"TEACH US TO PRAY"

We find this request from the disciples of Jesus recorded in Matthew the 6th Chapter, "teach us to pray". Let's face it, most of us have an inconsistent prayer life. Even more accurately, we tend to pray only when there is some trouble, sickness looming, or we have a friend or family member up against it in some way.

Furthermore we find it amazing when we learn that people like Luther prayed 3 or 4 hours on a daily basis. How did they do it when we often pray for only a few minutes if that many? This word from the Maven is meant to be practical if nothing else, so here are some wise suggestions to invigorate your prayer life.

Do not rely totally on yourself to come up with what you should convey to the Lord. Begin with the prayer Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:9-13. Take to heart every word and put yourself in the place of those who heard from the lips of Jesus himself. "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name." There are some days when I cannot get past the idea that the God of heaven has asked me to call him my father. Also, that all prayer has its foundation with "hallowing" or honoring our father in all His glory. This 'Lord's Prayer' is the preamble for all other prayer that follows. I suggest you go next to the Apostle's Creed. We do not come from a tradition that elevates creeds. However, that only applies when creeds violate clear Biblical teaching. Try these two elements first and then put in your petitions and personal requests to the Father. This is only a starter. The rest follows soon. (To be continued)

A Communion Meditation

A Communion Meditation

The Communion of the Saints

Alexander Campbell once said that among the reasons he enjoyed taking communion was because he was sharing it with those who will join him in heaven at the supper of the lamb described at the end of Revelation. We often speak of the Lord's presence at our weekly supper as he promised, "if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me" (Rev. 3:20).

However, another dimension is frequently lost, the communion of saints. Jesus said in Matthew 22:32, quoting from Exodus about the Lord, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living". The passage goes on later, "they were astonished at his teaching." Hebrews 12:1 adds to our understanding, "we are surrounded by so great a crowd of witnesses".

Recently in our hometown an event took place that drew a big crowd. A group of well known country artists and famous major league baseball players held an autograph signing for local charities. The people around here flocked to the publicized location just to be near, shake hands, take pictures and get a signature. If we knew and really believed that our weekly communion had present Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Peter, James and John, Mary, Stephen the martyr and most importantly, Christ himself as he promised, would we ever miss? Our communion is not simple routine. It captures the eternal history of the church culminating in thepresence of the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world. When we take it in faith we are joined by all who will participate with us in the marriage supper of the Lamb promise to those who stay faithful until the end.

Monday, October 19, 2009

To the Left or Right

To the Left or Right

One of the interesting characteristics of many religious folks is that they seem to accept people to the right of their beliefs, but not to the left. In other words if someone is more conservative than I am it is because he is genuine in his faithfulness to Scripture, mistaken but genuine. However, if someone takes a more open interpretation to a Biblical idea, he is simply not trying to be true to the Word of God and is in error. Therefore, in many communities the setup is that the more openminded and Biblically liberal a congregation tends to be, the more accepting they are of everyone. The further to the right one gets, the fewer the churches that are received as Christian brothers. Even within the same denomination this seems to hold true. In virtually every small town in Texas there are multiple churches of the same brand who do not recognize eachother as brother. We have seen this in the churches of Christ in Beaumont. We welcome every one of those as our brothers in the Lord, but it is not typically reciprocated.

You notice now in our "Beliefs" section on the Christ Covenant Webpage the aspects of the faith we deem to be essential. It can be pretty well summed up in, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism". As heirs of a great tradition which is rooted in Christian unity, we must receive those as brothers that God has accepted as sons and daughters. Do we automatically hold to everyone's doctrine? Absolutely not! Another Maven long ago said, we can no more think alike than we can look alike. Unlike what we did at Christ Covenant in 2005, not everyone will merge. What if some are wrong in various aspects of doctrinal opinion? What if we are honestly mistaken in some of our teaching and traditions? I have a news flash. Brothers in error are the only ones we have. However, if someone teaches about another Lord than Jesus Christ that is a completely different matter. "There is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ", as Paul wrote Timothy. Christian brotherhood is not possible in the fullest sense.

The point of all this is that for Christian unity to work at all, we must get within understanding distance of each other. Some of the best experiences we have had in communication to other Christians came as a result of being together with disaster recovery groups after Rita and Ike. Teams from different churches and various states came and participated in worship assembly and sat in our classes. We listened to them and were mutually uplifted. Many went away and wrote back about the presence of Christ here. Who knows the seeds that were planted? Of utmost importance, God is glorified and Christ is preached and people are served.

RANLOM THE MAVEN