Why Wait?

Beginning in the last week of June I have seen the power of prayer in my life and other believers’ lives. Needless to say I have thought a great deal recently about the power of prayer and the Christian duty I have to pray. I am going to keep my thoughts here as brief as possible in order to avoid ranting.
I will start this with a question. How often has someone come to you and told you about a problem they are having and your response was, "I will be praying for you." Now, how many times have you followed through with that? How many times have you failed to pray for that person? Do you feel guilty over it? Have you ever even thought about it? I must confess that I am guilty of this. I have told people that I would pray for them and never even thought about it again. I feel safe in thinking that I am not the only one. Oh the excuses we have for this. Either we are too busy and it slipped our mind or they seemed to be fine when you left them. Besides, they may have gotten better so it didn't really matter did it. Why do we do this? What causes us to lie to one another in this way and let each other down? Why do we withhold the mercy that was given to us? It could be because we are only humans but I prefer to think that it is because, as my friend Jason Jarrett says, WE REALLY JUST DON'T CARE. We are too selfish to care for one another enough to remember to pray for each other as we are commanded to do. Jesus Christ Himself took time to pray for His current disciples and those of us to come when he was facing his own death and we can't remember to do it when we are facing nothing but an 8:00am tee time. I can think of no word to describe it other than pathetic.
So, I am resolved to no longer be guilty of this offense. I challenge all of you to join me in this solution as well. First, another question. When faced with a scenario where someone talks to us about a problem and either does or does not ask for prayers, what stops us from dropping whatever it is we are doing at that moment and praying with that person? Admittedly I did not closely study this before posting but I can recall no scenario where Jesus or his disciples put off offering to help someone in need. Never do we read of Jesus saying "I will keep you in My prayers." If someone had the faith to come to Him, Jesus would stop what he was doing and assist that individual. I believe in the power of prayer and I believe that we must stop praying for people in private but rather praying with them in public, at that moment. Again, what stops us from doing this? Too busy? Too public? Worried they might not want that at that time? I can guarantee that if you take that individual by the hand and begin to pray, they are not going to stop you. We know the power of prayer, yet we refuse to share it. What merciless individuals have we become?
Some of us may feel too uncomfortable to do this. If so, you have a real problem with God. If you think that people who know you would be really surprised by you doing this, then you have a problem you must resolve with your Lord and Savior. If doing this would be surprising to many because they did not know you have such faith, it's time to make a change. If you just feel too embarrassed to do so, then you are not being a disciple because you are not denying yourself. Instead you are denying the mercy of Christ to someone in need. What better way to show our faith then this? I ask you if you are reading this to pray for me that I will do better in this area and that I will not put people's requests for prayers off and risk not praying for them at all. Just suppose that a miraculous occurrence comes about in a person's life after you pray with them. What a wonderful opportunity for ministry. Or better yet, suppose that your example of faith causes that individual to drop to their knees too at that time or alone and they either make a decision to become a Christian or to restore their walk. Then they tell you later that it was all because of your willingness to share your faith. All because, as my friend Randy Hargett says, you showed them the face of Jesus through your willingness to deny yourself and share your time with God with them. It's time to start caring enough to make a difference. Will you join me in doing this? What a difference we can make if we will just start caring.

A Confession

Those of you who read this know that at the first of last month that I was going to do a better job of listening to the whisper of the Holy Spirit in my life and acting upon it. You can read that post here. Well, it has not taken me very long to slip in this effort and my heart is very pained over my failure.

Let me explain. I was called by a dear friend last Monday morning on my way in to the office. To make a long story short, my friend was confiding in me that he has lost control of his life due to a battle with alcohol and Rx drugs. This friend is at the point where he realizes he needs help and that he is in danger of losing those around him who he loves. I talked to him and told him that I would be there for him socially as I can not ethically offer him professional assistance other than referrals. I also told him what every "good Christian" would say: "I'll be praying for you." I did pray for him too, several times. I have invited him to some church functions and spoken with him two times since then and he reports positive progress but I continue to be worried about him.

