Affirming Their Best and Not Giving Up in Their Stumbles
I can’t help but believe that every time Peter heard a rooster crow, he also remembered the Lord’s words of affirmation and assurance. Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus gave his closest disciples the following words of praise: “You are those who have stood by me in my trials” (Luke 22:28). What? How could Jesus say this to the loose lug nuts that we call his apostles? Didn’t he know they would all abandon him? Absolutely! Didn’t he know that Peter was about to deny him, and Judas would betray him? Certainly! Didn’t he know, especially after three years of being with them, that they were sometimes undependable, unpredictable, and petty? Of course, Jesus knew. Listen to the context in which Jesus spoke his words of affirmation and assurance: A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. … “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:24-34). Jesus knew the awful events that were unfolding before him. He knew that his disciples were weak and that their resolve would waver during his arrest, trials, beating, crucifixion, and entombment. He knew his apostles were loose lug nuts who made a lot of noise and were thoroughly undependable. He also knew there was goodness, strength, courage, resolve, passion, toughness, and hope, woven into the fiber of their faith. He chose to affirm the good even before the bad was fully demonstrated. The Lord made clear that Peter, his lead apostle, would stumble and fall but that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:31-32). Failure would have been for Peter to quit when he stumbled and abandoned his Lord for a time. Failure would have meant he wouldn’t have shown up to be with his fellow disciples after the Lord’s death. Failure would have meant that Peter would have quit in his sorrow and shame of denying he knew his Lord (Luke 22:54-62). Peter didn’t. And in his struggles, we find our hope. In Jesus’ handling of Peter, we find our example of how we need to treat each other in our stumbling moments. Jesus looked past Peter’s immediate and embarrassing denials to his potential to lead his fellow apostles to greatness: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” I can’t help but believe that every time Peter heard a rooster crow, he also remembered the Lord’s words of affirmation and assurance. Jesus saw and affirmed the good in Peter, even though he knew Peter would stumble. Jesus did the same kind of thing with the other apostles. The Lord’s affirmation of their standing by him in his trials was not vain praise. They all would eventually give their lives to sharing Jesus’ story. Despite knowing that his closest friends would let him down, Jesus saw the good in them and the strength in them. He entrusted the message of grace with them. Doesn’t that say something important to us about our behavior in the bite-and-devour-world of hyper-criticism, shame-casting, name-calling, and blame-passing? If Jesus believed the best while knowing the worst in those whom he loved, shouldn’t we? Aren’t we all too eager to give up on a friendship, ditch a spouse, throw in the towel on those we once trusted, or turn our back on someone who let us down? Unlike Jesus, we let the worst day, the worst moment, the worst action of a friend, become the defining one in our relationship. We see their worst and we forever plaster it to them. That’s how we choose to permanently view them. We don’t practice forgiveness. We don’t remember the good. We don’t see the best. We label them with their worst. We can do better. We must do better because of the Spirit of Christ in us. We must do better because people matter eternally. We must do better because everyone we call a friend, a lover, a spouse, a confidant, or a mentor, is just as fallible and breakable, as we are. Each of them is as vulnerable to stumbling and letting down someone they love, as we have been. Yes, each of their stumbles could crush us, mar our friendship, and leave us wounded. But, should we forever define them by their stumble or by the years of faithfulness or their future years of goodness? What if Jesus treated us based on our worst moments and not when we are best selves? Thank God, Jesus doesn’t. He doesn’t see our horrible missteps as a final failure, but as a stumble from which we can turn, come back, and be able to strengthen others. Isn’t this affirming their best and not giving up on their stumble what Jesus is calling us to do in our family of faith? (See, Matthew 18:15-35.) After all, Jesus views us as those who have stood by him in his trials, people he looks forward to blessing in the presence of the Father! Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus’
God’s Good Creation
