Toucan Pray

I want to share a number of experiences I had last year at the Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace.  Since most of my friends reading this are Catholic, I just thought I might share this story first.

I was praying with someone last summer, who is a young Protestant minister.  We were in his living room, and discussing divorce and re-marriage.  I was arguing that re-marriage is wrong, and he was interpreting Scripture otherwise, especially in light of friends of his who were re-married, and whom he sees as model Christians.

We argued for some time, and I got kind of ticked--divorce is an issue I feel very strongly about.  He had to go, but we prayed together before we parted.  As we prayed, I closed my eyes, and I started to see a toucan.  The toucan was standing, with its eyes closed, gently and sweetly playing a violin.  I knew that the music it was playing was beautiful, even though I couldn't hear it.

I told my friend what I was seeing.  (I didn't know what the toucan represented, but I had a sense that God was showing me this to gently rebuke me for being angry.  So, I didn't want to share what I saw, but I felt that I needed to.)

We finished praying, and he started upstairs.  But then he laughed, turned around and said, "Hey Joseph!  'One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight...' (Deuteronomy 32:30)"

(Random, I know, but I successfully googled "toucan playing violin".)

So...Christians disagree about some things.  Some important things.  Sometimes, really important things.  But if we can pray together, we can offer something beautiful to God--a harmony that results in overcoming the awkward tension of our divisions.  This way, we can actually fight together, against our real enemy.

Not that our divisions are totally resolved that way.  But, we'll be one heck of a lot closer.  Anyway, if we have to argue, then fine, let's argue.  But, maybe we could let the arguments that we have together be between the prayer meetings that we have together?

Note of Interest

So...

03/20/2012

Interest Earned

$0.01

$20.01

...is a savings account worth it?

"I Have Called You Friends"

The previous evening (Wednesday, Feb 22), I had been praying with someone at a prayer meeting.  This guy was just visiting, and we met while we were praying together.  He spoke perfect English, with no accent. (I later found out He'd done his undergrad and grad studies at Harvard.)  Anyway, while we were praying, he started telling me that God really wanted to make it clear to me that He considers me a friend.  He said that I needed to believe that.

Then, the other prophetic words He shared were pretty specific.  So specific, and so perfect, that they left me sobbing and laughing for several minutes.  Eventually, it was so painful I could hardly breathe.  God went out of His way to make sure I understood!

And maybe He did the same with the apostles, when He said, "I have called you friends."  He waited until His last conversation with them before the cross, to make sure they knew that this was really important.

Jesus wants everyone to come into His kingdom, and to reign over the entire created order.  And, He is the only man who ever lived who is worthy to do that.

But, I can't forget that He's not interested only in obedience.  He wants people who want to spend time with Him for His own sake, and who actually, really care about the things that He cares about.  Ultimately, He wants friends.

Friends and Facemasks

I had a really amazing time in Hong Kong.  I sensed God speaking to me in different ways.  And, happily, one of the ways He spoke, was a joke.

Here's part of an email that I sent to a friend in North Carolina, which summarizes what happened on Thursday, February 23.

"A lot has happened in the past day.  And the theme of all of it was that God considers me His friend.  So, here's one story that I feel confirms that reality.  I'm sharing this one since it's related to you.

I was crossing the Victoria Harbour, right by the YMCA hostel where I stayed all week.  I was about to get on the ferry to go pick up my visa on Hong Kong Island.  I did a double-take, because I saw a vending machine for face masks.

It seemed like such a random thing to have face masks in a vending machine, I started laughing out loud.  I know it's crowded here, and pollution can be a problem, so I understand why some people will wear face masks. But...a vending machine?  For some reason, I thought of buying one for you, just because I thought you would get a kick out of it, too.

But then, I hesitated, thinking it would be a waste of time and money.  Actually, I started to feel really condemned for even thinking about spending money on something so frivolous.  But I continued to pray, and finally, I felt okay about it.   I could see an expression on Christ's face, as though He thought it would be funny, too.  I felt/saw that maybe God can be joyful, "and even jovial," like you said.

Honestly, it was a strange feeling.  I always guilty about spending money, so I was actually surprised that I felt at peace about doing something so "wasteful".

Anyway, I inserted the coin.  And...the coin came back.  But, a face mask fell out.

I tried inserting my coin again.  And...the coin came back, again.  And, another face mask fell out.

Finally, I saw that a coin was stuck inside, and it wouldn't let my coin go in.  So, I pushed against that coin with my coin, and another face mask fell out.  I probably would have kept going, except that a security guard started looking at me, so I got on the ferry.

Anyway, I was thinking, "That was so weird! Why did that just happen, God?"  And it came to me.  I thought it would be funny to give my friend one of those goofy face masks from Hong Kong.  Apparently, Jesus thought it would be funny to give one to His friend, too.

He copied my idea!

Friends do that."

Starbucks Portrait

I was sitting down at Starbucks on Hengshan Lu, working on my laptop.  A guy randomly invites me over to his table and shows me this:

I don't know...I think I look a couple decades younger in real life.

It was a little bit unnerving to know that I was being watched that closely...but he finally offered it for 20 yuan ($3USD), so it was hard to say no.