The Potter

This year is my third year using a devotional written by Chris Tiegreen editor for indeed magazine at Walk Thru the Bible. (If you are looking for a devotional resource to use in addition to a systematic Bible reading plan, I highly recommend his stuff.) This week he has been in Jeremiah 18:1-10 talking about Jeremiah’s experience at the potter’s house.

Today’s devotion focused on the way God speaks to us through experience. As Jeremiah is sent to the potter’s house to observe the potter in action the illustration is much more powerful than if it had simply been presented in words. God speaks to us and shapes us by showing us His nature through our experiences. God also uses people to demonstrate who He is.

Someone once shared with me something that I did not want to be the case but I found out was true. While going through a season of adversity in my life this person said, “Dave, you are going to have to live it before you can preach it.” As much as I did not want to admit it, that was the case. Through that experience the Potter shaped me. While I would never want to experience it again, it has shaped me to be able to better do what God has called me to do.

God speaks to us through images not just words. The ultimate picture is Jesus Christ. God is looking to bring glory to Himself by redeeming a world that does not know or acknowledge Him. God is looking for people who will take the journey to the Potter’s house and then allow Him to shape them for His purpose. The ultimate purpose is that the world might know Him. God uses people to display who He is. And ultimately He is a God who refashions a lump of clay into beautiful, functional pottery. Will you allow the Potter to shape you so people can see Him?

Pray For Our President

Today was a historic day, as Barak Obama became our 44^th president.  No matter your political preferences we must all agree that today is significant in the life of our nation.  The question for followers of Jesus is now, “How do we pray for our new president and his team?”

1 Timothy 2:1-2, is clear that we should be praying for those in leadership not only in our churches but also in our government.  This should be done on a local, state, and national level.  For those of you with access to the prayer space at Trinity I encourage you to stop in and pick up the prayer card entitled “30 Ways to Pray for People in Authority.” It offers some practical suggestions for ways that you can pray for leaders in our nation.  No matter our view of his politics we must pray for our president.

Our hope is not in government.  We should make sure that we are clear on that principle.  Our hope is for people to experience the grace and truth brought only by Jesus Christ.  But we need to pray for our new president and his cabinet.  The Bible is full of prayers waiting to be prayed for them… 

Share your story...

We are just a couple of hours away from the end of Trinity Church’s first venture into 24/7 prayer. It has been an exciting time. I have heard many people talk about their experience(s) in the prayer space over the past 12 days. I would like to encourage you to share your experience here. We can encourage one another through our stories of how God has impacted our life. What has God shown you?

The only way to learn how to pray is to pray. You can read books on prayer go to prayer seminars and conferences and listen to all kinds sermons about prayer and still the only way to truly learn how to pray is to pray. That is what makes the prayer space such a powerful tool in helping people learn how to pray.

As we close out the first 12 days of prayer it is not an end but a beginning, a beginning of Trinity becoming a praying church. Be bold and share with others what God has shown you…

24/7 Prayer

Psalm 27:8 is one of my favorite verses. The Psalmist writes of how his heart longs to seek the Lord’s face. Seeking God’s face in prayer is an all too often overlooked part of being a follower of Christ. When it comes to prayer, how often do we pray simply because we want to be in God’s presence as opposed to wanting Him to act in some fashion for our benefit? The concept that prayer is about relationship is new for many people, but we must move toward becoming people who demonstrate that we love God by seeking His face and not only His hand.

Trinity Church has started 2009 by praying 24/7 for the first 12 days of the year. We are now 5 days into this prayer time. During our prayer time we are interceding for people, but our primary purpose is to simply seek God’s presence. It is great to hear from people who have been part of this event and their experiences. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience during the hour you spend in our new prayer space.

We pray expecting that God will show up and when God shows up amazing things happen, but that is not why we pray. We pray because we simply do not want to do anything, even good things without the presence of God (Exodus 33:14-15). We pray because we serve a God who loves us deeply and desires for us to love Him deeply as well. We pray because we have been given the opportunity in Christ(Matthew 7:7-8).

Trinity Church has begun a journey toward discovering what it means to be a church of prayer. There are sure to be many highs and lows along the way, but I look forward to the journey.