The Seed of Hope

Twenty-One Days

This past summer the Church of The Highlands, located here in Birmingham, held Twenty-One Days of Prayer, a prayer service that lasted for, you guessed it, twenty-one days!

Being new to Highlands, I’d never even heard of the service, much less attended it. Come to think of it, I’d never been to a prayer service, at any church. Always looking for ways to deepen my relationship with God, I decided to give it a try. I’d often heard of people being referred to as “prayer warriors”, and while I didn’t consider myself to be a prayer warrior, or know that I wanted to be one, I certainly knew how to pray!

Monday through Friday the service was held from 6:00 to 7:00 A.M., and on Saturday it was from 9:00 to 10:00 A.M.. There wasn’t a service on Sunday. I guess that it was expected that you would attend church (and in doing so would pray).

Day One

I rolled out of bed at five o’clock and as quietly as I possibly could (I didn’t want to wake my wife Jackie) showered, got dressed, and brewed a small thermos of coffee to take with me. I pulled out of our driveway at 5:30, allowing 15 minutes for the drive, and another 15 to get settled in at church.

During the drive over, I wondered what the service would be like. I mean, would we just sit around for an hour in prayer? (I do that almost every morning in our kitchen.) I figured that I’d find out soon enough.

I walked in to find a perhaps a hundred people scattered about, as our praise and worship music filled the huge main auditorium (it seats around 2,500 people). I took a seat near the front, as is my custom, and bowed my head in prayer while I waited for the service to begin.

The first of the twenty-one days began with an introduction as to what we should expect during the next three weeks. Each day would begin with a reading and a message from one of the pastors at Highlands. This would be followed by everyone in attendance singing one of our “Sunday songs.” Next would be thirty minutes of individual prayer and reflection. The final fifteen minutes would consist of everyone gathering at the main stage for corporate prayer being led by the “pastor of the day”.

I remember thinking “I can handle this.”

And so the first service began with the reading, the message, and the singing. I was enjoying the experience, but I wasn’t sure that it was worth getting up and out of the house at 5:30 in the morning. Turns out that I was a bit premature in my thinking…

Prayer Resources

When we had finished singing we were told that there were some resources at the front of the stage that we might use in prayer. Figuring that I could use all the help I could get, I decided to check out these resources.

As I approached the stage I saw stacks of cards arranged across the front. As I got closer I realized that they were hundreds of Connection Cards from Sunday’s services. These cards are filled out by visitors attending Highlands for the first time, returning visitors, and members of the church. There are sections for general information, (name, address, age, etc.) education classes offered in the church, ministry opportunities, and prayer requests.

I picked up, I don’t know, maybe 25 or 30 cards and headed back to my seat. As I began to read, I quickly realized that all of the cards in my hand contained prayer requests from the congregation.

Now I have to tell you…I pray for people all the time. I pray for Jackie and our family. I pray for my friends. I pray for our team in our salon. I pray for our church and civic leaders, our country, and our world. I pray for the sick, and those in need. I pray for lost souls.

But this was different. I was holding people’s lives, stranger’s lives, in my hands. Yet strangely enough, I felt as if I knew them. You see, there were names connected with all of these cards…people requesting prayers for themselves, or family members, or friends. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see their faces; I knew their names. And there was hurt and pain and desperation on all of these cards…sickness…drug abuse…broken relationships…financial problems…death. Many prayed for loved ones to find God.

The small stack of cards in my hand suddenly carried the weight of an automobile. I found myself holding my breath, tears streaming down my face, overwhelmed by the huge wave of emotion that had engulfed me. Five or ten minutes elapsed before I could continue reading.

Looking back on it now, I don’t know if I was moved by the needs of all those people, or by the affirmations of their faith shown in asking other people to act as intercessors on their behalf. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

Either way, the impact of that morning stayed with me for the remainder of that day, and for days to come. And so it went for the next couple of weeks.

Until…

I don’t remember the exact day, but I do know that it was during the last week of the Twenty-One Days. I was walking around in church that morning (I sometimes like to pace when I pray) sifting through the prayer cards, just as I had been doing for the past couple of weeks. I had actually gotten more accustomed to reading them by then. Oh, I still felt the pain, but I wasn’t as overwhelmed as I had been the first few mornings.

But that particular morning I sensed something else…a different kind of urgency…a different kind of pain. This was something close to me, as in physically close. I stopped dead in my tracks and took a look around, hoping to find the source of my uneasy feeling, but not really wanting to. Make sense?

