The Phil Files

It’s been quite a week around the Warehouse. Back to school testing has had Donna buried under a mountain of work, Megan is back at her Physical Therapy degree doing a crammed 7 weeks of classroom instruction and research project before 28 weeks of practical internships in Lexington, KY and San Antonio and Austin and Bedford.

And I lost my mind this week. After dealing with headaches, chomping the inside of my cheek, grinding my teeth, having a double cross bite, and other problems, I took the jump and got full braces yesterday. Yes sports fans, for my 55th birthday, I had enough metal installed in my mouth to enhance the lousy 3G coverage of my ATT phone in Abilene. My mouth hurts, my teeth are sore (is that possible), and I talk with a heavy lisp — ain’t preaching going to be fun tomorrow. And when I eat … well, let’s just say you don’t want to sit across the table from me.

My precious daughter did share one compliment. “I think they make you look younger, dad!”

Ah, dads and daughters — it doesn’t get much sweeter than that. Although someone sarcastically suggested that going from 55 to 11 in one day was a bit much. Say cheese, use wax, take Tylenol, and listen to U2 while working on web stuff. Still got to say thanks to Dr. Turner, I just hope I live long enough to need me teeth when they are fixed!

Have a great Sunday, I’m going to do my best to do so myself! Until then, pass the chocolate ice cream!!

I remember singing the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World” as a child. Now as an adult, we don’t sing it as often because we are not sure about the appropriateness of some of the language of the song. But there is one line about which there is no question — “they are precious in His sight.” Regardless of race, ethnicity, skin color, or country of origin, each child, each person is precious to God.

This morning, this understanding means two very important things to me (I will actually have a third part that I will share Sunday in Heartlight.org and on my blog as we look at LIFE week.):

First, it matters to God what we do about the devastation in Haiti. Emotion and sorrow for the devastation that happens to others isn’t compassion until we do something. So here are some ways to help with the devastation in Haiti:

• Christian Relief Fund, PO Box 19670, Amarillo, TX 79114. This group already has people on the ground helping in Haiti with more help on the way. They are in need of funds to continue their operation. This ministry is led by a personal friend, Milton Jones. See http://www.christianrelieffund.org/web/index.php?page=kenya-relief-update
• Compassion International — http://www.compassion.com — we personally support Compassion Children and know people in this proven organization
• Healing Hands International — http://www.hhi.org/donate.php#donate-online
• Global Samaritan Resources — http://www.globalsamaritan.org/contact-us

Second, as believers in Jesus, we are precious to God because He lives in us through His Holy Spirit. My Heartlight.org article this week, “God’s Dwelling Place,” is about this and has several questions for discussion that I would love to get your input on.

Too often, I fear, we forget that our bodies are the dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit. I want to encourage you to think about the following questions, discuss them with others, and even share your thoughts on them with me in the comments section:

What difference should it make realizing that God lives in us through the Holy Spirit?

• How should this affect us in our sexual ethics? (1 Corinthians 6:9-20)
• What other areas of our body image and bodily behavior should be changed by realizing that God lives in us?

If God lives in us through the Holy Spirit, what impact does this have on our understanding of worship as a way of life and not just a place centered religious activity? (John 4:19-24;Romans 12:1-2)

• Why do you think it is so easy for us to segment our lives into secular and sacred, allowing us one set of “worship” behaviors and another set of work, play, and private behaviors?

Recognizing that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” from conception (Psalm 139:13-16) in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27; James 3:9) and we are the dwelling place of God in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), how should we view our own value to God?

• How should we view the value of others?

Since our bodies are the dwelling of God in the Holy Spirit, what do we — what do you and what do I — need to do to honor God with our bodies?

• Is there a physical discipline that you need to commit to doing to honor God?
• To whom will you be accountable to do this?
• How will you remind yourself each day that what you do in and with your body is part of your way of honoring and welcoming God?
• How can we do this in a way that is a joyful act of worship and not a daily drudgery?

Several folks asked for a downloadable copy of the morning prayer from yesterday’s post, so I want to post the following link if you like to download it for your own use or to share it with others or your church:

Morning Prayer Download

Also, some have asked about the SpiritFire daily devotional thought on the Holy Spirit. This includes a Biblical passage, a short reflection, and a prayer. It is delivered free each day by email. You can subscribe by sending an email to spiritfire@heartlight.org or by visiting the page online at http://www.heartlight.org/spiritfire

This week, I’ve been trying to do all my church ministry and Heartlight.org work while auditing David Wray’s Spiritual Formation class at ACU. It has been a very busy week, but full of profound experiences, convictions, and experiences. God threw in an incredible Wednesday night devotional that was multi-generational and multi-cultural and involved a refugee couple being baptized into Christ. What an incredibly blessed week! I have much to think about about, some changes to make in my life, and many reasons to rejoice.

Finally, my heart goes out to Colt McCoy who didn’t get to play that final game and lead his team to the national championship. Colt we know you could have made the difference last night, but please know that your example and life of faith has been a blessing to many and made a difference in their lives.

Over the last several years, I have found myself focusing on several areas of prayer that have blessed me powerfully each morning. Three years, frustrated with my own impatience and impertinence, I began to pray each morning for God’s Spirit to be at work in my life producing the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). About two years ago, I began to pray for God to minister to me — to my heart and my spirit — during the night. This was based on a time of trial and a fresh reading of the Psalms which talk about God ministering to us in the night. (See the Heartlight.org article I wrote entitled While I Sleep for more details.) Last year, I began praying the Lord’s prayer several times during the day and found all sorts of ways this prayer directly intersected my daily life. In this week’s Heartlight.org article, Life to Our Bones, I talk about praying for God to release His Holy Spirit into the life of those we love and those who serve God’s people — something I’m convicted we need to more often.