Here is where my heart has been convicted. Since having that conversation the Holy Spirit has placed the thought in my head several times (I think it's 5 times to be exact), to get my wife in the car and drive to my friend's house and pray with him and for him there. I don't know why I have been moved to do this or if anything will be accomplished by it, just that I should do it. Sadly, I have ignored this up to this point. I think that by ignoring this thought that could only come from that which is Holy was sinful and I am confessing of that sin. My reason for thinking this comes from James 2: 8-13. In this passage James is admonishing his readers about showing favoritism regarding who they worship with and who they offer the gospel message to. He points out that by doing this it makes you no better off than a murderer or adulterer because you did not show mercy and do what you have been called to do as a Christian. I had so many excuses not to go and pray with my friend, some of which being: “I need to finish cutting the grass,” “He wouldn’t want to be disturbed,” and even “What if he’s drinking when I get there?” How lame are those excuses? I should be there now as a matter of fact. I should have gone there as soon as he first called me, but I didn’t and I have not shown the mercy that God has had on me to this person that I call a friend.
I realize that before I can fully repent of this sin I must go there and offer to pray with him, not pray for him on my own time, but pray with him. I know in my heart that God can pull my friend from his despair, yet I am withholding the power of prayer that God has given to me. I am truly sorry and I will make this right.
If you are my friend that I am referring to in this writing please read this carefully: I love you very much. I can not help you professionally and I can only offer to you that which has rescued me from the same struggles that you are having. Christ is knocking at your door and he can pull your head above the water. Know that I have prayed for you and I am praying as I write this but all that I can do is show you how Jesus has loved me and tell you that He loves you the same and that He is waiting on you to make your decision to come to Him and lay this burden on Him. You are an answer to my prayers because I pray that God will send me opportunities to minister to people. I am sorry for not fulfilling my duty and I ask that you please forgive me and pray for me as well.
I also am praying that all of you who read this begin having a more active prayer life. I will write more thoughts on this in the coming days. Until then, have a blessed day.

I Can't Miss, Pictures, and The Pilgrim's Map of the Day

First things first. The big news in our house is that we found out yesterday that the baby is gonna be a boy. This will be our third child and third son. We also found out that the baby is healthy and there are no current complications. I ask that all of you keep us, especially my wife Joy, in your prayers. Truly as the beloved David said, we are "wonderfully made."

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July and from Ethan and Luke's swimming lessons:

SWIMMING LESSONS

Ethan really picked it up quick.

Luke did good, but as you can see in the video in my previous post, only in short bursts.

Ehtan and his frineds jumping in. I think the lifeguard's face is priceless.

Here is a sequence of Luke diving in the pool.

4th of July

Elanor and Amy at 4th of July lunch. It was great to see you guys.

Luke, Ethan, and Davis playing songs

Ethan really jacked some people up with Snap Pops

Luke loves Snap Pops

Here is our cousin Davis throwing Snap Pops.

Brian has way cooler toys than I do

Yes, we did let them play in the rain.

Soaking wet July 4th fun.

Now, your Pilgrim's Map of the Day:

* The only link for today is a rather fitting link to a short post on what are the best things we can give our kids. If you have never visited A Place For the God Hngry look around after clicking here.

Pictures and Video from Ethan and Luke's swimming lessons

Here are some pictures and a video taken at Ethan and Luke's one week of swimming lessons last week.



Luke and Ethan's swimming lessons, July 3rd, 2008 from Dave Brumley on Vimeo.

Pilgrim's Map of the Day

It's been a long week and a half. I haven't had time to post much but I have several things to write about as well as memorials to two friends who have moved on from this earth to reap their Heavenly rewards. Until then, here is your map for today.

* Big Bad Brad posts his thoughts on a book he is reading by Peter Steinke. Make sure you read the outtake that he posts.

* Parents that don't trust the your kids on the internet, hop on over to TotLol, a website that is full of kid-friendly video. This is a great site.

* If you like funny Photoshops, here is a link to Worth1000 where people submitted their photoshopped pictures replacing people in famous painting with Star Wars characters. Being a huge geek, I really liked this.

* To further prove my geekdom, the show Lost now has a book club over at abc.com. If you like the show, you would like several of the books. This is just a neat little site that lists and discusses the various books refrenced on the show.

* I have two posts from one of my favorite bloggers Trey Morgan. His two posts entitled "I Love Church" and "I Love God Working in my Life" were both needed reads for me. I hope they will be for you too.

* Finally, my favorite blogger Matt Dabbs has another excellent post. This is a MUST READ and should be a wake up call to all of us.