Your Prayer Agenda

For the past couple of weeks we have been doing a sermon series on prayer. It has been good for this preacher to revisit prayer. There are so many things I miss or forget. Anyway I came across this story from my dad's blog (www.testeele.blogspot.com) and I thought I would share it here as well. The point I caught hold of was this: we miss "it" when it comes to prayer. Why? Because we start with our agenda not God's. Here's the story.

I found this story in a sermon by Peter Marshall that I want to share with you; it is supposed to be historically accurate.

In 1540, Martin Luther's great friend and assistant, Frederick Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. On his bed, he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand. Luther received the letter and instantly sent back a reply, "I command thee in the name of God to live. I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church. The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will and my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God." One week later, Myconius recovered and died two months after the death of Luther.

Jesus the Rabbi

As a Western thinker, my approach to Jesus has always been very cerebral--I try to learn from Jesus through knowledge. Though knowledge is one of the pathways to being a disciple it can be limiting and quite frankly boring. In my humble opinion, one of the reasons some people walk away from following Christ is because they cannot make the connection between knowledge and living life. Perhaps this is becasue pastors, ministers, and teachers have "muddied the waters", I know I am guilty of that.

With that being said, I have found it refreshing to discover Jesus the Rabbi. It provides a new perspective on what it means to follow the Christ. Here is another excerpt from Ray Vander Laan on Jesus the Rabbi.


"The Text tells us that Jesus was recognized as a rabbi. A Pharisee, a Sadducee, a Roman, and a Gentile-all refered to Jesus as "rabbi." Like the typical rabbis of his day, Jesus:

- depended on the hospitality of others (Luke 8:3).

- traveled, teaching outside or in synagogues, homes, and even the Temple courts (Luke 4:14-6; Matt. 5:1-2; 26:55; Mark 6:2).

- was accompanied by his disciples (Matt. 17:24; Matt. 20:29). He selected a group of students who followed Him, learning as they went.

- encouraged his followers to take on the "yoke of Torah" (i.e., they would commit to obeying Torah as the rabbi taught) (Matt. 11:29-30).

- taught mainly from the first five books of the Old Testament.

Like many rabbis of his day, Jesus told parables and gave object lessons to convey truth. He was a master storyteller who often wove biblical concepts and passages together in a new way.

The people of his day recognized Jesus as being a rabbi with s'mikeh-he was an exceptionally gifted rabbi with the authority to teach his own interpretations of the Word. As Matthew 7 records, "the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."

As a s'mikeh rabbi, Jesus had probably memorized the entire Hebrew Testament. His teaching assumed that his audience also knew a great deal of the Text by memory. He often quoted a portion of a passage, knowing that his audience would remember the rest.

Jesus was careful to use passages and concepts that his audience would know. When speaking to women, for example, he quoted from Psalms, one of the books that girls studied during their synagogue education. And when teaching in non-Jewish areas, he would not quote from the Text at all, but would draw on word pictures and concepts from their own culture." ~ Ray Vander Laan from www.followtherabbi.com

The Rabbi

I am a self proclaimed Christ follower. I have chosen to dedicate my life to the pursuit of trying to live as the Christ lived. Jesus, the Christ, was a rabbi and I have recently been doing some reading on the role of the rabbi in the Hebrew culture. Over the next few days I will share with you a few of the tidbits I am picking up regarding the role of the rabbi and his disciples. I hope that you find it helpful. I know I did. A great resource for this kind of information is www.followtherabbi.com

"Of all the times and places he could have come, Jesus lived and taught in the religious communities of first-century Galilee. Rabbis played a significant role in these communities, serving as both teachers and role models.

Today, it is hard for Western Christians to imagine what Jesus' life and ministry were like. But the gospels reveal one important aspect of Jesus' life: He lived and taught as a Jewish rabbi.

As we learn about the lifestyle of first-century rabbis, we gain a rich picture of Jesus as our own rabbi-an amazing teacher we eagerly follow."

Types of Rabbi

"In Jesus' day, the title of "rabbi" was not a church office or degree. Rather, it was a title of respect and honor given by the community.

