Are you a cultural crank?

We’ve all got opinions about what’s wrong with America. Our souls sag with the weight of them. Among my top cultural concerns:

• We kill babies—and call that “pro-choice.”
• We release criminals without bond.
• We force taxpayers to cover someone else's college debt.
• We label parents as "terrorists" when they speak out at school meetings.
• We liken Christians to the Taliban.

There’s a lot to be angry about. And we are!

• We’re angry about the moral decay around us.
• We're angry about the unfair treatment of believers.
• We’re angry about the indoctrination in public schools.

We’re good and angry. And sometimes more angry than good. To be clear, praying for—and working toward—biblical values is a great thing. After all, Jesus prayed, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

What is not great is the fact that many of us have become little more than cultural cranks. We complain and yearn for the return of "the good old days."

Yet, this world was not good when Jesus visited our planet 2000 years ago. And it hasn’t gotten any better. But there’s a problem when you and I are better at sharing a grumble than the gospel. James 1:20 cautions, “For a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.”

It's easy to get spun up, amped up, and fed up. But in our daily trek through the shards of our broken culture, we're still called to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us.

What this world needs now is not cultural cranks, but lovers of Jesus, who will love the unlovely.

Lord,

Keep us from being crusty, curmudgeonly, cantankerous, cultural cranks.

Amen!

Photo by Craig Adderley: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-hoodie-3531839/

They say that a rut is nothing more than a grave with both ends kicked out.

But when it comes to praying for unsaved family members, friends, and co-workers, the easiest thing in the world is to fall into a rut. (Boy, do I fight this!).

Here's something you might find helpful. What follows are seven straightforward "Prayer Prompts" you can use in your own prayer ministry.

As you read through the list, you'll notice these prayers are written for someone who is out in their neighborhood doing a prayer walk. But you can easily edit/modify/adapt these for your unique prayer setting. The Scripture verses are what matter most, anyway. This is the true power—praying God's Word back to Him.

Because there are seven different prayer prompts in this collection—one for every day of the week—here’s hoping you’ll be on your way to prayers without ruts!

• Father, we pray that you might "open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified..." (Acts 26:18).
• Thank you, Lord, that you are a God "who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). We pray that every family member in this home will become saved.
• Father, like Paul, "my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved' (Romans 10:1).
• Lord, we ask that every person in this home "may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:26).
• Father, as we pray for the salvation of the people in this home, we ask "that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3).
• Lord, I ask that "that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel...that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak (Ephesians 6:19,20).
• Lord, you have assured us you are "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Would you bring every family member in this house to repentance, please?

Amen!

Her “place” is on Wells Street. Her bed is cement. Her name is Florence.

But like so many other homeless people in Chicago, I knew nothing about her.

A co-worker walked the same route I took from the train station to Moody that early morning. She was a block ahead and took the initiative to talk with the homeless lady.

Turns out Florence is a nurse from Uganda who has come to the United States in hopes of securing a job in the medical field. However, there are forms, procedures, approvals, and acres of red tape—all of which add up to long wait times.

And because Florence is stuck in a holding pattern without a support system here, she lives on the sidewalk next to a swanky restaurant on Wells Street. By the time the business day begins, Florence has disappeared. To where, I don't know. By nightfall, she returns.

Since that initial conversation, I’ve had a chance to greet Florence by name, pray with her—and even help her out a bit financially (though she appeared uneasy accepting the small gift).

Sounds nice. Except the truth is, before my co-worker set the example and spoke with Florence, I'd passed by this homeless lady a dozen or more times. I never stopped, never talked, never waved, never cared. Worse, I resented the fact that she was living on the street near Moody.

Yes, there are people on the streets due to drug and alcohol abuse. Yes, there are people on the streets with mental problems that no government handout can fix. Yes, there are shady characters among them. But must we judge and label and shun every last one of them?

What if we got to know a few of them? What if we greeted them? Is it possible we don’t love them because we don’t know them? Would it kill us to learn their name—and use it?

Thanks to Florence, I have more questions than answers.