Why such a sour look on our faces? We tend to forget that Christianity was formed in the womb of Judaism. Born into first-century Hebrew culture. Received and interpreted to us by apostles and evangelists who knew Jesus in the context of his Jewishness. Yet most of us know the Christian faith as it has been passed through the vocabulary, culture, and mindset of Greco-Roman culture. So what? One of the major “so-what’s” is the difference the two mindsets take toward material things. The human body in particular. And pleasure. Greek religion and philosophy separate material and spiritual, body and soul in a way foreign to Judaism. Hebrew thought sees persons as “living souls” in their totality. The invisible, spiritual part of a person is not trapped in a body (i.e., the Greek idea), but is made real and functional by means of it. Thus the goal is not to escape or to chastise the body but to direct its energy God-ward. Pleasure is not wicked. Laughter is God’s gift! But, that is hardly the notion most non-Christians reflect back to believers. They see us as a pretty joyless crowd. Rather prune-faced. And more inclined to scowl than to laugh. We seem to have worked hard to create that unhealthy – and, I might add, uninviting – image. Our “saints” tend to be dour, rather than smiling. They look austere, rather than lovable. They often appear rigid and forbidding, rather than humane and merciful. What a pity! Jesus went to parties. He enjoyed life so much that his critics tried to make him out to be a drunk and a glutton. He had friends. Enjoyed being with people. And made people feel comfortable around him. I have no problem whatever in seeing him raise a glass to say, “L’chaim.” To life! A long list of negatives is a poor way to define the gospel. The very idea of “redemption” is less about going to heaven when we die as it is making life here something positive and holy. Paul says Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). Peter reminds Christians “that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you” (1 Peter 1:18). Steak, golf, sunsets, music, sex, money – not one is unholy. All are given by God to meet human needs. Directed toward him, each is both a celebration of his goodness and a participation in his fullness. Divorced from him, both pleasure and pain become vulgar. Not the act, but its God-ward direction makes it holy. In a world of wrinkled brows and wringing hands, one has to wonder if the rediscovery of godly joy might be our best advertisement for the faith we profess. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4-5 TNIV). About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades, been a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities and a med school. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Religion at Lipscomb University. He is the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles.
Daily Prayer for January 30
Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. Isaiah 45:22-23, NIV Lord God, we kneel before you and worship you, for you do mighty deeds in heaven and on earth and allow us to become your children and your servants. You have done great things for many people, enabling them to serve you, and you will do still more. For you have promised that all our paths will be made straight. You have promised that all we do may be a service to you through Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, whom we follow. He will be revealed to the whole world, so that the nations will be called to serve you and your will may be done on earth as in heaven. Praised be your name, Lord our God! We open our hearts to you. In death and in life we are yours. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Hidden Life of Duck Women Elizabeth Wainwright James Rebanks learns from women who gather eiderdown on remote Norwegian islands. Read now My Childhood Friend, Renee Good Jane Clark Scharl Long before a federal agent shot her and she became a headline and a symbol, Renee was the best singer – and listener – in my church youth group. Read now How to Love Your Neighbor Simone Weil The sympathy of the strong for the weak is against nature. Read now The Backwoods Sculptor Chris Voll Barney Boller, a Bruderhof artist, shapes steel, bronze, clay, and wood. Read now The Science of Revenge Tim Maendel A new book helps us understand and overcome the world’s deadliest addiction. Read now
Finding God’s Will
How in the world do we know what God wants? Ever have trouble determining God’s will for your future? You’re not alone. The questions are endless. Every new responsibility brings new decisions. How in the world do we know what God wants? To know God’s will, we must totally surrender to God’s will. So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him (Romans 12:1 MESSAGE). Our tendency is to make God’s decision for him. Don’t go to God with options and expect him to choose one of your preferences. Go to him with empty hands – no hidden agendas, no crossed fingers, nothing behind your back. Go to him with a willingness to do whatever he says. Have trouble determining God’s will for you? The Bible says that if you surrender your will, then he will “equip you with everything good for doing his will” (Hebrews 13:21). It’s a promise! From Max’s book God is With You Everyday © Max Lucado. Used by permission. All rights reserved. About the author: Max is the best selling author of many many Christian books, a sought out speaker, and loving husband, father, and grandfather. Max is in real life what you see in his book — someone who loves Jesus and loves the same kind of people that Jesus loves!
