Walking the Walk and Praying the Prayers

It's important that we increase our sense of what God wants to do in our lives and in the situations for which we pray.  I came across a passage on the Cru website dealing with the topic of prayerwalking:

Joshua and Caleb walked throughout the Promised Land with a desire to see it as God saw it. They walked in godly vision. In identifying enemy powers, do so in the context of the vastly superior power of God. We need to be aware of the enemy BUT in awe of God...

How we need to see as God sees and to pray with spiritual eyes!  The Cru piece refers to parts of 2
verses in Numbers 14 - here's are the complete verses:
8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.'
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."

Through directed and focused prayer, we can expand our sense of what God wants to do in our midst. He has given us this powerful tool, and we do well to look for ways that we can improve our prayer life and enhance our communication with Almighty God.

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In James 5, we find a challenging passage of Scripture:
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

An International Mission Board missionary ministering in Indonesia possessed a map of the large city where he lived - his mission field. As he read the book by author Ed Silvoso called, That None Should Perish: How to Reach Entire Cities for Christ Through Prayer Evangelism, highlighting the practice of "prayerwalking" a large South American city, the missionary thought about the map.  He related to Baptist Press, "God put the vision of this particular map in my head. I thought, 'All right, we're going to prayerwalk this city.'"

In the Baptist Press story, his name has been changed to Howard.  Howard thought that he and his teammates on an urban city team could at least prayerwalk major roads in the city that is roughly the same size as St. Louis. Like most Asian cities, is densely populated with millions of people. One day, as he was walking one of those major roads, he glanced sideways.

He recalled "I'm down one of the roads and I look down a side alley and there's these two or three little grandmas and some little kids running around," adding, "And I found myself gravitating toward that road and praying for those people. That's when I realized we needed to pray for every [single] road. We needed to pray for the entire city."

Howard says that once they had committed as a group to pray for every street, the Lord provided a surplus of church volunteers from the United States that summer. More than 50 volunteers came to help partner in other ways but also invested a portion of their time to prayerwalk. One volunteer specifically came to prayerwalk.

The missionary's map is color-coded, with lines, dots, and stars - the goal is to pray for people on every street in the city; now, prayerwalkers are strategic about where and when to focus their prayers. For instance, if they are out on Fridays, they have a special assignment -- the mosques.

When volunteers head out to the streets, the team equips them with maps and sets of index cards tied together with string. Some cards prompt them in specific prayers. Some carry verses such as 1 Timothy 2:1-6 and 8 to pray for the city, while others prompt prayers for God to be glorified, for IMB workers and local believers to be bold and Muslims to find the truth. Howard explained, "You have people who are truly seeking God. They're not just seeking the religion part. They are seeking God -- how do you reach God? And this is the only way they know how to do it." He prays they will find the truth.

This account of what God is doing through this team in Indonesia can be an inspiration to pray for our communities.  It is encouraging to hear about prayerwalking efforts in the Faith Radio area, such as the annual River Region Prayer Walk, which takes place in the fall, as well as efforts that have been organized in the past to pray at area schools at the beginning of the school year.   As we continue to focus on upcoming prayer efforts in our area and our nation, we can be reminded about these dynamics of prayer:

Prayer transcends location and transcends our human understanding, but the immediacy of presence can have an effect on us and our prayers.  I think prayer is an effort that can intensify our senses, and by being able to walk in an area and see it geographically, it can give us a greater appreciation of what we need to pray for.  I think that we can increase our receptivity to the Holy Spirit's direction as we are, as you might say, "on location!"

We can be challenged to pray focused prayers.  Prayerwalking can help us to concentrate on the needs of the area for which we are praying, and there may be ministry opportunities that arise as we are communicating with God in a particular location.  Praying for our cities and communities, even going to critical locations, such as a capitol or city hall our courthouse, can be highly effective as we set aside distractions, make a decision to reserve time with the Lord, and to fervently intercede for the areas to which we are called.

