inspired me, those who have equipped me, those who have encouraged me. But Chuck Colson is a leader who challenged me to think about and understand my faith. And in doing so he inspired, equipped, and encouraged.

The first time I ever heard Chuck Colson I had no idea who he was or that it was him I was listening to. At the beginning of his song, "Heaven in the Real World," Stephen Curtis Chapman had a sound bite of Colson saying this:

"Where is the hope? I meet millions of people who feel demoralized by the decay around us. The hope that each of us has is not in who governs us, or what laws we pass, or what great things we do as a nation. Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people. And that's where our hope is in this country. And that's where our hope is in life." 

His life story is about that hope. His story is a testimony to the powerful grace of God.

If you've never heard of or interacted with the work of Chuck Colson, I highly recommend you do.

Read his obituary press release here.

Read his story here.

Check out his books here. If you want some suggested starting places I'd go with The Faith, How Now Shall We Live, and The Body. 

And check out this video...

Clouds of power, clouds of beauty

In Nashville for work yesterday, the city was under tornado warnings. The guy who handed me car keys at the rental booth said, "Might want to hunker down in the afternoon." Yes, he said "hunker down." It's Nashville. A Starbucks and a CVS I stopped at both had signs up stating, "Closing early due to impending weather." Apparently the storm was something to be concerned about. And of course the church I was at was smack dab in the middle of it all.

In the afternoon the sky shifted hue in the blink of an eye. Darkness came in an instant. I stepped outside when it first started up and took this video of the hail coming down:

The father who keeps his promises

Sunday night our family visited Mosaic, Erwin McManus' church in West Hollywood. It was an incredible service and Erwin gave a phenomenal message, as expected. Before we left for church though, our kids had their hearts set on going swimming at the hotel. We knew we wouldn't be able to make visiting Mosaic if we took a dip, so we ensured them there would be swimming when we got back. 

While buckling Baylee in after church the first words out of her mouth were, "We're going swimming when we get back, right dad?" I love swimming and having fun with my kids, so with complete confidence and intention I said, "Baylee, we are going to swim! I promise you! Unless the pool is broken, we will swim. And if for some reason it's closed when we get back then I promise we will go in the morning." The result was one huge smile.

Now take the fact that 8pm Los Angles time is actually 10pm to Baylee and Jaxon's little Chicago bodies and add to it a 35 minute drive back to our hotel, and result is two zonked out little kids. Gone. Comatose. At this point it didn't matter if the pool was open or not.

But it did matter in the morning. At 7:45am Baylee was awake and the first words she said were, "Daddy, do we get to go swimming?" But she didn't stop there. She added the other words. She played the trump card. She called me out.

The Hearing God messages

This past Sunday at church we wrapped up our Hearing God series. I was so glad we did this series. It was a reminder of important encouraging truths that I know I needed to hear. 

Here are four of the messages if you want to give them a listen (the 2nd week wasn't recorded):

• God speaks
• Discerning the Whisper: listen or download
• Hearing Him in the Silence: listen or download
• Not Living Halfway: listen or download

God Speaks: preaching a message without saying a word

The first message in our new "Hearing God" series this past Sunday lasted 29 minutes. During this time there wasn't a word audibly spoken. It was the quietest I've heard the crowd or the sanctuary. As it was communicated Sunday night, if the message was about God speaking then it seemed best I didn't. So I just stood there, and let Him do the rest.

God speaks. That is the what this message is about. Just click through the slides and you'll hear what everyone heard Sunday:

For those from New Life Lincoln Park who were asking for the notes (or anyone), you can download a PDF of the slides here or the actual PowerPoint here.

The pain of miscarriage and the goodness of God

Devastating. 

When talking of miscarriage, I'm not sure if there is a better word that can be used to describe what you're going through. Every person I've ever met who has gone through the experience uses this word when telling their story. 

Good.

When talking of God, this is one of many words we can use when describing Him.  Goodness is part of His defining character. It's who He is...all the time.

How these two words can come together in one story is hard to fathom. Yet, I'm incredibly thankful for my friends Tiffany & Daniel Schaaff. Last week Tiffany shared their story on her blog and beautifully brought these two words together. 

I'd really encourage you to take a minute and read her entry: God is Good...So Good!

Immanuel of Everything

As part of the message Sunday during our Christmas service, our amazing New Life Lincoln Park worship team did this song by Coldplay, "Christmas Lights":

The theme of this song rings true: Christmas is an amazing time of year, but it doesn't always feel amazing.

Along with all of the fun, celebrating, and connecting with others, for some this season was nothing but the opposite.  It was a stressful season: Who all do I buy for? What do I get them? When am I going to have the time? That woman took the last pair, could I take her out before she gets to the register? It was a time that raised old hurts: remembering loss, broken dreams, loneliness, no presents under the tree. And these could create feelings of doubt: What’s the point? Anyone care? Is anyone out there?