Trust God to Lead
Why do we worry about what lies ahead when we know the One Who is already there? Worrying is one job you cannot farm out – but you can overcome it! And there’s no better place to begin than David’s beloved “Shepherd Psalm”: He leads me beside the still waters… (Psalm 23:2 ESV). David declares: “He leads me!” God isn’t behind me, yelling, “Go!” He’s ahead of me bidding, “Come!” He’s in front, clearing the path and cutting the brush. Standing next to the rocks, He warns watch your step there. Isn’t this what God gave the children of Israel? He promised to supply them with manna each day, but He told them to collect only one day’s supply at a time. Jesus reminded us to give our entire attention to what God is doing right now; don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. God is leading you – so, leave tomorrow’s problems until tomorrow. Adapted from Max’s book Traveling Light. © Max Lucado. Used by permission. All rights reserved. About the author: Max is the best selling author of many many Christian books, a sought out speaker, and loving husband, father, and grandfather. Max is in real life what you see in his book — someone who loves Jesus and loves the same kind of people that Jesus loves!
Your Sins Are Forgiven
Only God can forgive. A fourth of the way through his Gospel, Luke uses the seventh chapter to have Jesus, in words and actions, leave little doubt that he is God. The chapter opens with him healing a servant from a distance, then he raises a son from the dead as his corpse was being carried to the graveyard. In fact, Jesus himself describes the activities by saying: [T]hat the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them (Luke 7:22). Jesus did a lot of miracles in the course of two days, things that man could do only with God’s help. In fact, some of the Old Testament prophets did similar things, with God’s help. It is at the end of the chapter, that he does something only God can do. The story has Jesus eating at the home of one of the religious leaders when a woman from the city begins to wash Jesus’ feet. This woman had a reputation. Jesus knew this, the religious leader knew, everyone else knew, that she was a sinner. Actually that probably should be spelled SINNER. I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for She loved much… Then he said to her, “Your sins are Forgiven… Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:47-50). And with those words, spoken out loud for all to hear, Jesus claims he is God. Only God can forgive sin, his followers couldn’t, the religious leader couldn’t, the woman herself couldn’t, only God could and can. Only God through Jesus can forgive you, SINNER! Want to know how you can claim that forgiveness? Join our conversation at www.hopeforlife.org or email me at bbrant@heraldoftruth.org. (Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article. Contact us at info@hopeforlife.org) About the author: Bill Brant is the President and CEO of Herald of Truth Ministries based in Abilene, Texas.
Trust His Timing
Don’t you find it hard to wait? One of the features of my new mobile phone is a clock that allows me to see the time in multiple time zones, set an alarm, use a stopwatch, and time an event. When I take a walk, I usually set the timer for about fifteen minutes short of the length of time I want to walk. That way, I can decide the route for the last part of the walk. For instance, if I plan to walk for an hour, I will set the time on my phone for 45 minutes. Invariably, I will check the timer a number of times before the alarm sounds. Is this thing working? Did it sound and I did not hear it? Has something malfunctioned? Thus far, the alarm has never failed to work. I have never walked an extra hour by accident. The device has never failed to perform as it is designed to do. Yet, I still have a feeling of distrust in the clock. The same thing happens as I walk through life, trying to live on God’s time-table. I have read the instructions from His word about trusting Him. I am listening to God, praying for His will to be done. I believe that He is working even though I cannot see it. I know that the Father is in charge. I know that nothing will happen that escapes His view. I know that He cares for me. I know that the Lord has always dealt, and will always deal, with me according to His justice and goodness. However, there are still times when I have difficulty trusting His timing. I have discovered three realities about trusting His timing. First, trusting His