New Life Begins Here

Believers in Christ can realize that we have been re-created in the image of Jesus Christ - His life is
our life, and His nature now belongs to us, released in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We read in Colossians 3:
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

A change in identity results in a change in action.  And, we have the capacity to, as the Scripture says, "put to death" those earthly activities that do not represent God's best for us.  God gives us guidelines not to keep us in bondage, but to set us free - free to live in the Spirit, free to experience what He has in store for us.  So, that's what is in store for the believer in Christ.  We can rejoice in our new life and realize that we have died with Him, and we live in Him!

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In 2nd Corinthians 5, we read about the change of identity we encounter when we accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives:
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

It's not often that you will find positive spiritual news on the entertainment website TMZ, but it has reported that former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, and his girlfriend, Breion, were baptized together at a Pro Athletes Outreach event in Colorado Springs, which is an annual event that brings together hundreds of NFL players.  You can actually see a video on the website.

The report says that the event is geared toward couples -- who pray together, attend workshops together and listen to different religious and motivational speakers.

Kurt Warner ran a seminar, and other stars attending included Antonio Cromartie and Brian Hartline.

The Sporting News ran a story, which included his girlfriend, Breion Allen's picture on Instagram, with the caption: "Last night I accepted Christ into my life for the first time. So thankful for this #PAO experience for helping me grow closer in my faith and to be around people trying to do the same."

Great news, indeed.  As the Sporting News story reported: "The Buccaneers quarterback took another step in the right direction this week..."  As perhaps you're aware, the former Florida State quarterback has been dogged by negative news.

We know that accepting Christ as the Lord and Savior is more than a step in the right direction.  An authentic salvation experience means that the heart is changed - a person is a new creation.

Now the journey begins.  And, a word of caution to Jameis and Breion - get discipled!!  I think it is very dangerous to place new believers on a pedestal and expect them to live a glowing Christian life without the proper training. And, that is a peril when you have someone who is in the public eye.

The apostle Paul was rather famous in his day, but he did not go into the public ministry upon his
Damascus Road experience. He wrote in Galatians 1:
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.

Now, I think there is a principle here - there was a waiting period here.  My point is that we have to guard against placing expectations on new believers, when they merely need to study God's Word and grow in grace.  Jameis doesn't need to be going out giving his "testimony" when that testimony is being shaped.  Paul didn't immediately start talking about Damascus - he set out to be a disciple.

And, this underscores the importance of spiritual growth.  Walking the aisle or getting baptized is the entry point - it shows that someone has asked the Lord into his or her heart.   But, discipleship is critical for new Christians...and for each of us.  You can't just rest on that entry-level act when God is calling you to so much more.  That first-time decision needs to be turned into a long-time faith walk.

But, we don't need to underestimate the significance of what has taken place in a believer's life.  That prayer of faith accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior has tremendous power, opening the door for the Holy Spirit to come into a person's heart and begin the process of change from the inside out. And, the act of baptism presents a wonderful picture of the newness of life.  All believers can reflect on that moment that it happened for us and be thankful about the work of God in our lives in bringing us to Himself.

Cooped Up

Jesus has shown us the example of true, unselfish love - after all, He gave His very life so that we might come to know Him and have a right relationship with God the Father.  His love released in our
human relationships can help show us the way to meaningful interaction with others. John 15 says:
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Love for others, that is characterized by unselfishness and a heart of compassion and service, can be expressed through the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of Christ flowing through our hearts.  His direction can be activated and bring about right relationship - with God and with those around us.  If we are putting Him first, then we find that our motives are shaped by His principles and our actions are guided by His love.

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As believers in Christ, we can look for ways in which we can honor Him by entering into healthy relationships, as 1st Peter 4 directs:
8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

A familiar chicken restaurant chain now has brought to some of its restaurants the idea of a chicken "coop."  But there's no chicken inside, rather it's a place that families can place their cell phones while they dine.

That's right, according to Atlanta television station 11 Alive, Chick-fil-A has created a family challenge in which customers surrender their cell phones to a cardbox coop, covered with instructions and a promise of a reward.

Here are the rules:

1. Turn all family cell phones to silent and place in this cell phone coop

2. Enjoy your Chick-fil-A meal and each other distraction free!

3. After the meal, let Chick-fil-A know that your family has successfully completed the challenge and each of you will receive a small Icedream cone.