Some thoughts about the fact the world is ending today

Harold Camping

Today the rapture might happen, the world as we know spinning into chaos. I type this while sitting in a Starbucks in downtown Orlando. Guess if I can't be in Chicago then the land of Mickey is as good a place as ever. It's unfortunate though because Baylee and Jaxon were anticipating the Magic Kingdom on Sunday. [insert churchee crack about the real Kingdom here].

Harold Camping predicted that this would all happen on May 21, 2011.  It didn't.

Mr. Camping explained his error and then rescheduled things. For today. Oct 21, 2011.

I'm going to bet my kids will be able to take a picture with Mickey this Sunday afternoon.  

A few thoughts on Mr Camping and end of the world predictions:

Pray Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani doesn't get executed!

Literally just heard of this within the last 15 minutes. 

And in light of the situation, the reality of the above sentence is in and of itself a complete travesty!!!

Here is the situation, copying from the Washington Post:  

Just days after Iran released two Americans accused of spying, an Iranian court has upheld the apostasy conviction and execution sentence of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s supreme court had previously ruled that the trial court must determine if Youcef had been a Muslim before converting to Christianity. However, the judges, acting like terrorists with a hostage, demanded that he recant his faith in Christ before even taking evidence. The judges stated that even though the judgment they have made is against the current Iranian and international laws, they have to uphold the previous decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom. 

Here's the the link to the full article: Christian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani faces potential execution.

Stunned about this. Heartbroken for Pastor Nadarkhani, for his wife and children. Praying fervently for him right now. 

Taking this from another blog I read about the situation, it sums up actions steps that can and should be taken:

• EDUCATE. Read the story below from the Washington Post and educate yourselves. [here for RSS readers]
• ADVOCATE. Click this email form to write the Iranian embassy, urging them NOT to go ahead with the execution following the trial. I’ve included a copy of my letter in the comments.
• PRAY. Pray. And pray some more.
• SHARE. Share Pastor Yousef’s story and faith. 

I wrote a note to the Iranian Ambassador. If you do so, please be respectful and follow the suggestions given on the site. If you're not going to act in such a manner, then don't write an email.

And pray...pray...pray for Pastor Yousef Madarkhani.

White Ribbon Day: Remembering 9/11 [VIDEO]

The day after the attacks, my friend Dave Trout came to me with 8-10 hours of 9/11 news footage recorded on one VHS and an idea for a video. The plan was to create for church a montage video, set to the song, White Ribbon Day. After two all nighters, about two hours before services started, the memorial video was finished. 

Here it is:

Bono, the blind man, and the 2nd commandment

We are going through the 10 Commandments at church, and I've been fortunate enough to have spoken on the first four of them. It's been an incredible time and a really amazing series.

Last week I saw a sweet video of U2's recent concert in Nashville that reminded me of the power behind the 2nd commandment.

My 2yr old Jaxon & G.K. Chesterton

Monday we had lunch at a McDonalds near Midway airport. Because I was flying out for work in the afternoon, we went to this particular Golden Arches so I could laugh with the kids in the play area up till the last minute before having to head over to the airport.

It really is amazing to think of the minds that artfully concoct the different tube and slide patterns. Kids go through laughing and sweating and enjoying every minute, parents go through at the risk of needing reconstructive knee surgery afterward.

This particular play area had an enclosed section that I could actually stand up in, thanks be the maker, my head just an inch or two from the ceiling.  It was circular, about 5 feet across, and for whatever reason my two-year-old Jaxon loved this part of the structure. Probably because he didn't have to really climb anything to get to it, just one tube crawl into the enclosure. 

An elderly cerebral hemorrhage survivor got in my face

This week I'm working with a smaller education conference in the southern part of Illinois. It's incredibly hot, and the church only has air conditioning in the sanctuary, which basically means I've been sweating like a dog for the last three days.  It's still been a great time.

Not long after I did my presentation on Logos, an elderly woman came up to me and asked if she could sit with me at my table.  She thought the software looked amazing and wanted to get it to help her get ready for Sunday School. 

"This will be a good tool for me I think. I love to learn and study God's Word, and don't take the opportunity to be able to do so lightly"

"I'm with you there mame," I said. 

Looking over the Logos form, she says, "You see, I'm a cerebral hemorrhage survivor. Most people do not survive that ordeal. But I did"

9/11: This is a Special Place

In the summer of 2006 Jeannette was 5 ½ months pregnant with our first.  We hadn’t taken a real vacation in a few years, so we decided to have a nice last fling before the two of us became the three of us. There was no need for negotiations on where we would go, we were in complete agreement within seconds: New York City.

Last week's God moment: Trip down memory lane

Last week I went to Shiloh IL for a conference with Logos.  Shiloh is right next to Belleville, which is where I lived from before 1st grade up till almost 5th grade.  I purposely flew in a little early on Friday so that I could try and find where we lived.

1-2 Punch to the gut from God

Because there aren't really any radio stations that I like or can stand for long periods of time, I normally listen to audiobooks while driving and then music when I'm working or just hanging out. Yesterday morning, on the drive from Bridgeport to Oak Forest, I had a couple old songs from when I was in youth group that I couldn't get out of my head. Therefore, I put my book on hold for a trip.