timing is sometimes hard. There are times when I eagerly lay my cares down, but then I decide not to wait for God to work and pick them back up again. There are other times when my concerns must be ripped from my hands. My doubts and fears take over: What if He does not listen? What if He hears the wrong thing? What if He chooses to act in a way that I do not like? Or worse, what if He chooses not to act at all? I have swallowed hard when He responded with “No,” and I have laid awake at night wrestling with His answers that appear to be, “Not now.” Second, trusting His timing is sometimes easy. There are times when waiting for God to work His plan is easy. Laying my concerns at the feet of the Lord and leaving them there comes naturally. I have experienced answered prayer soon after making the request. I receive his “Yes” with joy and gratitude. I receive His “No” with patience and trust. Third, whether easy or difficult: I have learned over life and from His word, that the Father’s timing is always right. Solomon said it this way: He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). You may be in a waiting time. Waiting for the answer. Waiting for direction. Waiting for peace. Waiting for hope. Waiting for healing. Waiting for victory. Doubt and uncertainty may have set in. You may be left with questions and fears. Whatever is the focus of your wait, trust His timing … it is always right. He has made everything beautiful in its time. About the author: Tom Norvell is the author of “A Norvell Note” — Thoughts and reflections on God, life, people, and living as a follower of Jesus. He has ministered with followers of Jesus for four decades and loves Jesus, his family, and those seeking Jesus, passionately.
The Waiting Is the Hardest Part
O how our hearts ache till all our precious ones are in Jesus! Waiting is hard work. I confess, I am not good at this work of waiting. I am impatient. Sometimes my impatience borders on an ugly arrogance – “Why should I have to wait so long for something like this?” Sometimes my impatience is just plain impertinence – I romp, stomp, fidget, complain, whine, and make everyone around me miserable. I have opened Christmas presents early, sneaking in with a sharp knife in the middle of the night and carefully opening my presents just enough to see what they were. This made my Christmas at 11 years of age miserable – I faked being surprised by my Christmas morning gifts. Rather than taking delight at my careful sleight of hand at opening and resealing my gifts so my parents wouldn’t know, I was miserable. No surprises, only fake delight on that Christmas morning. I have left lines, only to stand in longer lines because I was impatient. I have daily checked the mailbox, the front porch, and driven the folks at UPS and FedEx crazy trying to track a package that was not even late yet. When my son was assigned in high school many years ago to spend the day working with me, he reported that, “Dad never wasted any time waiting. He was always doing something on his BlackBerry so he didn’t waste time.” What crushed me is that I realized I had not spent the time talking to him! I apologized after reading his report. However, sometimes my impatience is humbling and eye opening. For four years, my heart has stood on tiptoe waiting, praying, and gently visiting with someone I want to come to Christ. She is precious – not just to me, but to my wife Donna and to several of my friends who know her. She desperately wants some switch to go off in her heart so she knows in that place of her reluctance that this is the right thing for her to do. She is gracious, sweet, smart, kind, and good. But she has not yet fully surrendered her life to Jesus… and this keeps my heart in agony. Her decision is not something I can cajole, pressure, nudge, or push. She has to do this for herself. But waiting for her to do this, to confess Christ and step into a baptistery and go public with her faith, is harder than I have words to describe. This is a person so precious to us that we cannot imagine her not being in our forever family of grace. This is a different kind of impatience. This impatience has been humbling because it has opened my eyes to parents, spouses, grandparents, and friends who have stood on tiptoe until their spiritual legs have gone into full spasm waiting for their loved one, their precious child, their intended spouse, or their precious one to come to Jesus. I have been blessed to have taken the confession and baptized both of my children, now