Nazarene Caffeine

Some time ago, when I was more involved in apologetics, I shied away from mentioning my prayer life, for two major reasons. First, because it was all but nonexistent. My prayer life has never been the strongest part of my Christian walk, and it is something that I am working on. Second, because I didn't see any practical value in using it in defending the faith. In this post, I confess, I have changed my mind. I think that prayer does have some polemical value, and I believe that the biblical authors did, as well. In 1 Kings 8:59-60, King Solomon connects prayer (although possibly in an indirect way) with people seeing and knowing that Yahweh is God and that there is no other. If we are going to recognize prayer as a type of polemic, it is important for us to understand what kind of argument we have. I would classify it as an argument from experience. If someone affirms that personal experience is valid for understanding truth, as in the way that the scientific method uses the expe...

Prayer is one of the ways in which we communicate with God. It is vital to our growth as Christians. Yet some statistics do not look good for our prayer life, at least here in the United States. According to a 2014  survey performed by the Pew Research Center, there are a growing number of Americans who do not pray at all. A full 23% of Americans reported that they never pray. This is up from 18% in 2007. This means that approximately 1 out of every 4 people that you run across in your day to day life never prays. Barna Group had similar findings in a poll released in 2017. In that poll, they found that 79% of American adults prayed at least once in the last 3 months. However, this means that over 1 in 5 American adults had not prayed in three months. If prayer is vital to our spiritual growth, then it is significant that there are this many people, even professing Christians, who simply do not pray. Another aspect that troubles me is that prayer is not clearly defined in eith...

  Dear Christians, I read a sad statistic today. According to a poll conducted by Lifeway Research, prayer among protestant pastors is in terrible shape (1). This is not the only poll that has shown the lack of prayer among many in the clergy. However, it is very telling. In fact, this poll shows pastors spending more time in prayer than many other polls that were conducted. In other words, this appears to be the best case scenario. According to the poll, pastors spent approximately 5 hours each week in prayer. Yes. You read that right. Five hours each WEEK. This translates to less than 45 minutes each day, on average. Keep in mind that some of this time comes from the Sunday worship services. This is less than the amount of time these pastors spent each week watching television, to give a point of comparison.  It seems that it is easy for us to sing the old hymn "Sweet Hour of Prayer", but it is difficult for us to actually live this out in our lives. The lack of prayer amon...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. We adore You because of the faith that You enable each of us to have in You. We adore You because of Your grace. We adore You because of what You have done. We adore You because of Who You are. On this, the twelfth day of Christmas, we are focused on You alone. Jesus, on this day, we confess the ancient creed that unites all Christians across the world. We confess: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth, In Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, And born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate. He was crucified, dead, and buried. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, where He sits at God the Father's right hand. From there, He will come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in one holy Church. I believe in the communion of saints, The forgiveness of sins, The resurrection of the body, A...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. We adore You because You love us so much. Jesus, we know that You love us because You have provided for us in every way. You provide good things for us each and every day. You not only provide for us individually, but corporately as Your Body. You have provided us a firm foundation, with You Yourself as the chief cornerstone. You have also provided us with teaching through Your apostles.We adore You because You took ordinary men and used them to turn the world upside-down. Lord, we confess that we have fallen short of what You have taught us, both Yourself and through Your apostles. Jesus, we have Americanized the message that You have given, and for that, we are sorry. We beg Your forgiveness. Jesus, thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for the teaching that You have provided, both Yourself and through Your apostles.Thank You, Jesus, for the firm foundation that You have provided. We cannot thank You enough for this, Lord. Jesus, lead us as we put Y...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. We adore You because of Your love for us. We adore You because of Your goodness. We adore You because of Your kindness and Your mercy. We adore You, Jesus, because You love us enough to provide instruction for us. Lord, on this, the tenth day of Christmas, we remember the Ten Commandments that You gave to Your servant Moses. Lord, these are the standards that we are to live by, and following them leads to order in society and is pleasing to You. Lord, we confess, again, that we fall short of this standard. So many times, we place other things before You in our lives. So many times, we tell seemingly little white lies when it is convenient for us, knowing that this does not please You. Lord, we often covet the things that You have blessed our neighbors with instead of thanking You for being so gracious to them. Lord, forgive us. Lord, we thank You again for Your commandments that You have given us. We thank You that You provide, day by day, the grace n...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. We adore You for what You do in our lives through the Holy Spirit. We adore You for the fruit of the Spirit that Your Spirit works in our lives. We adore You for love. We adore You for joy. We adore You for peace. We adore You for patience. We adore You for kindness. We adore You for goodness. We adore You for faithfulness. We adore You for gentleness. We adore You for self-control. We adore You because You are the perfect example of all of these, and You are gracious enough to work these qualities in us through Your Holy Spirit. Lord, we confess that we fall short. There are times when we do not love. There are times when we refuse to experience the joy that You offer. There are times when we are impatient and throw a tantrum. There are times when we are not kind, especially to those who have hurt us. There are times when we would rather not do the good things that You have for us to do. Lord, there are times when we are unfaithful. There are times whe...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. On this, the eighth day of Christmas, we remember Your teaching. You have taught us how we should live to honor God, and honor You, and to honor the Holy Spirit. For this, we adore You. We remember especially Your Sermon on the Mount, and especially the Beatitudes.. Lord, in this simple message, You taught us to be humble. You told us to be poor in spirit. You taught us to mourn over our sins. You taught us to be meek. You taught us to hunger and thirst after righteousness. You taught us to be merciful. You taught us to be pure in heart. You taught us to be peacemakers. You reminded us that there is a blessing for those who are persecuted for Your sake. Jesus, this teaching is straightforward. Yet it is perhaps the most difficult teaching to put into practice. Lord, we need a constant reminder of how to apply this to our lives. Jesus, we confess that we fall short of Your teaching. We fail to be poor in spirit. We fail to mourn and be broken over our si...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. We adore You because of who You are. We also adore You because You have given us great gifts. Lord, You have given us these gifts, not as individuals, to use them for our own sake. Rather, You have given us these gifts to build up one another. You have given us fellow believers to build us up with the gifts that You have graciously granted to us. We adore You, Lord, because everything that comes from You hand is good. You graciously give good gifts. Lord Jesus, we confess that some have not always used the gifts that You have given them in a way that glorifies You. Lord, we also confess that, more often than should be the case, we have been far too tolerant of those who abuse Your gifts. Lord, both of these problems have caused damage to Your Name and reputation, and for that, we are sorry. Forgive us, we pray, and give us the grace to do the right thing from here on out. Lord, we thank You for the gifts that You have given for the building up of Your...

