...in the outer...: Pray for the hurting

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Ethics: The Heart of Leadership
Edited by Joanne Ciulla. An important collection of essays by philosophers, leadership and management thinkers considering the role of ethics in leadership

Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
By Robert K. Greenleaf, Larry C. Spears, Stephen R. Covey. Servant and leader--can these two roles be fused in one real person in all levels of status and calling?

Warranted Christian Belief
By Alvin Plantinga. Third in a trilogy of works on the issue of warrant - the basis of the rationality of Christian beliefs written by arguably the most important philosopher of religion alive today

Renovation of the Heart
By Dallas Willard. A philosopher and quintessential Christian teacher relates and reflects on what it means to put on the character of Christ.

Foreign Bodies
By Hwee Hwee Tan. An impressive first novel by young new author from Singapore acclaimed as an up and coming Pulitzer Prize winner

Mammon Inc.
By Hwee-Hwee Tan. Second novel by this very important young new author from Singapore applauded the world over, including The Times in London and the New York Times

Three Philosophies of Life
By Peter Kreeft. Three life philosophies presented through the works of three of Scriptures most beautiful poetry books, Job, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon

Horrendous Evil and the Goodness of God
By Marilyn McCord-Adams. A seminal response to the age-old problem of evil which attempts to take seriously the theological ramifications of the character of God

Blink
By Malcolm Gladwell. Blink is about the first two seconds of looking--the decisive glance that knows in an instant.

Smart Mobs
By Howard Rheingold. A social commentary about how "sophisticated mobile Internet access is allowing people who don't know each other to act in concert".

Linked
By Albert-Laszlo Barabasi. An engaging treatise about the fundamentals of interconnectedness and complexity that underlies neurology, epidemiology, Internet traffic, and many other fields.

The Peaceable Kingdom
By Stanley Hauerwas. A clear explication of a Christian ethic based upon the meaning of the gospel, highlighting virtues and character, and narrative as a mode of ethical reflection.

The Goldsworthy Trilogy: Gospel & Kingdom, Gospel & Wisdom, Gospel & Revelation
By Graeme Goldsworthy. A collection of masterful works expositing on the centrality of the Scriptures: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Law: St. Paul, Kant, and the Hebrew Prophets
By Heinz Cassirer. A Kantian scholar looks at the Old Testament Law, and Paul's understanding of it, concluding that Kant's delimma is answered by the gospel of grace.

The Un-Right Christians

Progressive Christian Blogger Network

Church Directory of Evangelical Blogs

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

In my last post, I reflected on the different responses to disaster and I suggested that the Gospel of John, chapter 11 teaches us about how different people might respond to suffering and pain. One of the responses is prayer.

I encourage you to pray for a fresh glimpse of God's vision so that we can see with His eyes, and we can resonate with His heartbeat to feel with Him, to weep with Him. Most of all, so we can be moved by Him to act as He would have us act.Often, when we pray, we might be tempted to pray away the pain, or to pray away the problem, but that usually is not what God intends in prayer. When those who sent word to Jesus to ask Him to go to Lazarus because he was sick, instead of acting, Jesus stayed a little longer where He was. They probably didn't get why He took his time and did not sense the urgency.

They tried to be as persuasive as possible, "The one you love is sick."

Come quickly, Lord!

Yet, He lingered. Then a few days later, He decided it was time for Him to go to Lazarus.

As I was talking to my wife about the recent devastation unfolding in Asia the last couple of days, my wife mentioned to me that over the last few years she has learned something about God: His time is not our time. Yet, He always, but always, comes through. How he showed that truth in this Gospel incident!

His disciples did not get it. He had to explain His mission. Martha did not seem to get it. He needed to reveal Himself to her. Even Mary seemed not to get it. All He did was to weep. Perhaps, as we quietly reflect on His grief, let us pray that we get it. Pray that we get what He is about.

But, as I have said before, prayer is not all about getting on our knees and merely pleading with God. It is about getting up off our knees and rolling up our sleeves and letting His Spirit move us to act in His name. So, pray that He reveals that clearly to us and pray for courage to act. And having done so, go forth boldly in the name of the Lord!

If you would like to start by praying, Messy Christian has appropriately opened a virtual prayer room for the disaster. I encourage you to go there to join with those who are going before the throne of God's grace to intercede for the suffering.