There, on the floor, just a couple of feet away from me, was a young lady on her knees, face buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. I could feel her pain. My first instinct was to put a hand on her shoulder to console her. I decided against it because I thought that I might be invading her privacy. I was, after all, a complete stranger. I opted instead to linger for just a moment, asking God to hear her petitions.

“You can’t see the forest for the trees.”

After praying for the young lady, I resumed my walk around the church with a new set of eyes, with a different perspective. This time my focus was not on the cards in my hand, but on the other people in attendance.

As I scanned the church, I was taken aback by the desperation that I not only saw on many faces, but actually felt in my heart. At that very moment I realized that while many of us were offering prayers for people on the connection cards, a great many others were on their knees for their own petitions. Had they been there all along during the twenty-one days? How could I not have noticed them? How could I not have felt their needs?

My mind flashed back to that very first day…the numbness, the emotion, and the tears. I spent the remainder of that morning, and a good portion of the remaining mornings that week, praying for the needs of those around me.

How do I do it?

I’m frequently asked how I can be so positive and happy all the time…

When I’m having a particularly rough day, or when life seems to be throwing me one curve after another, or when I’m faced with one of those challenging situations that we all face from time to time, I pause.

And I think about the Twenty-One days of Prayer, and the connection cards with the names, and the hurt, the pain, the needs of others. And I think about the young lady on her knees, and the man openly weeping as he offered his petitions to God, and the desperation that I felt in that church. And the faith that I witnessed in that church. I think about the millions of people that are burdened each day and the millions more that don’t know God.

You see, my positive outlook and happiness is born of gratitude. I’m grateful that God has seen fit to bless me with all that He has. I’m grateful for His presence in my life. I’m grateful that He has given me another day. I’m just grateful. Period.

See you next week!

One Wednesday in October

Have you ever wondered what God sounds like…I mean, as in tonal quality, inflection, and pronunciation? Would he speak to someone from the South with a draaawl? How about a follower from Boston Haaabah? Longiiisland? Minnesooota? Come on…you gonna tell me that you’ve never even thought about it? I bet you will now! J

All joking aside, I believe that God talks to us, or sends us messages all the time. Sometimes it’s to answer questions that we have for Him, and sometimes it’s to guide us through life. And it’s up to us to recognize His “voice” when He speaks.

I want to tell you what happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Actually, it was Wednesday, October 28, 2009. We had just returned the day before from a weekend in Florida where we had attended a salon industry event with several members of our team. If you’ve ever owned a business, or been in a management position, you know that there’s a price to pay for taking time off! After arriving back in Birmingham on Tuesday morning, I spent most of the day “catching up”; payroll, bank deposits, placing orders, paying bills, etc. In other words, Tuesday had been a long, long, day.

There’s something that bears mentioning; that Monday’s post had been about Satan (The Enemy Within). If you had the opportunity to read it, you know that the devil was messin’ with my mind while I was writing it and after it had been completed. Wrestling with Satan can take the wind out of your sails and derail you; it certainly had with me.

Disconnected

Have you ever had the feeling that you were disconnected from God? I mean, you knew that God was with you, but you didn’t feel His presence? That’s exactly how I felt when I got up on Wednesday morning; disconnected. I was tired, both mentally and physically. To make matters worse, doubts about me, my abilities, and my purpose in life were beginning to plant themselves in my subconscious. I was questioning if I was making a difference in the world at all.

I made my way to my prayer chair in our kitchen, turned on Church of The Highlands Arise music on my iPod, and settled in for prayer and meditation. Fifteen minutes later…nothing…nada…zilch. It had been a long week and I was desperate to feel God…to be with Him. And I was getting nowhere. And I was getting frustrated.

Then I did something that I’d never done before…I picked up my Bible, held it in my hands, and asked God to reveal Himself to me through His Word. I decided to just open the Bible and start reading. I believed that God would indeed give me a message, and I asked Him to give me spiritual eyes to see it, an open mind to receive it, and an open heart to feel it.

The Book of Daniel

That’s where I opened the Book…to the first page of Daniel. I fervently began reading, looking for my “message.” First page…kings and people with hard to pronounce names…like reading a history book. I was a little disappointed, but still filled with anticipation. Second page…more of the same…more of Daniel’s story. I began to think that I had opened the Bible in the wrong place, that I had been wrong…more doubt.

