Make A Friend Today

I have always told my kids every morning when they get dropped off or leave the house, "I love you, be good, and work hard". If there are things I want them to know everyday it are those three things. They are important. Every kid should know that their Dad loves them. They should know that the expectation daily is to be good and work hard. I know it is simple but I want my kids to hear that every single day. I have added something to that here lately. I have been telling them, "Make a new friend today." I was thinking a couple of weeks ago about friends and how you can really never have to many.

One of the things that I do that my wife just shakes her head at (trust me there are many) is talk to any kind of service people that I deal with waiters, cashiers, basically anyone with a name tag that I deal with. Actually, I really wish everyone in the world wore a name tag. I would call everyone by there first name. It is fun to me to talk with people. It makes my day to say something silly or talk to them with some meaning. How many times a day does someone just call them, "hey you"? It is the least  I can do, call them by name. Talk to them like a person. Isn't that what Jesus did with everyone?

He came up to Andrew, Peter, James and John. He called out to them as perfect strangers. He talked to Phillip and Nathanael the same way. Time and time again Jesus made strangers his friends. He talked to anyone that was close by. Women at the well, tax collectors, and pharisees all had great moments of conversation with Jesus. Do we think we are to good to talk to people? Do we think we are to busy? Are we scared they are going to dump their problems on us? Are we scared we may make a new friend?

I think all to often in Christian life we get stuck in a bubble. When my wife was a student at Baylor, we joked about how students would walk across the street and not pay attention because they were safe in the "Baylor Bubble". We get stuck in our church friend bubble. It may be a small group you have at church. It may be just a few of your friends. It may be some people that you work with, but we miss out on relationships that could benefit our lives because we  don't stop and talk to people. I hope I don't ever become to busy or prideful or stuck up to make a new friend. If given the opportunity today,  make a new friend. Find out someone's name. Ask God to put someone new in your life. You can never have to many friends. You will never be able to meet all 7 billion people on the Earth. You might as well get to know as many as you can. You might learn something from someone. You might get an opportunity to share Jesus with someone. Make a friend today.

I almost forgot

Prayer is a really easy concept for all of us but so many times, I think we get distracted and take it for granted. I have had a couple of different theories on prayer as I have been in life. I don't think either is wrong but over the years I have tried to employ both. 

When I was in high school, I prayed like a crazy man. I would put Christian metal on in my walk man and call down fire from Heaven for hours. I couldn't do anything before I went through this process. It was like Ray Lewis yelling at his team before a game. I am sure there was a dance and a scream that accomypanied it. It worked for me. 

When I was in college, I worked with a guy that changed my opinion a lot. We went and did a kid's service and he just kinda chilled. He was sitting around relaxing, I think he may have been drinking coffee. I remember asking, "Are we gonna pray?" He just looked at me and calmly said, "I prayed for this for the last week, I am good. You are welcome too." I remember being confused thinking so what am I supposed to do? I don't drink coffee and I have to move around. I have never been one to just sit. Especially when I have a little bit of nervous energy. Praying all crazy had been a way to distract me and prepare me, but I didn't feel like I could just go and pray if the guy I was working for and helping was just gonna sit there and drink coffee. I think just the nervousness and confusion caused me to sweat through my deodorant. Of course, it may have just been because it was hot? Who knows? It makes sense though, if I spend time praying in preparation for something, I shouldn't need a special prayer time before a service. So, I actually kind of developed that as a way of doing things for a few years. 

A few years later, I was volunteering at a church as a preschool leader. The pastor at the church had a big preservice prayer time. Basically, a bunch of guys, some of the church staff, and a handful of prayer warriors would go in a prayer room and pray before every service on every Sunday. It was cool. The pastor even invited men in the church to come pray with him during that time. I was honored because I was just a young guy who he asked and I never even actually went to a Sunday morning service because we were always helping with the kids. I began to notice a few things though. I prayed for my service with the kids during the week and if I missed that I didn't think it was a big deal. I would only miss it on Sundays where stuff got busy or if we were running a little late. I noticed as definite difference in my time with the kids. If I didn't pray, something was going to go wrong. The kids would be hyper. Johnny would punch Trevor. Sally would glue the craft to her face or worse her new dress. It would always be something. Sunday's where I made sure starting my day with prayer was a priority stuff went smoother. Or at least it  seemed that way. I made sure that I got there early enough to pray. I made prayer a priority on Sunday mornings before my service time. 

Over the years, I have kept that prayer time. It has developed into a personal prayer time, usually about 6:30 or 7 on Sunday morning in my office. I still pray throughout the week for my services, my volunteers and leaders, the kids and the parents that will be at our church. It still amazes me though how if I get busy or distracted from prayer I am not in the right spot that day. I think you have to have both prayer before a service and during the week. Can we ever really pray to much for something? 

Just saying, don't forget to pray. It is easy. We all have things going every single day. I hope you are taking time to pray for things coming up. I also hope you are praying for the Holy Spirit to be with you in whatever things you have going. Meeting, evaluations, tests or whatever can be things to pray for. It may even be easier if you are just praying daily any how. Just don't forget about prayer. It does make a difference. 

What is that?

So many times out of necessity or laziness or who knows what, we find ourselves using things in ways they are not meant to be used. Such as...

1. A straw as a toothpick

2. A wall as a back scratcher

3. A piece of paper as a toothpick

4. Anything as a pillow

5. A pen as a toothpick

6. Fingernail clippers as scissors

7. A fingernail as a toothpick

8. A book as something to prop a table

What can I say, I get things stuck in my teeth a lot. The point being we find ourselves using these things and getting a job done but it probably isn't the most productive way to get that job done. (You would think I would just buy a box of toothpicks and stick them in my truck or desk at work.) 

Jesus was talking to his disciples in Matthew 16 and said, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

The simple answer to the question, "Who do you say Jesus is?" It is very important to how we live our life. Our actions and priorities can tell what our answer really is. Our answer to this question is seen by the what we do and how we talk. The answer to this question can be told by our levels of stress. It is something that should be understood by our every day life. 

If we say Jesus is God, then we read our Bibles and pray. If we say he is the messiah then we go to church and tell others about him. If we say he is the one true God we find time to worship him daily. 

If he is just a prophet or John the Baptist then going to church and praying is a waste of time. If he is just a man who lived a long time ago then the Bible is just a history book. Sometimes, we end up using Godly things in ways that they were not meant to be used. The Bible just becomes another read. Prayer becomes meditating. Church becomes a social gathering. None of those things are bad but they are not what God intended them to be. 

Because Peter understood this and proclaimed this, God decided to make him the foundation of his church. I hope in this new year that you stop and proclaim this not just by your words but by your actions and all the things in your life. Ask yourself, "Who is Jesus to me?" Ask it daily.