Most rabbis practiced a trade while also teaching the Torah. They were commonly called "Torah teachers" or "teachers of the law." They had memorized the Torah and become master storytellers, but they were limited to teaching only the accepted interpretations of other rabbis.

Some rabbis, who achieved special recognition and wisdom, taught their own interpretations and were able to support themselves entirely by teaching. These brilliant rabbis were recognized as having s'mikeh¾the authority to introduce new teachings. They had memorized the entire Old Testament, were exceptional teachers, and were trusted to provide new insights from God's Word." ~ Ray VanderLaan at www.followtherabbi.com

Suzi Update

For those of you who don't know, my wife Suzi has been dealing with some excruciating back pain. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. Our lives have been turned upside down and there is no relief in sight. We have several doctor visits (we have had a lot already) this week, and with each one we hold out hope that something will come of them--but so far, not.

Our family, church family, friends, and neighbors have been awesome! The love and support has been overwhelming. I don't know how people do it when they don't have a support system like we have. Just having a loving church family is reason enough to go to church. Even if the preacher was boring, the coffee was bad, and the worship team was a man playing a bagpipe, I would gut it out just to have the opportunity to love and be loved. Life is so much better when it's lived with someone else. There is no place on earth like the church.

Well we are off to anther doctor appointment. Suzi and I just ask that you keep praying for us, this could be a long haul. We will keep you updated. I guess you never know where the "goose" will lead you.

Hawkeye Football Is Here!

I couldn't help myself. I love to talk about anything, Hawkeye. With football season just weeks away I thought I would throw out a few tidbits just for fun.

The football team is a good week into practice and here are a couple of insider pictures.

On the left is of course All Big Ten quarterback, Drew Tate. My prediction is that Drew is going to have a Heisman type of season. Set back and just enjoy watching him run Iowa's offense this fall.

The young man on the right is a true freshman from Youngstown Ohio by the name of Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (DJK). He was a late commitment that slipped through Ohio State's fingers. I was able to see some video of this kid and was very impressed. Pending his production in camp, don't surprised to see him on the field in some capacity (probably returning kicks). The only reason I throw out his name is because he adds another intagible on special teams that wasn't there last year (Iowa was last in the Big Ten in kick returns last year). We know Iowa is going to have a good offense with many weapons. It's always nice to get those one or two extra touchdowns from special teams play that you don't always count one. Here is a link to a story about DJK if you would like to learn more about him.

http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=169&p=10&c=392199&refid=4781

One last thing. If you are hungry for some Hawkeye football, here is an Iowa Football Highlight Video to whet your appetite. (If you have dial up internet it will take a long time to load, just so you know.)

http://web.mac.com/burton_hogg/iWeb/Site/2005%20Iowa%20Football.html

Friendship

I promise not to burst into a rousing rendition of Friends Are Friends Forever by Michael W. Smith. However, I did read this exerpt of a letter that author C.S. Lewis wrote to his good friend Arthur Greeves that I wanted to share with you: "Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it it the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I should say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.' I know I am very fortunate in that respect..." ~ C.S. Lewis

I have heard of people who have moved because of a job, better weather, or to be by family. I don't think I have ever heard of someone who moved to be by a friend. Is friendship really that good? Or maybe most people have never really experienced true friendship. I hope you have a friend. If not, maybe try being a great friend to someone else. Without a doubt our world could use a lot more friends.

Trust

The last month here at the Steele household has been quite trying. My wife Suzi has had a series of physical setbacks that have left her basically helpless. Without going into great detail, it has been a combination of severe back pain and vertigo caused most likely by a viral inner ear infection. It has really been a bizarre experience...and quite honestly we are not out of it yet. Truth be told, it feels like it will never end.

I have had many moments to think over the last few weeks and today I made this observation about trust. There is this hymn that I have sang off and on for most of my life that goes, "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word..."

Considering all the pain that my wife is going through, and all the prayers that we have prayed for God to intervene, and to see this pain and suffering drag out day after day, I have concluded that it may be easier to NOT put your trust in God.