adults and strong disciples. (Thank you God for this gift beyond words given me by both children!) So this four year experience has opened my eyes and my heart to each of you who are waiting… pleading… hoping… that your special person will make that next crucial step toward the Father. So we keep expectantly scanning the horizon hoping that this is the day they make that crucial step toward Jesus and home. This impatience has been humbling because it has given me a glimpse of how our Father feels with those so close, yet so far away, from being His child. It helps me appreciate and understand that it was not strange for the father in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15:11-32) to scan the horizon every single day, and every single opportunity during the day, to catch the glimpse of his prodigal son on the horizon so he could run to that lost son and welcome him home. In some ways, it is even harder when the person for whom we wait is not a prodigal, but a precious person who is hung up on something we can’t remove… or fix… or at times even understand. So like my life right now, these thoughts won’t end with a simple five-step plan to deal with our impatience or three easy ways on how to win the reluctant loved one. This kind of impatience, this kind of waiting, is hard and without a simple Mr. Fixit recipe. All I know to do is to keep loving my precious one and to keep praying for her heart to reach that decision point and to keep living for the day of joy for which I yearn for her. In addition, I feel a deeper bond and commitment to pray for those who are caught in this time of waiting for someone else they love to come home to Jesus. The waiting is the hardest part. Let’s keep trusting that our waiting will one day give way to what Peter describes as being “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” because the one we love has come to receive the salvation of our God” (1 Peter 1:8-9). O God, please help your day of salvation come soon in the life of this one so precious to me. While I yearn for Jesus “to come quickly, hallelujah,” I beg You Lord to tarry until I can see this one so precious to me become part of our forever family. Amen. Here’s a late update. At 10:45 Thailand time on Sunday January 26, I was privileged to baptize Melody, also called XiaoKang and Nam Tam, into Christ along with two others who have become so precious to me over the last two weeks. Four years of loving and praying and waiting ended in a celebration of joy with this one I have called Precious from the day I first read the story of Jesus with
Dared to Hope
If only we would trust that the Lord can make us all grow! We paused to visit a tiny railway station that used to be a busy place on the southern line. It was now all but deserted. The Station Master’s office and the parcels’ office were silent. They were clothed in a dull brown that has become the mourning color of dying railway stations. We wandered along the tiny platform and saw the remnants of a garden outside the Station Master’s office. Now there was no running water, but there used to be competitions up and down the line for the best-kept garden. On this day, the old garden was just a dead square inside crumbling railway sleepers. Over in one corner stood a rusty drum, and barely alive in it was the commonest form of geranium. It was stunted and tired – nearly dead. I took a piece about as long as one finger. When we returned home, I dared to hope it would grow. So for old time’s sake, I planted it in the best pot in the best location. Feeling terribly foolish for even hoping for growth, I even said a prayer for the unknown hands that planted it long years ago. Today, this finger of planting is now a meter wide and half as tall. It is a joyful and lush plant, but too common to be prized by anyone else. It is valuable only to me because I sense its history in a harsh world where only hardy plants can grow. Do you sometimes feel like a common plant where only hardy plants can grow? God has a word for you. He says that He chose the foolish ones of us in this world, the most common of us, to shame those who are worldly-wise. (1 Corinthians 1:26-28) So say a prayer some time for the ones who planted you! Give thanks that they dared to hope that you would grow! While you’re at it, take a risk on plain ol’ common folks who seem tired, stunted, and nearly dead spiritually, and dare believe that the Lord can help them grow, too! About the author: Elizabeth is a team writer for “Just a Minute” e-zine.
