February Habits

As January draws to a close, let’s all take a look back at how we did establishing new habits in January. Our goals were to make it a habit to pray for a couple minutes as soon as we wake up and before we fall asleep and to read the New Testament for 5 minutes a day. Take a minute now to think about how you did. Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t do all of these every single day. Just thank God that you prayed and read more than you did in December and ask Him to help you in February.

Speaking of February, it’s time to stretch ourselves and add to our habits. For February, pick a third time of the day that you can pray. This time should be a time that you are a little more awake and alert than when you are lying in bed at the beginning and end of the day. Take a look at your schedule and figure out a time that can be carved out as relatively uninterrupted and undistracted. How about a few minutes after the kids leave for school and before you start whatever chores or errands you have for the day? What about sitting in the car for a few undisturbed minutes before you walk into the office each morning? (Turn you cell phone off—I know from experience that people will look out the office window, see your car and call you!) Maybe your lunch hour will work—or your child’s nap time? Just find 3 minutes that you can pray and make those minutes a habit this month. (Not sure what to say to God during this time? Check out some practical ideas in Learning to Pray).

Also in February, expand your Bible reading from the 5 minutes a day you tried in January to 7-8 minutes each day. As in January, don’t make this a big project or set too lofty a goal. Just read. Drink the New Testament in. (I bought a little New Testament for $3.95 at Barnes & Noble. It fits in my purse so I can easily pull it out and read 5-8 minutes a day when sitting in the car waiting for the kids to come out of school or their various practices. Think about what will work for you so that getting out the Bible and starting to read becomes an almost seamless part of your day.)

Of course, if you are reading these paragraphs and you already have much better habits than the ones we are aspiring to in February, lucky you. You can take the principles of starting small and turning your goals into habits and apply them to some other areas in which you believe God would like to see you grow. Do you feel you should be praying for people beyond your immediate family and friends? Pick 2 minutes of the day and each day spend those 2 minutes praying for government leaders or a missionary your church supports. Are you a little intimidated by the Old Testament? Start reading it in small chunks—5 minutes a day. You get the idea. The point is to stop vaguely thinking that there are areas in which you should be doing better. Instead, pick something that is actually doable and then actually do it--every day.

OK. Ready for February? Let's go.

Face to Face with God

I was challenged this morning by the words of Richard Foster in his classic book, Celebration of Discipline:

At Sinai the people cried out to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us lest we die” (Ex. 20:19). One of the fatal mistakes of Israel was their insistence upon having a human king…. The history of religion is the story of an almost desperate scramble to have a king, a mediator, a priest, a go-between.

Every day that you and I fail to make time to get alone with God, we make the same mistake as the Israelites. We fail to seek God face to face. Instead, we often opt for a go-between—a Sunday morning sermon, a Christian magazine article (or blog!), even chatting with a friend about what’s going on at church. We may choose to avoid meeting God out of fear (as it seems the Israelites did). Or we may feel inadequate to approach God face to face. We may be unsure of just how to go about it. In my case, it is generally just lethargy and an inability to use my time appropriately.

Whatever the reason, it is the fatal mistake made down through the centuries. The results today are the same as they were for the religious in Israel. We take on all the burdens of the faith without experiencing the benefits of a first-hand relationship which would make those burdens easy and light. Like the religious in Israel, we fail to recognize Christ’s voice and work when He appears.

As much as I would like to write something innovative—to come up with a novel solution to an age old problem—I am convinced there is only one solution and that is one that we’ve been told about since we were kids. We must make time to pray and read the words God left for us every day. We must attempt to rely less on the go-betweens in our lives and get face to face with Him on our own. This is the big “secret” that some Christians seem to be able to get hold of, the reason they seem to hear God when most of the rest of us can’t.

(By the way, I'm laughing at myself right now because I realize I am dragging my feet a little about Bible study today. My excuse is that I am waiting for a particular commentary to arrive from Amazon. Why do I feel the need to wait for UPS to deliver a book written by someone other than God when I already have His book and His Spirit to help my understand it? I am sure the commentary will be a big help when it arrives, but it is no excuse to delay getting face to face with the God in the Bible today, right?)

Leaving People Who Need You in the Boat

On Friday (January 20), we talked about how guilty some of us feel when we try to “steal” a few minutes with God—guilty that we are disappointing family, friends and co-workers who have come to expect our undivided attention. This is especially true when we think we are neglecting someone who needs us. And you know as well as I do, as a parent, a spouse, an employee, a boss, and whatever other roles you play, someone ALWAYS thinks they need you. If you just run from one need to another, you will never, ever find time to spend alone with God.

Does it help to realize that Peter left his friends with work on their hands when he jumped out of the boat in John 21? Remember the group had just made a large catch when Peter left his pals (and possibly his brother) in the boat and hurried to shore to meet with Christ. He left them with work that he was well qualified to do. In fact, he may have been the most qualified in the group to do it since he was probably the most experienced. And actually, his friends were only out fishing because Peter had suggested fishing in the first place. Now they were facing a crisis, the nets were at the bursting point, and he just left them to drag the nets in to shore as best they could.