I decided to read more of Daniel. There, at the bottom of the third page…

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in the darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of a king.”    DANIEL 2:20-23 (NIV)

Wisdom…knowledge…reveals…light. I was beginning to feel better. If nothing else, the anxious feeling that had been my companion for several days was going away. That was a start! Thank you God.

An e-mail

When I had finished with my prayers I decided to see if I had received any e-mails or comments through The Seed of Hope. This too, is one of my morning rituals…it’s always a blessing for me to hear from you guys!

Well, I was blessed x 3 that morning! One of the e-mails was from a lady that had read a post (“BUT” August 16, 2009) that had been printed in a local publication here in Birmingham. She graciously informed me that reading the article had “blessed me so”, and was wondering if I might send her a copy so that she may forward it to some of her friends. Of course, I immediately did exactly that, thanking her for sharing the message with others.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that this lady’s name was Faith. On a day when I’m plagued by questions and doubt, I receive a beautiful message from a complete stranger; a stranger named Faith. Thank you God.

That night…

Despite being tired from both the previous weekend and work that day, my wife Jackie and I made a last minute decision to attend church that night. Though I always want and need to go to church, there are days when I really need to be in church…I felt that this was one of them. As it turned out, I’m thankful that we went…

Church of The Highlands Pastor Chris Hodges’ message that night was all about the existence of Satan and spiritual warfare! Jackie turned to me with this knowing look on her face the moment she realized that the Pastor’s topic was exactly what my post had been about on Monday. I sat there in stunned silence with tears in my eyes. Why?

Look, I’ve told you before that I am nothing more than a regular guy with a message. I am an authority on nothing, and I never profess to be more than that. I just write about what God puts on my heart and in my mind. Walking into a church, my church, and hearing not just any Pastor, but my Pastor give a message on a very touchy subject, just two days after I had done the same, and citing the same verse from the Bible in doing so, just blew me away. Thank you God.

Later that night…

When we returned home after church, I decided to check my e-mails one last time. I was excited to see that I had received a new weekly Verse and Message from my good friend, fellow blogger, and awesome Christian lady Susie McCullum! (Susie’s blog page is http://susiemc.wordpress.com . You need to check it out!)

Here’s an excerpt from Susie’s blog:

“BUT, the devil wants to condemn us as Christians. He wants to declare that we are guilty, causing us shame for our wrongdoing. In fact, one of his main objectives is to blur our perspective in a way that causes us to see ourselves as we were before Christ redeemed us, with a dark cloud over our heads. The devil’s plight is to manipulate us into becoming miserable Christians that will be ineffective for God’s Kingdom.”

Reading Susie’s message made me realize that Satan had still been messin’ with me. I got in the bed and covered myself and Jackie in prayer as I drifted off to sleep. Thank you Susie. Thank you God.

One Wednesday in October,

God knew that I was struggling. I was doubting, not Him, but myself. I was in one of those dark tunnels that we find ourselves in from time to time. He heard my prayers, asking Him for clarity, light, and assurance. So He decided to send me a message not once, or twice, but four times. I asked…He answered.

How great is our God!

See you next week.

It Ain't Easy

I want to lay out a scenario for you. It could be the theme for a movie, or perhaps a book…

There’s this middle aged guy. Oh, he’d done well for himself, according to most standards. Great wife and family. Good health. Nice home, automobiles, a business, some money in the bank. He had God in his life. And while there seemed to be a lack of inner-peace, he was for the most part, happy. Still, something wasn’t quite right…something was missing…always had been.

It turns out that this guy had spent all of his life “lost”, in a spiritual sense. Seems that he knew who God was, but that he didn’t really know God. He really didn’t know the first thing about Jesus, other than what he’d been taught in school and read in books. And he didn’t know anything about having a relationship with Christ. He was clueless. You couldn’t really fault the guy, because he just didn’t know these things. You see, none of the people in his life that had the most influence on him had ever told him about what he didn’t know; perhaps this was because they didn’t know…

Not long after this guy’s fifty-third birthday, he had an epiphany…the light bulb turned on…the clouds separated…he finally got it!  He was born again of the spirit, turned his life over to God, and made a commitment to live the rest of his life walking with Christ.

Guy lives happily ever after. End of story.

Or is it?