The 11 Alive reporter posted a picture of the "coop" on his Facebook page, saying it was a great idea. And, apparently this concept has become quite popular.

So far, it's been rolled out in a selected number of stores.

On the FamilyLife.com website several years ago, writer Dave Boehi addressed the issue of cell phone usage and its threat to marital conversation.  He said:

The technology is evolving so quickly that most of us are barely aware of how our behavior is changing and our relationships are affected. As one reader wrote after I addressed this issue a couple months ago in a series of Marriage Memo e-mails, “These mobile devices can take over your life.” Another said, “I understand technology has its advantages, but we are being ruled by the technology rather than using it as a tool.”

Boehi shared some tips from readers regarding taming this cell phone monster.

1. No devices at the dinner table. This was mentioned many times in e-mails. Dinner time should be reserved for face-to-face conversation. There will be plenty of time after dinner to reply to phone calls and text messages.

One family calls this rule “TTT—Timeout from Technology at the Table.”

2. No phones at the restaurant. “My husband and I have made a deal for date nights,” wrote one wife. “He is way too plugged in to TV and his phone. Therefore when we are out at restaurants we are not allowed to use our phones unless it is a call from the babysitter. Also we do not go to restaurants that have televisions because he will be too distracted, and I will be mad that he is not totally engaged. We all need to find time daily to disconnect from all the information and reconnect with our families with good ‘old-fashioned’ conversation.”

Another reader said she and her husband leave their cell phones in the car before they enter a restaurant.

3. No texting or talking about really important personal issues over the phone.
This should be done face-to-face, unless it is something that can't wait. One reader said, “There is a huge gap in a 'conversation' when texting because you don't really fully understand what that person really means unless you hear the tone in their voice or see their face and a lot can be taken the wrong way, creating bad feelings, etc.”

Boehi notes that:

All these boundaries establish a strong family value: When you’re with someone, that relationship is your priority. Retraining will take some time if you, your spouse, or your children have become addicted to your devices. But keeping them in their rightful place will, in the words of one reader, “open up the door to more intimate communication with your spouse and family.”

In a summary on the website, CraigGroeschelBooks.com, about his book, #Struggles, there is this quote:

The more you compare, the less satisfied you are. The more we interact online, the more we crave face to face intimacy, but the harder it is to find. The more filtered our lives become, the more challenging it is to be authentic. The more information about the pain in the world we’re exposed to the more difficult it is to care.

Some takeaways for today:

First of all, we were built for interaction: with God our Heavenly Father and with other people. Human interaction, not technically-filtered interaction.  If our communication with God consists of engagement with a Bible app or an online devotional, or even listening to Faith Radio, that is wholly insufficient in light of what we could have with Him.  Those are great tools to help you experience God, but He would intend for those to be gateways to greater fellowship, not the fellowship itself. And, with people, we can be so consumed with our digital interaction that we lose the human experience.  We have to fight to get it back.

And, with everything in our lives that would threaten our vertical relationship with the Father and our horizontal relationship with family and friends, we have to make sure we are setting the proper boundaries and taking steps to guard against those insufficient alternatives we might encounter.  Kudos to Chick-Fil-A for promoting family unity and to pastors, speakers, and writers who have seen these threats and are helping to call attention to contributing factors to the decline of family communication and cohesion.

Exposing Darkness

God calls us to not embrace acts of sin, but to expose them.  He is light, and He desires to shine His
light into dark places. Ephesians 5 exhorts us:
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

We can depend on the Spirit to bring to light the areas in our own lives that are not lining up with God's will for us.  And, we can be used of the Lord to speak truth and to participate in the exposure of areas in our society that are not pleasing to Him.  If we are people of principle, speaking and acting with conviction, then we can be emboldened to stand boldly and with great strength.  We can also pray that the Spirit of God will go forth mightily to testify to the light of Christ.

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One of the themes of the Scriptures, including the teachings of Jesus, is the exposure of darkness.  I
quoted from Luke 8 earlier this week. In Luke 12, we read:
1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.
3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

There has been some increased visibility this week from a pro-life perspective.  The abortion issue was front and center in oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, as the abortion industry has been placed in the position of having to defend its opposition to common-sense safety standards for abortion clinics.  And, hearing on Capitol Hill before a House committee turned attention to Planned Parenthood's sale of body parts from pre-born children.

