Why We're Not Honest in Prayer.

Because if we were honest our prayers might sound like this..... and we'd rather appear to be holy than to actually be transformed into His image.

Dear God,

I've come to equivocate for a few minutes. It won't take too much of your time, just long enough to assuage my guilt for not spending time with you. More importantly I want to be certain not to spend so much time that my attempts to manipulate you are glaringly apparent. Let's get started, shall we?

OK. I know I haven't really spent much time with you lately and I haven't been all that busy. I have been avoiding you. I should be ashamed of myself, but my lack of communication with you isn't what's bothering me right now. What's bothering me is your lack of outreach where I am concerned. I mean, you raised Lazarus from the dead, surely a small miracle to prove that you're paying attention to me wouldn't be so hard for you to do. My faith could really use a boost and that's the surest way I can think of for you to get my attention. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop making me wait, it really freaks me out and makes me question your existence.

I know you're probably annoyed with me about the way I dislike that new woman in our women's ministry. Really, who does she think she is? I wouldn't have such a problem with her if she'd just know her place. She must think she is Super Christian. I know I told her we didn't need any help with the letter writing ministry. It was a little white lie but really, does it matter? How could she possibly have anything encouraging to say to the missionaries we support? She doesn't even know them. Frankly, I don't understand why she offered.

Is there anything you can do to get the Pastor to preach a little quicker? Sunday is such a big day between church in the morning and church at night. It would help to get out on time or even a little earlier than normal. It would be great to get into a restaurant before the rest of the town comes for their after church gossip fest.

My checking account is overdrawn and that's why I haven't tithed. I think I will buy a lottery ticket and if I win, I promise I will tithe some of the winnings. You're God, you can arrange that, right? I'll give a little every year or a lump sum percentage once I find the perfect house and car and travel to see family members and stuff. That sounds fair, doesn't it?

Yeah, OK. Well, there's more but I am tired, let me go down the list and finish quickly. My split ends, could you heal those? Could you get my son's teacher off my back? I think it's pretty normal for kids to experiment with language, it's not like he hurt anyone physically and she is so boring her classes could use some disruption. Oh and I have to go shopping in the city tomorrow, bless me with no traffic and close parking spots.

I pray this in Jesus' name,
Amen.

There is no such thing as a little white sin. There is no sense in prevaricating with God. If we were to pray honestly it would expose the selfishness in our hearts and that might be too difficult a reflection to see.

If you can't be honest with God you probably have no real appreciation for the perilous state of your immortal soul.

Proverbs 6:16-19

English Standard Version (ESV)

16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.

Character Flaws, Sin and Remediation

I have been thinking about my last post in which I offered to talk about how having a job has shown or magnified my character flaws. Before I do though, I want to distinguish between character flaws and sin. My character flaws predispose me to sin in certain areas more readily than in others. Indulging in my character flaws is sinful. Entertaining the idea of indulging my character flaws is sinful. They are the weaknesses in me where my flesh makes itself known by screaming, "You know you want to!!" Too often I hear Christians lamenting that they "make mistakes" or are victims of their genetic make-up and intimate that they should, therefore, be excused from culpability for being prone to certain activities. Our cultural dependence on a medical model to define our behavior has given many what they see as a plausible excuse for sin. I don't see that caveat in the Word. For Christians, the Word is always our standard. It is the standard by which all will be j

Fear Down, Hope and Peace to Go!

Last night I had the honor and privilege to present some information to the women of my church. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love and appreciate them. The seminar I did was on fear. God is clever and He had me present the information to them because I needed it. It's not that I don't want to study things for my own benefit and growth, but whenever I do a topical study to teach it, I see how badly I needed it and how much more I have to repent of than I realized. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know. That's a topic I want to return to in another post. I want to talk about the ladies for a moment. They are an incredibly loving group of women. Women who seek God and are teachable. They have gone out of their way to include me and love on me, which speaks volumes of their characters because I am not all that lovable. I am not being self-deprecating here. I am a mix of endearing and maddening qualities like anyone else. What I am telling you is

Super Church a song for the Emergent-sy

In the early 70s I was in a youth choir at my church. Our youth pastor was a musician and his way of connecting with us as a group was through the choir and music. Somehow there was an affiliation between him and The Continental Singers, New Hope and Jeremiah People. He was worked with Moishe Rosen of Jews for Jesus too, I think. Are any of these names familiar to you? Though I remember the church fondly I was a profoundly lost and troubled young woman during my years there. That and time have muddled the memories quite a bit. Today I was digging through some old paperwork and one of the books to the musical we did. It's Getting Late For the Great Planet Earth, a folk rock oratorio by Cam Floria. Yes, that's right. Cam Floria put Hal Lindsey to music. There's a lot to laugh about and some to groan about but as I was looking through the songs and remembering, I found this little ditty and I only wish I could sing it for you. Just remember that this is circa 1972 and even th

Greg Linscott said…

I came across your blog while searching for Biblical counseling resources related to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Have you ever come across anything you could recommend? We have 3 adopted children, and at least one is likely affected (they are a sibling group).

November 3, 2013 at 1:32 AM

rosemarie said…

Greg, Thanks for the comment and I am going to do a post on FAS/FASD. I wish I had answers for you and your children. I do have hope, please don't lose yours!

November 3, 2013 at 10:16 AM

rambling rosemarie

Search This Blog