Saturday, in a youth leaders’ network meeting, one of the girls who was there was telling of her experience in the treatment center earlier this year when her mom was being treated for cancer.
She said that, although it was a trying time for her (her mom died this year), she had the chance to spend more time with God.
She mentioned that the other people in the treatment center noticed something different about her and her mom. They noticed something unexplainable. They recognized that they had faith and that their faith influenced their attitude and actions.
I thought of the story in Acts 4, and especially verse 13. People notice a difference when you have been with Jesus. Although you may not be the smartest or most beautiful person, being around Jesus changes you. It makes you better. And it’s noticeable.
If you ask a typical church member if they would like to improve their prayer life, they will likely answer yes. I mean, who doesn’t want to improve their prayer life?
Recently, in a quest to improve my prayer life, I started praying through my contacts (both my address book and my Facebook friends).
What I do
I pray for a letter of the alphabet every morning (sometimes two letters, depending on how many people I know with that particular letter and how much time I have).
I write a little note to most of the people I pray for that day (either an email or a Facebook message – I prefer email) telling them I’m praying for them and asking for specific requests.
Throughout the day, I usually receive emails back from those people and pray for their specific requests, which causes me to pray again for my friends.
I file the emails in a special folder in gmail that I can review later.
I mark the requests that are time sensitive on my calendar so I can remember to pray again on specific dates.
What I’ve Noticed
It has helped me think about my time with God first when I wake up in the morning.
I actually find myself praying for these people throughout the day, not just in my specified “prayer time.”
When I write the email or a facebook message, almost everyone responds, both to thank me for praying for them and to give me specific prayer requests. I also have gotten a few responses that include, “Tell me how I can pray for you.”
Many people have situations in their lives for which they need prayer but have nobody to share them with. I have a lot of ministers on my list. Sometimes they are the loneliest people and have nobody with whom to share their requests, so it’s good for them to have someone ask them for specific prayer requests.
I’m wondering if anyone else has any creative ways to pray for their friends. Leave your ideas in the comments.
I recently purchased a used 1st generation iPhone, and since then it has become an extension of my arm. In fact, I think I might be addicted. But I could stop using it anytime I want. Really, I could. I’m not addicted.
Seriously, though, I have learned to use my iPhone to help me in my spiritual life. Here are 5 ways I’m using it to improve my walk with God:
Note taking: I take notes in church and in chapel on my iPhone. Everyone thinks I’m just text messaging someone (or twittering), but the truth is I really have been taking notes. Then I email my notes to myself and file them in a folder listed “sermon notes” in my gmail. Since gmail is easily searchable, I can always look for a certain topic or passage.
I also use it to take notes in my personal Bible study time. Then I email it and file it away.
Devotion alarm: The Calendar application is set to remind me everyday that it is time to do my devotions. That’s pretty easy to do on any cell phone, but it helps me to actually DO IT if I schedule it.
I’m also thinking about setting an alarm to beep every hour to remember to pray for certain missionaries. I haven’t done this yet, but it might help me specifically pray for certain friends of mine who are serving in other countries.
Praying for my contacts: I’ve begun to go through the contact list that is in my iphone (synced with my google contacts with nuevasync). I pray for a letter a day, and by the end of the month, I’ve prayed for everyone that is in my contact list.
I also use the facebook app to pray for my facebook friends alphabetically.
Youversion: I read and bookmark Bible verses in Youversion. Although I like to use the full Youversion website even more than the mobile version, it helps me as I can scroll through various versions of the Bible.
Worship: The iphone is also an iPod, so I use it to listen to worship music during my time with God. Mark Batterson talks about having a worship playlist to help you wake up. It’s a great idea.
Bonus: You can also listen to podcasts and view sermons on the iphone. I haven’t tried this yet due to lack of time to actually listen to or watch anything, but I can see how this would help improve your spiritual life.
Any other ideas for using your iPhone or iPod touch to improve your spiritual health?
Oh…by the way, you can get a free iPhone here. My friend has signed up and gotten TONS of free stuff from this site. Check it out.
Last week, Apple celebrated the seventh birthday of the iPod. You can check out a visual journey of the iPod’s evolution here).
Before I had an iPod, I had a little MP3 player (a Diamond Rio) that held about 32MB of songs. I thought it was so cool. Then, I bought a Dell Jukebox, which was a great product with a better price than an iPod.
Finally, a few years ago, I delved into the dark world of Apple and begged allowed my wonderful wife to buy me a “video iPod.” She even got it engraved. I recently purchased a used 1st gen iPhone (which I love). Technology has certainly come a long way in 7 years.
I say all of that to say how much changes in 7 years. Technology surely changes, but also our lives, relationships, and ministries.
Seven years ago, I was a youth pastor at a local church in Florida. Now, I live in a completely different country and have a different job description. Now, I have two sons and a lot of different relationships all over Latin America.
I guess, my question is, “What’s going to happen in 7 more years?” Imagine what the iPod/iPhone will be like in 7 years. Imagine what your life will look like in seven years. I’m hoping that, like technology, my ministry and life continue to advance and get better throughout the years.
I was sitting in Starbucks this morning, waiting for them to brew my coffee of the day, and I was approached by two women who handed me a flier about some apartments that are being constructed somewhere in the area.
I took the flier to be nice, and they asked me if I happened to be looking. I said, “No,” with a smile, and they said a few other things and left. Then I got to thinking about a few things.
The first thing was their boldness. They weren’t afraid of my reaction to them. They just gave me the flyer. They weren’t sure if I was interested in buying an apartment or not. They just tried to sell it to me.
The second thing I thought about has to do with being ready and my regret for not being ready. I sure wish I had something to give them about the “business” I’m in. I didn’t have anything that I could give back to them to ask if they were interested in something much more important than an apartment.
You better be sure that in the future, I’ll try to be more bold and be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in me.
“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (NIV – emphasis mine).” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13
Jesus wept. – John 11:35
John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible, but the story it tells is one of the greatest stories about Jesus.
Three times in John 11, Jesus was grieved. Some say He was thinking about His upcoming crucifixion, but I doubt He was that selfish.
The Jews noticed his weeping, and they siad, “Look how much He loved him.” I think Jesus was weeping because He was genuinely grieving the loss of a loved one. It’s natural. It hurts to grieve and to see those around you grieve. But it’s necessary.
Tomorrow I go to New Hampshire both to grieve the loss of my Meme (grandma in French) and to help my family understand that there is hope.
Just a few paragraphs before Jesus weeps in John, He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Then He asks the question, “Do you believe this?”
As I grieve, I am reminded that I DO believe that. Jesus IS the resurrection and the life. There IS life after death. There is HOPE.
The following song by Jars of Clay talks about going home when we die. I know that Meme is home.
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If you ask a typical church member if they would like to improve their prayer life, they will likely answer yes. I mean, who doesn’t want to improve their prayer life?