Was Peter wrong to do this? Was he too impetuous? I mean, couldn’t he have just met with Christ 15 minutes later? Who knows. Maybe. And yet 15 minutes later I’m sure there would have been another task with which his friends could have used his help—sorting and cleaning the fish, stowing the nets, swabbing the deck, transporting the fish to wherever they had to go, etc., etc.

And you know it is the same for you and me. Your day is a succession of tasks, interruptions and people who need you. At some point you need to stop and walk away and not feel guilty about it. Spend a little time on shore with Christ--talking to Him and listening to what He has to say--and then go back to the people who think they need you. They will still be there and now you will be better equipped to serve them.

Habit for January: How are you doing on our new habits for 2006? Remember to pray for two minutes before getting out of bed each morning and before you drift off to sleep each night. And read the New Testament for five minutes today--maybe during your commute, your exercise routine or before you turn on the TV tonight. For more info, see the January 3 post.

Leaving Your Loved Ones in the Boat

There's another lesson we can learn from Peter about breaking out of our old habits and finding time to converse with Jesus--it often means leaving behind the people we care about, at least for a little while. Peter was out fishing with friends that morning we read about in John 21. In order to get to the shore where Jesus was standing, he jumped out of the boat and left his friends behind.

I think it was Dallas Willard who said in his book, The Divine Conspiracy: DIscovering Our Hidden Life in God, that spending time alone with Christ is almost always a repudiation of someone else. For some of us, it is this that makes the setting aside of time for God in our daily lives very difficult. We feel badly about disappointing a spouse if we walk away from the TV show we usually watch together. We hate to set the alarm early and disturb his or her sleep. We feel guilty if we tell the kids we need time alone without interruption for even a few minutes. We find it hard to tell the usual lunch gang at the office that we now have something else to do during lunch hour. Sometime the hardest thing about dropping an old habit and starting a new routine is inflicting change on people we love.

I doubt there is an easy answer to this dilemma if it is one that you are facing. Perhaps just knowing that others have faced this same decision point in their own spiritual lives may help. I have read that Charles Wesley's mother used to throw her apron up over her head in the middle of her kitchen with her numerous children crowded round. Her kids knew she needed time alone with God and they did not disturb her. I have heard that while she was raising five children, Billy Graham's wife kept her Bible and study books open in a prominent place where she could pause and read threm throughout the day. I am sure during those stolen moments at least one of her children missed her and wished for her undivided attention. Your situation is not unique. But in order to get to the place where you can meet with Jesus, you need to deprive some people of your presence for awhile.

It may help you to realize that Peter's absence from his friends was temporary. The friends just followed behind in the boat and joined him on shore for breakfast a little later. No great damage was done to the friends. Actually, Peter's actions were probably helpful to the friends in the long run. They saw a great example of what it takes to get into a place where you can spend a little time with Christ.

Getting Out of the Boat

Back to Peter that morning at the Sea of Galilee. It seems that Peter had slipped back into fishing although Jesus, post-resurrection, had given him a new calling. I think Peter’s reaction is pretty understandable. He was used to fishing. He felt competent at it and comfortable doing it. He probably also felt like he should be doing something “productive” with his time. On the other hand, this going out and making disciples was unknown territory. It probably didn’t yield quick results and it definitely didn’t yield a paycheck.

Yet after that morning when Peter talked with Christ on the Galilean shore, we never read about Peter fishing again. Instead we read about him preaching, performing miracles and drafting books of the Bible. How in the world did he make the transition? And how do we get out of our own familiar ruts and start living the Christ-like life we long for?

I think the story in John 21 gives us a couple clues on how we can begin to transition. First, get out of the boat and get to where you can converse with Jesus. We read that as soon as Peter realized Jesus was standing on shore he jumped out of the boat and waded in to shore. If you can picture the scene, Jesus is standing on the beach shouting to the fishermen who are about 100 yards off shore. It’s not really the ideal set-up for an intimate conversation with someone you love or with someone whose direction and advice you desperately need. So Peter fixed that. He just walked away from the fishing boat and towards the place he knew Jesus was standing. Then he was in a position to hear what Jesus has to say about what he should be doing with his life. It was the first step toward a whole new life.

So what is my fishing boat and what is yours? Do we need to turn off the TV, close the magazine, get away from the office or the laundry or the instant messaging for a few minutes? There are fishing boats in all of our lives. They are things we are so used to that we don’t notice how much time we are spending in them or realize what other things they are keeping us from doing. Just walk away from them for a few minutes today and get to the place you know Jesus is standing. And what if you don’t know where He is? Well, your New Testament is a good start. You know you can read His words there, right? Walk away from your boat, open the New Testament and start reading. Even for just a couple minutes.

Habit for January: How are you doing on our new habits for 2006? Remember to pray for two minutes before getting out of bed each morning and before you drift off to sleep each night. And read the New Testament for five minutes today--maybe during your commute, your exercise routine or before you turn on the TV tonight. For more info, see the January 3 post.

