Just Me and God

I realized something today as I was wracking my brain trying to figure out a blog post topic. It seems that it’s difficult to write about God when you’re not talking to Him a lot. The weeks when I get my daily time with Him, it’s much easier to share about the lessons I am learning. Imagine that.

Look, like many of you, I’m busy. I have two jobs. I’m married. I even write freelance articles in my (lack of) spare time. It’s very easy to not have time with my Father. “I need my sleep,” or “I just need to relax a little right now,” or “I haven’t checked ESPN in the past 5 minutes” are popular thoughts that come into my head as I’m getting ready to start praying or opening up the Bible.

I don’t know why it’s so easy to put my time with God on the back burner. When I do spend time with Him, it’s sometimes dramatic, sometimes calm, sometimes joyous, but always good. It’s a refreshing step out of our raucous world and into the larger reality that exists beyond our everyday existence (“coming in out of the wind,” as C.S. Lewis calls it in Mere Christianity). Why would you not want to sit with the Creator of the universe, feel His peace, and just know that He is God (Ps. 46:10), even if it’s for a few minutes?

What are the things that distract you from your time with Him, and what do you do to overcome these things? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Pray for Obama

The Presidential Prayer Team, a wonderful ministry headed up by John Lind, recently launched a 77-Day Prayer Initiative to get Christians to pray for a peaceful transition of power and for the future of America under the leadership of President-elect Barack Obama.

“Our responsibility as Christians is … to pray for those God has placed in authority over us, interceding for their wisdom, insight and protection,” Lind said. “It is our joy and honor before God to do this. We have been preparing for a new administration for more than two years and are excited to lead our members into a new season of prayer.”
I couldn’t agree more. Regardless of your political affiliation or your feelings about how the election turned out, we need to pray for the incoming president. The 77-Day Prayer Initiative should give you some good ideas about how and what to pray for.

When God Says "No!"

So there’s a new addition to the Glazier household this week: a tiny puppy named Toby. There’s also a new most common word in the Glazier household: “No.” Toby’s cuteness and his zest for life are matched only by his lack of bowel control and his need to bite things (currently he is trying to eat the keyboard I am typing on).

We have used the word “no” in ways I never considered before. “No, don’t poop on my foot!” “No, don’t tear the book of John out of my Bible!” and “No, don’t bark at the microwave!” All these statements have been uttered in the last 24 hours, but I’m wondering how much of it is actually getting through.

It also makes me wonder how many “nos” God has told me recently and how much of it has gotten through. “No, don’t buy a new piece of electronics before you write out your tithe check!” “No, don’t sleep through another devotional time!” and “No, don’t bark at your wife!” All of these statements have been uttered to me by a still, small voice in the past few weeks, and I can’t say that I always did as I was told.

The thing is, I know what’s best for the dog. I know that if he bites through that power chord, it might be an electrifying experience for him, one that he probably would have liked to miss out on. But God knows what’s best for me. He knows that if I yell at my wife, it also might be an electrifying experience, but He would like us both to miss out on it.
Has God had to give you a firm “no” recently? What did He say and did it get through? Share it with us in Comments.

The Morning After

I'm in the fun position of having to write this post about 12 hours before we find out who will be our next president. So I've decided to try to capture what goes through the mind of most men, including my own, the morning after every presidential election.

Your candidate wins: Glory, ecstasy, jubilation. Maybe there is hope for the world after all. You knew your faith in the American people wasn’t misguided. You knew the experts were going to eat their words. You feel connected to the rest of the country and united in its ideals. Your party has never looked better. You pray that God will bless this decision and give our new president the wisdom and guidance to make the right decisions.

Your candidate loses: Depression, humiliation, concern. The world seems to be on an endless downward spiral. How could the American people have betrayed you like this? You can’t stand to read the experts and your opponents gloating. You feel like you don’t understand what people think anymore. Your party has never been in worse shape, ever. You pray that God will somehow bless the country in spite of this tragic decision, and that He will give the new president the wisdom and guidance to make the right decisions.

It’s funny how a few thousand votes can shape our views about the state of the world. It’s such an extreme reaction one way or the other. It is true these elections are of the utmost importance and that the results should never be taken lightly. On the other hand, no matter what happens we know that God is still God. He is still sovereign. We know that no matter what happens, our relationship and our view of Him is far more important than our relationship and our view of the president.
I do pray that God will give the new president the wisdom and guidance to make the right decisions, and I pray that each of us will keep our perspective on life, no matter the outcome. God bless you, and God bless America.