A Daily Signal story quoted Committee Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee: “The weak, the vulnerable, those with no voice—harvested and sold—there is something going on, something that deserves investigating and that demands our best moral and ethical thinking."

And, there's news this week out of statehouses in Arizona and Mississippi, with bills advancing dealing with preventing tax dollars from being used to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider.

Plus, the light of truth is being shown through a new animated video released by the pro-life organization, Live Action.  According to the Christian Examiner, the new four-minute animated video that describes the gruesome details of a second-trimester abortion has gone viral, and it's changing hearts and minds.

The article, written this past Tuesday, says that the video has received more than 10 million combined views on Facebook and YouTube since its Feb. 23 release. It shows a former abortion doctor – who is now pro-life – speaking into the camera and explaining the abortion procedure in everyday language. He also shows the instruments that are used. The former abortion doctor, Anthony Levatino, performed more than 1,200 abortions before he had a change of heart.

Lila Rose, president of Live Action, refers to the video as a "game changer."  In a press release, she said, "After years of investigating the abortion industry, one of the most common responses I hear to our work is, 'I never realized that's what happens during an abortion,'" adding, "Perpetuating ignorance is how the abortion industry stays in business. Today, we are lifting the veil and providing a window to the womb - during an abortion."

You can learn more at the website, AbortionProcedures.com.

Certainly, the light of truth is shining.  Through media, through pregnancy resource centers, and other ways to communicate, God's Word concerning life is being transmitted.  And, through ultrasound technology, women are able to get a glimpse of the life of their pre-born child.   We can be thankful that truth about life, consistent with God's truth, is being powerfully shared.

And, this can give those of us who are pro-life a heightened degree of confidence.  Even though there are those who are resistant to the message and may denigrate our point of view, we can know that God's Word is on our side, medical evidence is on our side, and the exposure of the darkness of abortion and abortion industry illustrates the culture of death that is embraced by those who claim to champion abortion.

A general principle for all of us is that we can rely on the Holy Spirit to expose darkness in our society and we can shine God's light into it.  We can also depend on Him to expose areas in our own lives that don't line up with His truth and we can address them using the powerful tools of the Spirit to conform more fully to His will for us.

Making a Decision

God is calling us to a deeper relationship with Himself, and out of our brokenness and humility, He desires to bring forth a more committed walk and more fulfilling communication with Him.  Psalm
51 says:
15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.

In humility, we approach God's throne - and Hebrews 4 reminds us that there we can receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.  Every day, we have needs, and the resources to fulfill those needs adequately and abundantly can only come from the hand of Almighty God.  As long as we wallow in self-sufficiency, we cannot experience the fullness of the power that God wants to give us.  So we are called to empty ourselves and rely on the Lord to fulfill us.  We approach Him in prayer with a sense of humility and dependence.

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In submission to God, we can be motivated to call on Him in prayer out of a right relationship with
Him. James 4 reminds us:
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

It is a non-negotiable spiritual fact, in my estimation, that our country is in need of prayer.   And, while at NRB last week, I became aware of a number of prayer efforts that are designed to unite Christians to gather and intercede for our nation.

You also have the National Day of Prayer is coming up on May 5 - the first Thursday of May, in which people of faith gather in their local churches and at city halls and courthouses across their land, standing together.

And, on today's Meeting House program: more about the prayer meeting at the Lee County Courthouse in Opelika, Alabama, as well as pastor Carter Conlon of Times Square Church, which holds a weekly online prayer meeting every Tuesday night.

I want you to mark your calendar for Thursday, April 14th.  At noon that day, the Decision America Tour with Franklin Graham, an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will be visiting Montgomery.  This occasion begins at 12 noon on the State Capitol steps facing Dexter Avenue.

The website, Yellowhammer News, had a feature story about the event. It quotes the evangelist, as saying, “I’m going to every state in our country to challenge Christians to live out their faith at home, in public and at the ballot box—and I will share the Gospel."  That is a quote from the front page of the Decision America website.    He is also quoted as saying, “America is at a crossroads, and I believe we should take every opportunity to stand up for the things of God and His Word.”  