But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

• I John 3:17-18

Check out this collection of famous last words:

• “Step back a bit, I can't get you in the picture.”
• “I thought it tasted rather strange.”
• “I wonder what happens if these two wires touch.”
• “Listen, I'm taking a course in chemistry. I know what I'm doing.”
• "Yes, of course, the elastic is strong enough!"
• “And that one over there—the red flashing one—what does that mean?”

Full disclosure: I got these online and can’t vouch for every source (how seriously can you take a website with a name like Mental Floss?). But what follows are the actual recorded words from people who were taking their last breath. Witnesses state:

• Frank Sinatra died after saying, “I’m losing.”

• Actress Joan Crawford yelled at her housekeeper, who was praying as Crawford died. Crawford said, “Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”

• Standing in front of a firing squad, condemned murderer James W. Rodgers was asked if he had a last request. He replied, "Bring me a bulletproof vest."

• As he was dying, Alfred Hitchcock said, “One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.”

• Blues singer Bessie Smith died saying, “I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord.”

• Evangelist Dwight Moody’s last words were these: “I see earth receding. Heaven is opening. God is calling me.” 

• Stacy Honeycutt recalls, "My mother's last words to me were at first simply, 'I want to go home.' I told her she couldn't go back home. She was too ill. She then clarified for me by adding, 'To Jesus.'"

While it’s intriguing, if not a tad intrusive, to ponder others’ last words, I’m so grateful the Bible includes the last words of Jesus. Gasping as he hoisted himself up for breath, some of Christ’s final words featured His stunning declaration: “It is finished.”

Finished! The payment for our sins. The redemption of our souls. The possibility of hope and heaven. Finished!

There's absolutely nothing more to do, earn, or try. If you were hoping for a bit of good news today, this is it. It is finished! All of it!

(Can I get an Amen?)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Ephesians 1:7

SOURCE: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58534/64-people-and-their-famous-last-words

SOURCE: https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/dwight-l-moody-is-dead/#:~:text=East%20Northfield%2C%20Mass.%2C%20December,here%20at%20noon%20to%2Dday.

SOURCE: https://blog.funeralone.com/grief-and-healing/memorable-last-words/

It’s easier to just “read” the Bible than let it mess with you.

But mess with me it did when my personal Bible study time confronted me with Romans 12. In verse one, Paul urges us “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

“Holy and acceptable to God.” That phrase began to rumble…then rattle…then really unsettle me!

The more I pondered that phrase, the more conviction it whispered. This one little verse commands an all-encompassing lifestyle. One that—quite frankly—mine doesn’t always resemble.

Before the Holy Spirit had concluded His (uncomfortable) spiritual checkup, I came up with a list of 20 questions for more profound self-examination.

 Dare to take this spiritual checkup yourself? Here are the questions:

1. Is the thought I am thinking holy and acceptable to God?
2. Is my conversation holy and acceptable to God?
3. Is my work/life balance holy and acceptable to God?
4. Is my treatment of the opposite sex holy and acceptable to God?
5. Is my spending and saving holy and acceptable to God?
6. Is my eating and drinking holy and acceptable to God?
7. Is my web surfing holy and acceptable to God?
8. Is my life’s dream holy and acceptable to God?
9. Is my prayer life holy and acceptable to God?
10. Is the novel I am reading holy and acceptable to God?
11. Is my concern for lost people holy and acceptable to God?
12. Is the way I treat my spouse holy and acceptable to God?
13. Is my time in the Word holy and acceptable to God?
14. Is my charitable giving holy and acceptable to God?
15. Is my work ethic holy and acceptable to God?
16. Is my favorite TV show holy and acceptable to God?
17. Is my commitment to memorize Scripture holy and acceptable to God?
18. Is my standard of dress holy and acceptable to God?
19. Is my attendance and involvement at church holy and acceptable to God?
20. Is there much about my life others would describe as a living sacrifice—and thus pleasing to God?

Lord, our lives are short.

Eternity is long.

Help us prepare for then—by living better now.

Help us live lives that are holy and acceptable to you.

Amen!