"A Luz dos Justos Brilha Alegremente"

“The light of the righteousness shines happily.” Proverbs 9:12

(Jesus is our righteousness.)

I am not a battery, that I might be recharged, as I have imagined. I have no capacity to store energy. I was mistaken because, like the filament in a light bulb, I may remain warm after the power of God has stopped flowing. That is, after I’ve stopped paying attention to God, after the switch has been shut off.

So what am I to do, if I have to be directly connected to the Source in order to do any good?

Pray continually.

Sounds daunting. But if it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives through me, as Paul contends, if I have the very mind of Christ, as Paul argues elsewhere, then it’s all prayer. It’s all prayer. Every thought, every worry, every idea, every complaint, every lust, every enmity, all of it. Everything that passes through my brain passes too through the mind of the Almighty, Who is always with me, Who’s Spirit is so closely allied with my own it is impossible to distinguish between the two. (I’m just repeating what Jesus said). That’s why Paul could talk about praying continually. It’s all prayer. That’s also why Christians must be so terrifyingly careful about what thoughts they admit into their heads. “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned,” Jesus said (Matthew 12:36-37). That is, every word spoken before God. That is, everything.

So don’t let anyone convince you you’ve got to get up early or be on your knees or have your hands folded or your eyes closed to pray. It’s good to be on your knees for the same reason it’s good to sit up straight and pay attention in class. But if you have been born again, you’re praying now.

If you haven’t been born again, join a little group of people who are seeking after God. It hardly matters what tribe. You’ll find saints and heretics almost everywhere you go, but when people set out together to really find God, they find Him.

Each day a work of art

Please pray for Zapman (secret identity: Drex). Though indefatigable in his crusade against crime here at home, he has not been as vigilant fighting uncertainty at school. He’s sometimes reluctant to ask questions. That’s normal enough, but well do I remember the dread attending classes where one has fallen behind. Contrast that with the pleasure of keeping up; humbly, diligently making sure you get explanations you understand. It can make all the difference, not just in school but in life. The temptation to pretend you understand can be intense and can lead to all sorts of misery. But asking questions is risky. Colleagues, classmates, Sometimes even teachers, don’t always respond well. To take the risk a person must have resources upon which they know they may draw. The love of God is such a resource. Please pray that Zapman would have a secure sense of it.

(Incidentally, Zapman comes by his heroism naturally. A young Lisbonita recently remarked, upon seeing Zapman’s mom, a.k.a., Zapma (secret identity: Debbie) carelessly toss aside a heavy burden, “She’s ripped!”)

Please pray for Crista da Onda, the ministry to at-risk youth with which we are involved here in Lisbon. The organization faces difficult issues, some of which are endemic to young non-profit organizations, others of which are particular to Crista da Onda. Please pray that God would be glorified and that Crista da Onda would flourish and bear much fruit.

Please pray Psalm 90:12 for me: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.” I am still in the process of bringing some order to life in Lisbon. Of course, given the nature of life and our work in particular it will always involve a certain amount of disorder, but there are certain things a guy’s gotta get done. One of those is keeping in close communication with people who are praying for you. Life has not yet gotten so easy for me that I can forego the resources made available to me in response to other people’s prayers. What I need is unflinching confidence that God will make of each day a work of art—though its artistic quality may be abstruse—self-contained, yet fitting perfectly into the opulent design that becomes a week, a month, a year and a life. That’s the order I’m after.

Thank you for praying for us. The Lord bless you this week.