Tuesday, October 17, 2006
"We have to realize that prayer is foolish...."
Below i have included todays reading from my Utmost for His highest. For some time now i have noticed this theme of getting to the essence of what it means to be a Christian. the emphasis i want to make is not really prayer which is clearly his focus in today's reading but the understanding of what Christian "work" is and what it should be. God has been speaking to me about this for some time now.
I believe our common misunderstanding of "work" stems from growing up in a post Industrial Revolution age. The focus is on products and everything else is a means to an end. What i hope to encourage people to do is to take notice that there is an influence and that we think the way we do regarding work not because it is a Biblical model for living out the principles of God but more because we are "products" of the social movements of our times. I want to get to the bottom of it all and find the essence of what God means when he says things like "work out your salvation...". I want to have an objective view as much as humanly possible and separate Christ from Christian culture. Mr Chambers seems to do a good job of that and this is one example of how he does it below.
"The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. "Pray the Lord of the harvest . . . ." In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, "Oh, but I have a special work to do!" No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, "a servant [who] is not greater than his master" (John 13:16 ), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. "Pray the Lord of the harvest," and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer." (Oswald chambers my Utmost for his highest)
I believe our common misunderstanding of "work" stems from growing up in a post Industrial Revolution age. The focus is on products and everything else is a means to an end. What i hope to encourage people to do is to take notice that there is an influence and that we think the way we do regarding work not because it is a Biblical model for living out the principles of God but more because we are "products" of the social movements of our times. I want to get to the bottom of it all and find the essence of what God means when he says things like "work out your salvation...". I want to have an objective view as much as humanly possible and separate Christ from Christian culture. Mr Chambers seems to do a good job of that and this is one example of how he does it below.
"The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer, not work— that is, not work as the word is commonly used today, which often results in the shifting of our focus away from God. The key to the missionary’s difficult task is also not the key of common sense, nor is it the key of medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer. "Pray the Lord of the harvest . . . ." In the natural realm, prayer is not practical but absurd. We have to realize that prayer is foolish from the commonsense point of view.
From Jesus Christ’s perspective, there are no nations, but only the world. How many of us pray without regard to the persons, but with regard to only one Person— Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced through distress and through conviction of sin. This is the harvest for which we have to pray that laborers be sent out to reap. We stay busy at work, while people all around us are ripe and ready to be harvested; we do not reap even one of them, but simply waste our Lord’s time in over-energized activities and programs. Suppose a crisis were to come into your father’s or your brother’s life— are you there as a laborer to reap the harvest for Jesus Christ? Is your response, "Oh, but I have a special work to do!" No Christian has a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, "a servant [who] is not greater than his master" (John 13:16 ), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. "Pray the Lord of the harvest," and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer." (Oswald chambers my Utmost for his highest)
Sunday, October 15, 2006
why do we do it?
why do i create anything i call art? is it worth the time? I am asking myself this today. I guess it depends what i want to get out of it. If i want prasie the answer is no. if i want to be useful the answer is no. If i want $$$ ha no. If i just want to produce the answer is no. If i want things to change as a result the answer is no. But if i can find some level of joy in the process, in the feeling of the materials, or the color ,or development, or the visual pleasure of it all, or its just seems like the right thing to do, or that i need to do it. then it is worth doing. The other things seem only to distract me.