This year, as I try to emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit each day through the SpiritFire devotionals, I am praying a combination of many of these prayers each morning. Sometimes I do it before my feet hit the floor, sometimes while I’m taking my morning shower, other times as I’m driving to work, and sometimes at different times in the day. I thought I would share this with you, not so much so that you would pray the same prayer, but that you would put together one of your own to pray each day. This one is rooted in Scripture — in fact, much of it is actually praying Scripture. I hope it is a blessing!

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:1-2)

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51:10-12)

Please fill me this day with the Holy Spirit so that I can live before others and declare in word and deed the grace of Jesus, with all boldness. (Luke 11:13; Acts 4:31)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14-15).

And bless me with the fruit of Your Holy Spirit as the Spirit conforms me to the character and compassion of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). Please form in me love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control as I pledge to walk in step with Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22-27).

Dear Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, please bless those I love and all who belong to Jesus with an abiding sense of Your presence and power. I pray that your Spirit in their inner being will strengthen them with might. I pray that they will know your glorious riches of mercy and grace and be able to understand the incredible love Jesus has for them. I pray that they may be filled with all of Your fullness, O God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

Now to You, O God, Who alone is able to do immeasurably more than all that we can ask or imagine by your power at work within us, to You be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Now here are some questions for thought and I’d love to get your reaction to them, to the Heartlight.org article, or to the ideas of today’s blog post!

Have you noticed how narrow our prayer focus so often seems to be?

• Do you find yourself praying for your needs more than others?
• Do you find yourself asking God for more than you thank him for what you have received?

Who that you know needs to know the presence of God in his or her life and needs to have the Holy Spirit fill them with God’s power?

• Why not pray — alone or with a group of others — for these folks?

What ministries need the power of the Holy Spirit released into them to bless their service to Jesus?

When is the last time you prayed for God’s blessings through the Holy Spirit to come upon your church family … your physical family … your small group … missionaries you know … church leaders you know?

• Why not pray for them by name right now?

How can you incorporate a regular time of prayer each day for God to release and bless your family, your church family, your friends, and those in need with the Holy Spirit?

Well, I put out a couple of invitations for folks to join the SpiritFire daily email devotional list with Heartlight and have been entering email addresses ever since. (The email list is a free, year long, daily devotional on the Holy Spirit that I am doing in 2010. You can sign up by sending an email to spiritfire@heartlight.org) Seems like there is a deep hunger to know more about the Holy Spirit and be drawn closer in relationship with God’s abiding presence within us.

Here’s one that is especially close to my heart because we have Congolese refugees as part of our church family. This young man lives as a refugee in another African country:

Hi, I’m Freddy, a young Congolese student in the south, living for Christ no matter all winds that I’m going through, but thank God through what I’ve read about Heaven’s Fresh Air (the Holy Spirit) …

This was a response from a sister in Christ, and this challenges me today on my birthday as I look at finishing strong for the Lord!

Please include me on your mailing list. I do want to go above and beyond where I have been. I do more today that I did 5 years ago and I fully intend to head out beyond that. The Lord has graciously given me open doors and I want to pass through those doors with the passion required.

Too often we forget that we are part of a world-wide Kingdom that knows no genders or races and transcends cultures and languages. Receiving emails from all over the world, it has been a joy to see the variety of names and countries and know that while “blood is thicker than water,” the Spirit that binds us together in the Body of Christ is thicker than blood!

Over the next year, I’m committed to focus throughout the year to reminding us that God wants us to be …

* Spirit-cleansed

* Spirit-filled

* Spirit-led

* Spirit-equipped

* Spirit-empowered

Please pray for me as I try to share God’s great and gracious promises given to us through the Holy Spirit. No one is really sufficient for such a task. But I am pumped about the interest and passion I’ve seen in others. Let’s pray for Holy Spirit revival to sweep like wildfire through the people of God all over the world!

Grace to you for a great New Year as we serve the King of Glory and serve the world as the Body of Christ!

Here are the questions that go with today’s Heartlight.org article entitled, ASK!

When is the last time you have prayed for God to release his powerful presence in your life through the Holy Spirit?

When is the last time you have prayed that God release his powerful presence into the life of a believing friend or family member?

Why do you think so many believers have neglected or don’t even know that God has promised the Holy Spirit to believers who ask for him?

Who is someone you can get together with regularly to help you stay on track in your daily prayer for the Spirit of God to be released into your life and the lives of those you love?

What are some Scriptures that speak to you about the five ways God wants us to be blessed by the Holy Spirit?

* Spirit-cleansed

* Spirit-filled

* Spirit-led

* Spirit-equipped

* Spirit-empowered

Thanks to the folks at Granger Community Church, I can help you get in your yearly dues on Christmas Carol and Carol of the Bells in under 90 seconds — think of all the specials you won’t have to watch the next few days and you can actually enjoy the people of Christmas!

Christmas Carol of the Bells from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Of course I could say it a little more simply.

Merry Christmas Ya’ll!

Oh by the way, you can have your yule tide pudding, I’m going to be eating Perrinni’s hominy at my Christmas table, hope you get something good, too!