Are You Keeping It Real?

Imagine if I walked in the door one evening and my son said: “O, almighty procreator of our family. How wonderful thou art, who sovereignly deposits our allowance to us. Oh, the majesty of thy wonderful self! We beseech thee to come eat dinner with us.” I’d check his temperatures to see if he was sick or on something! I don’t want to hear that. I want him to say, “Hey! Dad's home. I missed you, dad!”

God wants us to be real by being authentic when we speak.

Years ago I copied the prayers of other people. I noticed they used certain words and even a special tone of voice. I imitated all the religious clichés: “Lead, guide, and direct us, O Lord.” “Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.” “Bless the gift and the giver.”

In New Testament times, prayers were wordy, meaningless rituals. There was no spontaneity, no genuineness. But Jesus says don’t get caught up in ritual prayer. You don’t have to use fancy language. You can’t impress God with fancy language, and you shouldn’t be trying to impress other people, either.

I love to hear new believers pray; there’s no pious pomposity. They haven’t learned the clichés yet. They just say, “Hi, God. It’s me.” That’s how you make contact with God. You just talk with your heavenly Father about what’s on your mind. Just pray your heart. Reveal yourself.

I’m not saying to be flippant in prayer, just talk with him in a genuine and heartfelt way.

“When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8 TEV).

Do you find yourself being “religious” when you talk to God? Try being as real as you can when you pray, even if you’re angry at God. Be honest.

Join The Counter-Culture!

Okay, maybe not that kind of counter-culture. I have something a little different in mind.


When I think about counter-cultural stuff, I think about what Jesus was doing when he walked the earth. Jesus was not only counter-cultural—He was transcultural calling us to transform our culture rather than blending into it. How do we transform our culture? I think it begins with you and I on a personal level first.


As we struggle with our hurts, habits, and hang-ups, it is important to remember we are a work in progress. God doesn't expect you to be perfect; he knows you will make mistakes. Don’t be too hard on yourself.


Spiritual maturity is neither instantaneous nor automatic; it is a gradual, progressive development that will take the rest of your life as God helps us make healing choices. 


A simple truth to remember is that God is far more interested in building our character than he is anything else.  In other words, God is interested in who you are. For instance, he’s much more concerned about your character than your career, because you will take your character into eternity, but not your career. Our character is developed by walking in love. 


Real love is counter-cultural. 


The scripture says, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out…Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you” (Romans 12:2 MSG).


You and I must make personal choices that are counter-cultural. These kinds of healing choices will protect us from other forces trying to mold us into their image. Instead of choices based on selfishness we need to choose based on love. 


What decision in the near future do you need to make? 
Will you make that decision from a motive of love?