Okay, if you haven’t figured it out already, the scenario that I just posed for you is a thumb-nail picture of my life. I know that it’s a simple plot, but when you get right down to it, it’s an accurate description of my world…before God, and after God…when I didn’t know Him, and when I did…a world without His light, and one filled by His brilliance.

Look, I’m aware that I’m not the only person that this has happened to. Thousands of people find Christ every day; perhaps you’re one of them. If you are, you know that having God in your life is as simple as before and after, or darkness and light. It’s just that simple…but it’s not.

You see, the end of the story is actually the beginning. At least is was for me…

I want to retract everything that I’ve ever said about not being comfortable with the term “born again.” It’s always been my contention that a person who’s always known God couldn’t be born again in knowing Him…I was wrong.

When we come into this world we don’t know anything, other than perhaps the sound of our parent’s voices. From that point on we spend years learning the ways of the world, either from others or from self-discovery. It’s a never ending process; the longer we live, the more we know…and the more we grow. At least that’s the way it has been for me.

I realize now that when I was born again in 2006, I didn’t even recognize my Father’s voice…and that who and what I believed God to be had been carried over from what I had learned about Him as a child…and that the fact that I was a Christian had nothing to do with being a Christian!

How many?

I wonder how many of us have been born again…ready to give our lives to Christ…ready to “walk the walk”…ready to change the way we live…ready to walk away from our not-so-Christ-like-habits…ready to be happy-ever-after…only to find out that being a Christian “ain’t easy”.

I don’t know exactly where I’m going with this, but I’m gonna keep plowing ahead…

Look, it’s easy for me to tell you that I’m a Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in the flesh and died on the cross so that we may receive God’s grace and be given the opportunity to spend eternity with God.

I realize that I may have over-simplified the definition of a Christian…the point that I’m trying to make is that in declaring myself to be a Christian I am setting myself apart from others who only believe in God. Again, that part is easy.

Being a Christian…walking the walk…trying to be Christ-like every day is hard. As a Christian, I hold myself accountable for every thought, word, and deed…every minute of every day. There are no days off, no vacations, and no weekend “get-a-ways” from being a Christian. Every day counts.

Having my ticket punched as being a Christian doesn’t entitle me to any free rides. There are challenges at work…financial pressures…relationship issues…health problems…all the “stuff” that we have to put up with on a daily basis. I remember my life before being born again…I’d gripe and lie and curse and moan and groan and do whatever I had to do to get through the situation I was in…what a miserable life I lived. That was then.

So, I wonder how many of us have been born again, filled with the presence of Christ, ready to commit our lives to God, only to give up when we find out that life is still hard (if not harder) as a Christian. We give up…we don’t stay the course…we don’t hang in there long enough…we don’t completely surrender ourselves to God…we don’t give Him time to reveal Himself to us…we don’t let go and let God…we don’t come to know Him.

The key…

So being a Christian is hard. Trying to live like Christ, and to walk in His footsteps, is tough. For me it has proven to be impossible. I have taken a left when I should have taken a right, or said yes when I should have said no, or been critical of someone when I should have been compassionate, or insisted on doing the driving instead of letting God take the wheel. I keep falling down.

BUT, I keep getting back up. And I’ll continue to get back up, no matter how many times I stumble. I’m never gonna stop trying to live the life of Christ. Ever.

I believe that the key to happiness…for me, for you, for all of us, is in trying to live the life of the Son that we find a complete relationship with the Father!

You want to know God’s love? His wisdom? His compassion? His goodness? His strength? Walk in the way of His Son. Never give up. Never.

You will come to know that with Him, and in Him, and through Him, all things are possible. And your life will become so much easier.

I want to leave you with a prayer that I came across in a one year devotional a couple of days ago. The author, or perhaps I should say the original supplicant of this prayer remains anonymous.

          “My Lord, You have mercifully exchanged Jesus for me. I now walk in His identity, His power, His will, His resurrection and life. May I live worthy of that calling, praying His prayers, seeking His possessions, desiring His desires, dreaming His dreams, doing His work. I’m a fellow heir to Your Kingdom, and I don’t want to waste the privilege. Please give me Your wisdom. Please plant Your desires deep within me. Let me see Jesus’ miracles, His power, His compassion. Yes I know I will also feel His cross. But I gladly will, if I can only experience His life. Please let me live as Jesus in this world. Please. Amen.”

May you always walk in His way!

See you next week!