The article also quotes from an AL.com story last year:

“(I’m) calling people to repentance, to faith in Christ, to vote for candidates that support biblical values,” Graham said. “I’m not going to endorse any candidates. I’ve been disappointed too many times. I want the Christians to get out and vote. Some of these elections are won and lost not by millions, but by hundreds of votes. In 2000, with Bush and Gore, it came down to just a handful of votes. Every vote counts. Many Christians think their vote doesn’t count. It does count.”

The Association has released spiritual data about each state, which can be found on its website.  As Yellowhammer reports, Alabama data from the Barna Group notes that only 23 percent of Alabamians are what they define as “Captive Christians.”  70 percent are defined as “Casual Christians,” essentially meaning they identify as Christians culturally, but are not necessarily Christians as defined by the Bible.

The article cites this explanation from Barna:

The lives of Captive Christians are defined by their faith; their worldview is built around their core spiritual beliefs and resultant values. Casual Christians are defined by the desire to please God, family, and other people while extracting as much enjoyment and comfort from the world as possible.

The big difference between these two tribes is how they define a successful life. For Captives, success is obedience to God, as demonstrated by consistently serving Christ and carrying out His commands and principles. For Casuals, success is balancing everything just right so that they are able to maximize their opportunities and joys in life without undermining their perceived relationship with God and others.

Stated differently, Casuals are about moderation in all things while Captives are about extreme devotion to their God regardless of the worldly consequences.

The group states, "Captive Christians consider Casuals to not be genuine followers of Christ."

By the way, Franklin Graham weighed in on the Presidential race in a Facebook post yesterday.  He wrote:

I’m calling for a truce! A time out. A halt to the insults, the back-stabbing, the dirty tricks, and the name-calling that has been spewing from most of the presidential candidates. ‪#‎SuperTuesday‬ is now over, but the campaign for the highest office in our land has stooped to a new low—and it’s not something to be proud of. Seriously. I call on the candidates to drop the childish bickering and get back to the issues that can change America for the good, for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Otherwise America is ultimately the loser. It’s obvious that this country is in trouble—spiritually, morally, and politically.

So, our takeaways today:

First of all, prepare.  People are recognizing that our country is in trouble.  Franklin Graham and others are seizing the opportunity and encouraging believers to cry out to God.  On Tuesday, people across our land voted for leaders who they believed would bring the needed change.  The party currently occupying the White House has been outdistanced in turnout by the other party.   Poll after poll are showing that the country is heading in the wrong direction.  What can you do?  Prepare to do your part, to do what it takes in order to see a reversal.

And, no doubt we can pray.  We may be angry, we may be disappointed, we might even feel hopeless about our the state of our country and our culture.  But, there is something powerful that we can do - potentially, every moment of every day, because God is available at all times to hear the prayers of His people.

Finally, I believe that we have to be penitent, in other words, we have to get our hearts right.  2nd Chronicles 7 highlights four conditions for healing of our land:  humility, prayer, seek God's face, and...turn from our wicked ways.  We have to make up our minds to live holy lives, humble before God and depending on Him like never before.  As we humble ourselves before God, we can reflect His love and character to our culture and gain assurance of our prayers being heard.

City of Peace

In Hebrews 12, we are exhorted to pursue peace with one another:
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled...

We are called as Christ's ambassadors to be people of peace, who promote harmony among individuals, who could even be used of God to navigate difficult situations in a spirit of reconciliation.  Our personal challenge is whether or not we are following a path that ultimately leads to peace.  God sent Jesus to remove the separation between our Heavenly Father and humanity, and we have been dispatched to this earth to reflect and to promote His principles to His glory.