"Why?" you may ask. Well, when bad things happen and you do not believe in God or any gods for that matter, you can write it off as maybe bad luck or karma. But because I believe in God and trust Him, I have to factor through a number of different scenarios to try and make sense of what is going on.

"Was it something that I did?"

"Did I say the wrong thing?"

"There must be a hidden sin in my life somewhere."

Believe me, all this questioning can become quite tiresome and I would love to just dismiss everything as just a bunch of bad luck. But because God loves me I choose to enter into the unknown, full of questions, looking for hope. It was in these moments of searching in which I stumbled upon a memory.

In the spring of 2005 my son Alex had a serious infection in his lymphoid. It was very painful and we had to take him to the hospital. While in the hospital they had to put in an IV to start the antibiotics his body desperately needed to heal. Kids and needles usually don't mix and so Alex was not coping well with the situation. To make matters worse, they were having a difficult time getting the needle in his vein. So Alex is screaming bloody murder from the pain and confusion, and so I hold him tight and say, "Alex, you are going to have to trust me. The only way to get better is to let them put this IV in." It took a lot of convincing, and a lot of hugs, and some force, but finally the nurse got the IV in and the healing began.

It was in that difficult moment that Alex really learned to trust me...he got better. As much as I would like to dismiss this pain and confusion it's in the confusion that I am finding trust. When bad things happen don't walk away from them or try to blow them off. Instead walk into them and maybe...just maybe you might get a glimpse of the Father. Believe me, you can trust Him.

How God Uses Culture

I was doing some research for my sermon on Sunday and I came across this interesting little tidbit about the Ark of the Covenant.

"God spoke to his people through their culture. He used their language and their customs. He described himself as a shepherd, for example, an occupation they knew well. When God commanded the Hebrews to build the tabernacle and temple, the builders followed cultural patterns that had been known for centuries. Moreover, long before God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, ancient peoples used tablets as symbols and summaries of covenants." ~ http://www.followtherabbi.com/

There are many paths which one can take from this paragraph. The one that immediately stood out to me was that "God spoke to his people through their culture." Interesting how in the United States there is a Christian counter culture. There is "Christian" music, clothes, slang, books, and even entertainment (Gaithers, Left Behind Movies, Veggie Tales)

Why can't Christ followers, instead of walking away from culture and calling it "secular" choose to engage culture and be a part of its renewal and restoration? The reality is that God is probably more at work in "secular" culture than He is in the Christian counter culture. What is interesting is that we (Christians) have tried to make Jesus look "cool" by creating this counter culture. The problem is that Jesus created the culture, it is a part of the story that is unfolding. So instead of trying to create something different, why not "ride the wave"? Use the culture as God is, to communicate the unchanging truths of His love for the human race and His plan to redeem it.

The World's Fastest Indian

On Saturday I was able to watch the movie, The World's Fastest Indian and was very impressed. There are a few scenes that are probably not appropriate for children, however the rest of the story is entertaining and very inspiring. The movie is based on the life of New Zealander, Burt Munro. I don't want to spoil the movie for you if you would like to see it, but the general plot is that Burt has devoted his entire life to making his Indian motorcycle go fast, and it's his dream to go over 200 mph. His destination to accompish this feat is in Utah at the Bonneville salt flats. The story that unfolds demonstrates the difficulties, and pains of trying to accomplish one's dream. But it also reveals the hidden joys of having other people, unexpectedly, joining in the pursuit of your dream.

The one thing that stood out the most about Burt's story is that one in never too old. Burt was 68 years old when he broke 200 mph! Not only that, but he had to put the bike down on the salt going 206...and he walked away to ride again! I have met too many followers of Christ who have given up on their dreams. God sets us apart with a dream--a purpose and it is never too late to pursue and achieve the dreams that God has given us.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;” ~ Jeremiah 1:5

I have met people who have dreamed about doing many different things; like starting an orphanage, taking a mission trip, planting a church and yet they felt like it will never happen. I have also met so many retired people who feel like they don't have a place in what God is doing...that ministry is for those who are younger, etc. No matter who you are or how old you are, it is never too late to live out the dream that God has put in your heart! So what is your dream?