Don’t Just Do Something
He was oblivious to the truth that our attempts to live for Jesus will succeed only if we have the power of the Holy Spirit released to us through prayer. The new community of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem quickly multiplied and faced a series of potentially crippling crises. One of these crises involved widows, especially widows who didn’t speak the local language – Aramaic or Hebrew (Acts 6:1). The early believers from Pentecost had come from many different lands (Acts 2:5-11), and some had not returned home. Among these non-Jewish speaking folks were hungry widows, neglected by their fellow believers in the regular food distribution. People who didn’t speak the local language were upset. More than a few were angry. Many people in the predominant church culture hadn’t even noticed the problem because they spoke the “correct” language, and “their” widows were not being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Prejudice and neglect threatened the fabric of a fellowship known for sharing life (Acts 2:44, 47, 4:32) and not having a needy person among them (Acts 2:45, 4:32-35). This failure could thwart their witness as followers of Jesus while their neglecting widows, the fatherless, and the foreigner among them was direct disobedience to the will and teaching of God (Deuteronomy 10:18-19; Isaiah 1:23; Psalm 68:5, 82:3). Women worthy of respect and needing care were forgotten and hungry. The neglect of these needy women undermined the disciples’ claim to live in harmony with a heart for the things of God (James 1:27; Deuteronomy 27:19). What did the apostles, Jesus’ hand-selected leaders for his new church, do in response to this crisis? They continued to devote themselves to a higher priority, “the word of God and prayer” (Acts 6:4). What? You read it correctly. Before doing something, the apostles reminded the people of their highest priorities as leaders: kneeling in prayer and sharing the good news of Jesus. In the face of a fellowship-threatening crisis, they prayed! More than three decades ago, as a young minister, I answered the knock on the door of the church leadership’s meeting room. When I stepped outside, I discovered a red-faced, angry, long-time friend of my parents – he knew them before I was born. He verbally pressed me to let him into that meeting. As firmly, but also with as much calm as I could muster under attack from a long-time family friend and someone twice my age, I refused. “It’s prayer night,” I reminded him. “The elders and ministry team are gathered for prayer. That is our only agenda. Our prayer time will take several hours. There is no other plan tonight other than prayer. No intrusions are allowed except in the direst of emergencies.” “I wish I had time just to sit around and pray,” my friend said impatiently. “This was an important matter about our missions program that I needed to get approved. Tonight!” He stormed away in an angry huff. Several weeks later, in one of his mission meetings, a fellow mission committee member quoted this frustrated brother’s hero when my friend recounted what he considered a waste of time by the church leadership. What was that significant quote my friend needed to hear? “I only get done what I pray for!” Over time, this family friend mellowed. He became a man of prayer. Our congregation raised up seventeen long-term missionaries that we supported in world missions, and over 600 of our members went on international mission trips. His zeal for mission work never dimmed, but he also learned that many missions missteps could have been prevented through prayer and waiting on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He experienced the power of prayer, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and a clear sense of our specific call to world missions, which were essential. He realized he needed a new commitment to guide his life: “Don’t just do something; kneel and pray!” Today, many Christians fret, complain, post on social media, and stomp around, worried about what is happening in the world, their churches, and the dominant culture. They sense a decline in faith and righteous living. Most of all, they worry about the decrease in the number of people at their church services. These worried churchgoers press their church leaders to “do something” to fix the problems. They want something done immediately! “Don’t just sit there, do something!” they demand. All too often, desperate leaders respond in one of two ways: they either “just sit there” frozen and fearful or “they do something” to try to make things better. Those who “just do something” start trying all sorts of things they’ve heard about in other congregations. They reach for the latest fad. They push the newest quick fix. They copy other churches or follow the advice of the latest “how-to” article from a so-called expert. After several decades of oscillating between doing nothing (“just sit there”) and trying quick fixes (“do something”), most Christian groups find themselves in worse shape than when they started. Their churches have a much higher percentage of gray hair than ever and less patience for the slower-paced transformation based on a commitment to prayer and a focus on living on mission rather than trying new things for the sake of doing something. “Don’t just sit there, do something!” is not the answer. It wasn’t the answer to the problem of the neglected widows in the early days of the growing new Jesus movement. It certainly is not the answer to today’s congregation with genuine challenges. But, just sitting there while things continue to fall apart is not an answer. In reality, our problems today don’t approach the challenges of those first-century believers. Their politics were more brutal. Their culture was more extreme. Their travel, communication, and opposition were all much more problematic. Opposition and persecution were more pervasive. But, the commitment of their leaders was different. They chose to live by the value, “Don’t just do something; kneel and pray!” In the crisis