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The Bible offers direction regarding living peacefully with one another, even in the midst of troubled
times that would diminish or even shatter a posture of peace. Romans 12 says:
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

The city of Montgomery is reeling from an incident that took place last week during the early morning hours in the Mobile Heights area, in which a 59-year-old man was shot to death by a 23-year-old Montgomery police officer.   Mayor Todd Strange and Police Chief Ernest Finley held a press conference Monday to answer questions about the shooting,

According to a report about the conference by WSFA, the police chief said that the officer noticed something "suspicious" about the man, Kenneth Gunn. The officer got out of his patrol car, approached Gunn, and there was a struggle that lasted for a block. In the end, the policeman fired his weapon and hit Gunn, who died on the scene.

Mayor Strange said there have been 23 burglaries in the Mobile Heights area, the neighborhood where the shooting happened, this year, and there had been special patrols in the area. That special detail had already ended, but, according to the mayor, everyone knew the burglaries had happened in the early morning hours.  

The investigation is now in the hands of the State Bureau of Investigation.  The mayor urged patience at the news conference and asked for patience and calm.  Last night at the Montgomery City Council meeting, WSFA reports that protesters interrupted the proceedings.

This situation has been heightened by the fact that the victim was African-American and the policeman was white, which lines up with a narrative that has become all-too-disturbing for many these days; a narrative that has brought intensified tensions, protests, and in some cities, violence.  I trust that Montgomery citizens will be prudent and peaceful, even though the anger over the incident is perfectly understandable.

And, this provides the body of Christ in the River Region and throughout our nation the opportunity to pray for peace.

In a post on the Desiring God website, Phillip Holmes wrote this concerning the Ferguson tragedy, and I think it is adaptable to our situation in Montgomery today:

...I encourage every Christian that encounters tragedies and injustices like this to pray. Pray for Ferguson, Missouri. Pray for peace to be restored in this city. Pray for Michael Brown’s family as they mourn the loss of their loved one. Pray that if they don’t know our Lord Jesus, that they would come to know him through this tragedy. And pray that if they do know Jesus, he would give them peace that surpasses all understanding.

Pray for the officer involved in this shooting. Pray for honesty and justice. Pray that if he doesn’t know Jesus as Lord that God would use this tragedy to save him. Pray that if he is a Christian that the Lord would grant him wisdom as he navigates this process. Pray that God would protect him and his loved ones.

Pray for the church in Ferguson. Pray that they would be a true city on a hill. Pray that they would point the world to the One who, one day soon, will restore justice and peace for all time. Pray that they would be quick to mourn with those mourning and eager to share the reason for our hope.

Pray. This is our calling in Christ, and our great privilege and opportunity.

So, we can pray.  We can also practice - we as the Church, the body of Christ, His ambassadors in the city of Montgomery and on the earth, can be a model of peace.  The way that this tragedy is handled in the community can show that we can be a city of peace.  Even amidst struggle and violence, we can depend on the Lord to give us His supernatural peace - in our dialogue with one another and our understanding and sympathy for the family and friends of the victim.

This incident only perpetuates that tension between law enforcement and the Black community, and where there are ways that each of us can step in an be emissaries of peace, it's important that we are sensitive to the direction of the Spirit.

Shining the Spotlight

In John 16, Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit, who would come after He was back in heaven with His Father.
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

The Holy Spirit will illuminate our souls - He wants to bring healing and restoration in our hearts and minds, and He will do that as we take God's Word seriously and allow Him to point out areas in our lives that He wishes to change.  In accordance with His truth, He will reveal how we have fallen short, but the good news is that He doesn't leave us in our insufficiency; no, Christ becomes our sufficiency to right the wrongs, to remedy those areas that need to be healed.

+++++

In Luke 8, we read this passage about transparency and Biblical responsibility:
17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

It seems that when you have a major awards show, the discussion following the event will center around controversial moments in the presentations, sometimes at the expense of showcasing who actually won!  I think that the Oscars may have struck a delicate balance of being controversial, but also calling attention to a winner, which itself dealt with a sensitive issue.  Now, I will not endorse some of the language or references in host Chris Rock's comments, nor the language and thematic elements in the Best Picture, Spotlight, but this year's Oscars reminds us of issues that the Church needs to be speaking into.