Dear Jesus, As we come to You on this, the sixth day of Christmas, we remember Your work in creation. Jesus, we remember how You were in the beginning with God, and how all things were made through You and for You. When the Father spoke light into being, You were there. When the Father spoke the sun, moon, and stars into being, You were there. When the Father spoke the fish of the sea and the birds of the air into existence, You were there. When the Father spoke all kind of land animals into being, You were there. When the Father molded man from the dust and breathed into him the first breath of life, You were there. Lord, we confess that often we look at creation and fail to see Your hand at work. If only we had eyes to see, we would see Your hand in creation at all times. Lord, Your works are good. Help us to realize this. Jesus, open our eyes, that we may see Your hand in creation. As the Psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work...

Dear Jesus, We adore You on this, the fifth day of Christmas. On this day, Lord, we remember Your instruction that You gave us in the Pentateuch. We remember how, from the earliest chapters of Genesis, You gave us a promise that You would come and crush the serpent's head. We remember that You are the God of the Exodus, and that the Exodus from Egypt foreshadowed a greater Exodus from sin. We remember, Lord, how the Levitical sacrifices point forward to Your ultimate Sacrifice for our sins. We remember that You are the Prophet like Moses, who was promised. Lord,  thank You for Your Pentateuch, its moral instruction, and its foreshadowing of You, the Christ. Lord, we confess that we fall short of the Law's demands every single day, several times each day. Lord, if we had to be justified by the Law, then no one could be justified in Your sight. Lord, the Law serves to show us how sinful we truly are. By it no one is justified, but by it, we realize our need of You and Your...

Dear Jesus, On this, the fourth day of Christmas, we adore You for all the blessings that Your life has brought us. Lord, we adore You for the compassion that You showed in Your life. We thank You for the love that You showed to the disciples. We thank You for the love You showed the woman at the well. We thank You for the love that You showed even to those who crucified You, when You cried "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing." Thank You, Jesus, for the love and grace that You show to each and every one of us each and every day. Lord, we confess that we have fallen short of the standard that You have set for us. Lord, we confess that You are the standard by which we should live--that our lives should reflect Your own life in the love and grace that You have shown. Lord, we confess that many times we read about Your life in the Gospels and fail to go and do likewise. We have failed to follow Your teaching. We have failed to follow Your example. F...

Dear Jesus, We adore You for what You have done. As we continue in this season, we remember Your example. You, Lord, are the perfect example of faith. You have the utmost confidence in the Father, and this serves as an example for us. You, Lord, are our Hope. Apart from You, we have none. You, Lord, are the perfect example of Love. You love us perfectly, and You love the Father perfectly. We adore You, Lord, as our Example. Lord, we confess that we have not always been faithful. We stray far too often. Yet we remember that even when we are faithless, You continue to be faithful. Lord, we confess that we often put our hope in earthly things. Sometimes we place our trust in finances. Sometimes we place our trust in our work. Sometimes we place our trust in other things. Lord, we confess that our hope should be in You. Lord, we also fail to love far too often. We fail to love those we know. We also fail to love those we do not know. We often pass over the beggar on the street. We i...

Dear Jesus, We continue to adore You during these days of Christmas. We adore You for who You are, Lord. You are the Seed that crushed the serpent's head. You are the Prophet like Moses. You are the Lion of the tribe of Judah. You are the Polished Arrow of which Isaiah spoke. You are the Bringer of the New Covenant. You are the Branch of David, the Shoot of Jesse. You are our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. You are Immanuel. You are the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the Reason for the New. Lord Jesus, we confess that we often fail to see You at work in our lives. Moreover, we often forget who You are. So often we are faced with difficult situations, only to ask ourselves whether or not You can handle it. We have failed to realize that You can handle our situation without any trouble. So often we forget this. Often, Lord, we have failed to see You. For this, we repent. Lord, thank you for Your forgiveness. We thank You, Lord,...

Dear Jesus, We adore You. On this day, we remember Your incarnation, when You took on human flesh so that You could become the ultimate Sacrifice for our sins. You were born in the most humble of circumstances, yet angels sang and proclaimed Your birth. Shepherds left their flocks to come and adore You. Wise men traveled far to bring You gifts. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were small gifts in comparison to the Gift that was given to us on Christmas Day. There is no other Person worthy of our attention, especially on this Day. Lord, we confess that, as a nation, we do not keep You at the center. We have turned Christmas into a holiday for retailers. In doing this, we have given center-stage to something other than You. Lord, we also confess that we often lose sight of You in the middle of the gift-giving and the fancy decorations. Grant us the resolve and guidance we need to return this Day to You. May the direction of our lives and hearts be changed, and may we once again...