Follow Jesus outside

I pray a lot, it’s what a pastor does. I keep a prayer list and I have columns on my list. I pray for those who are sick physically, sick spiritually, I intercede for my enemies (that list seems to grow all the time), I pray for our president and other leaders around the world. I ask God for help in a variety of other things, I tell Him I’m sorry for my failures, I remind Him He is awesome and I let Him know I am grateful for all that He does.

I’ve been praying for a friend of mine. The Blonde and I pray for him often at our kitchen table, but we see very little change in his life. He’s a lot like “the woman at the well.” We don’t think much about people like her in today’s culture. When John (John 4) wrote about who she was and what she was doing was taboo. Now who she was and what she did has become normal for us. In that sense, sadly, the story has lost its context.

Here’s the truth. My friend and the woman at the well really aren’t much different than the rest of us. What I mean is our sin might be more socially acceptable or hidden better but at the end of the day we all need to do business with God in the form of confession. I needed Jesus and I need Jesus, right?

My friend is afraid of what will happen if he follows Jesus beyond the doors of the church building. I get it. Fear can be a strong match for faith and sin can be a great security blanket. If you told the truth, you would say that you relate and you’re scared too.

Too many like to confess, “Oh, I’m a sinner. I sin every day.” I think that’s pride, at least it’s false humility and I doubt God finds much pleasure in that statement. I guess for some acknowledging that they sin is a move in the right direction, maybe the next step is to say what the specific sin(s) is (are)? Is it hard to say, “I’m not just a sinner but I have a problem with ____________?”

I had a friend named Mark, he’s no longer with us but Mark was a recovering alcoholic (he was a big time Christian too) and I went with him to an AA meeting once. It was just like on TV, people stood up and said, “My name is Mark and I’m an alcoholic.” There was something very authentic and liberating in those admissions. Can you imagine doing that at a “church meeting?” For those who want revival, there you go.

He told me to tell you that.