Rock, of course, an African-American host, did not shy away from the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, which grew this year out of a lack of Black nominees in the major categories - you had some actors who boycotted the show entirely, and some actually attended a fundraiser to benefit the victims of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.  The much-maligned Stacey Dash, who had chided fellow African-Americans for complaining while embracing BET and Black History Month, was jokingly brought out on stage as some inclusion and diversity head for the Oscars, which reviews said was an awkward moment.

On the Hollywood Reporter website, Daniel Fienberg wrote:

In the end, Rock's monologue was blistering and relevant and really funny, but every viewer is going to decide for themselves whether it accomplished what needed to be done — or if anything needed to be done at all.

Feinberg continued:

But for people who think this actually is a serious thing because movies are supposed to be a reflection of society — and the Oscars are supposed to be a reflection of the best in movies — the actual effectiveness may have been mixed. Rock attacked the problem, while minimizing it; announced the racism, but made it seem benign and friendly; offered solutions, but the main feigned solution was black-only categories like "best black friend..."

So, Rock resorted to what he does - comedy - to perhaps make people in the room feel uncomfortable and to address a serious issue with a lighter touch.  Fortunately, for us as Christians, we can depend on the Holy Spirit to provide a gracious approach when addressing an issue that we need to confront. That goes for race relations...

...and for another topic that has grown from Oscar night: sexual abuse.  The Best Picture went to Spotlight, which dealt with the journalistic treatment of instances of abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.   Richard Ostling wrote on the Get Religion website:

On Sunday, Hollywood did its bit to boost the news biz by giving the best picture Oscar to the must-see “Spotlight,” correctly regarded as the best movie depiction ever of real newspaper work. The film, of course, depicts The Boston Globe effort that exposed the extent of Catholic priests’ sexual molestation in the area archdiocese thanks to shoe-leather fieldwork and documents gained by a strategic lawsuit and a state judge’s edict.

On Focus on the Family's Plugged In website, former reporter Paul Asay wrote this in relation to the movie:

The sexual scandal revealed in part by the Spotlight team at The Boston Globe is, with certainty, a roadblock to religion for many. It was for the reporters who covered it, for many of the victims who lived it, for some who simply read and watched the story from afar. And it will be a roadblock for some moviegoers, too. This is not a film that encourages us to embrace the spiritual richness found in the churches around us. Instead, it encourages deep skepticism about how God's plan for His people can ever be realized in a world so full of sin.

But maybe that skepticism is good. Even wise. The Bible itself shows us many a fallen leader, many a hypocrite. None of those wayward souls diminished the Light that is Christ. And if we are honest, we will realize that what we see in Spotlight is a mess of humanity's making, not God's.

The Plugged In review included the Scripture reference of Luke 8:17.

And, the Vatican's paper lauded the selection of Spotlight.  According to the Variety website:

In a front page editorial published Monday afternoon, the newspaper owned by the Holy See said the drama reconstructing the Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and efforts to cover it up, faithfully portrays how the Church tried to defend itself despite a “horrible reality.”

“Predators do not necessarily wear ecclesiastical vestments, and paedophilia does not necessarily stem from the vow of chastity” cautioned the editorial’s author, Lucetta Scaraffia. “But it is now clear that, in the Church, too many people concerned themselves more with the image of the institution than the gravity of the act.”

The article continued by saying:

The editorial also addressed the call on Pope Francis made by “Spotlight” co-producer Michael Sugar during the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre. It “must be seen as a positive signal: There is still trust in the institution and in a pope who is pressing ahead with the cleaning up begun by his predecessor,” it opined.

A couple of thoughts in light of the Oscar ceremony and the issues raised.  I believe that healing comes through transparency.  The Oscar race controversy was something that was very visible prior to the awards show and kudos to Chris Rock for not shying away from it.  Where there are differences, healthy attention and dialogue can help move toward resolution.   In the case of Spotlight, the movie showed that the exposure of abuse in a religious community was important in providing steps toward improving the conditions.

In our own personal lives, I believe that the Holy Spirit is very faithful in exposing the areas of our lives that need to change.   The Word of God will act as a light to shine on those dark areas in our consciousness and behavior.  He provides the necessary exposure as we expose ourselves to His truth and guidance.   We have to be sensitive to His direction and exhibit the willingness to allow Him to alter our lives.