Old Habits Die Hard

OK. It’s now the second week of January and I’ll wager a bet that, for most of us, enthusiasm for the New Year’s Resolutions we committed to at the beginning of last week is beginning to fade. Our new habits haven’t become habits at all—-they are now just a few more items on an already too long “to do” list. And our old habits, say, watching all our favorite TV shows and then realizing on Sunday morning that we haven’t opened our Bibles all week because we were just so busy—-die hard.

Fortunately, Jesus understands that good intentions sometimes fade before we put them into action. And He stands ready to challenge our priorities and redirect us. Remember when Peter saw Jesus at the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection? Peter had been out fishing and, looking up from his nets, he saw Jesus standing on the shore. Peter leaped overboard and waded in to the beach. That morning Jesus reminded Peter three times that what he was supposed to be doing was feeding Christ’s flock. (You can read the whole story in John 21.)

Did you ever wonder why Peter was fishing that day? It’s not like he didn’t know that Jesus had been resurrected. He had seen Christ and spoken with him. And it’s not like he didn’t know that the disciples now had a mission: Jesus, in his resurrected body, had specifically told them that as the Father had sent Him, now He was sending them. Jesus had told them of the tremendous power they had in Him. In fact, He had gone so far as to tell them that if they forgave anyone’s sins, those sins would be forgiven. Yet Peter was fishing. Why? I imagine it was because fishing was what he knew how to do. It was his old way of life. He was comfortable with the routine tasks. But when it came to being sent out into the world by Christ and forgiving sins, he was floundering. What exactly was he supposed to be doing each day?

God is a God with the power to pull us out of our old routines and transform us. Peter left old habits behind that day. He became the rock on which Christ built His Church. Christ can do the same with us if we are willing to stop fishing and try the new life.

Habit for January: How are you doing on our new habits for 2006? Remember to pray for two minutes before getting out of bed each morning and before you drift off to sleep each night. And read the New Testament for five minutes today--maybe during your commute, your exercise routine or before you turn on the TV tonight. For more info, see the January 3 post.

2006 and Beyond

The news shows and entertainment mags have pretty much finished their year-in-reviews and have begun their wild predictions for 2006. Here are some interesting words from Kim Wier about the qualities of God that transcend time and will impact our future in 2006 and beyond.

As 2005 melts into 2006, consider not just God's past faithfulness; consider His qualities that transcend time. Ponder the trustworthiness of God's Word (Joshua 1:8). Take note of His work (Psalm 119:15). Meditate on His greatness and His goodness (Psalm 77:1). Examine the depths of His wisdom (Psalm 119:18) and the glory of His salvation (Isaiah 51:6). Regardless of the age, the year or the generation, the qualities of God are timeless.

For that reason, we can look forward with anticipation to all that God has in store. He will not simply repeat his former blessings; He will shower His own with good things beyond our imaginings.

"Do not call to mind (only) the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19

You can read more of Kim's thoughts on her website at www.engaging women.com.

Habit for January: And how are you doing on our new habits for 2006? Remember to pray for two minutes before getting out of bed each morning and before you drift off to sleep each night. And read the New Testament for five minutes today--maybe during your commute, your exercise routine or before you turn on the TV tonight. For more info, see the January 3 post.

New Year’s Resolutions

I love New Year’s Resolutions. For me, they are a blank slate, a chance to dream about all life could be and to leave behind any failures or disappointments of the previous year. For many years the same two resolutions topped my list: Pray more and read my Bible more. I was sincere and, really, what better goals could I have? Yet every December, when reflecting on the year, I had to recognize that I really hadn’t lived up to my good intentions as much as I had hoped. So back those two items went on the top of the list of resolutions for the coming year—along with eating better, exercising more and spending less!

A year or so ago I finally realized that hazy good intentions each new year will get me nowhere. Of course I already knew that from countless project management seminars at work and I am sure you know it too. But life is not the same as a project at work. There aren’t the same clearly-stated deliverables and deadlines. There is no visible boss appearing in your doorway to monitor progress. And there aren’t 8 hours a day scheduled for accomplishing the necessary tasks. Life—and what we do with it in a spiritual sense—is so much less structured.

That’s why I think we need to take a different approach to our spiritual development—something between project management and hazy good intentions. Here it is: develop simple routines and start very small. Throw away any expectations of spending hours weeping on your knees or studying the original Greek. Pick really small, simple things you can do a couple times a day and then stick with your little routines. Soon they will develop into habits. Your prayer life and love for the Bible will blossom and then it will begin feeding on itself. You’ll find your routines and the amount of time you want to devote to prayer and study expanding. By next New Year’s Day you won’t need to draft big resolutions about more prayer and Bible reading. They will be a natural and welcome part of every day.

So give some thought to some simple, sustainable things you could do to work prayer and Bible reading into each day of 2006. How about something like this:

--When the alarm goes off, lie in bed and pray for two minutes about concerns for the day.

--Start reading through New Testament, 5 minutes per day while on train or exercise machine.

--While falling asleep at night thank God for answers to prayer that day and ask for safety through the night.

When these three things have become habits—probably in about a month—add three more. Don’t dismiss these things as too small. Just really do them every day and see what happens.