What Eating Peaches Reveals About Us

I remembered hearing this young boy (where?... I have no idea...the park, the store, standing line at the zoo...fill in the blank because it is not really germane to the story anyway) say something that didn't strike me as odd or sad or pathetic at first.  But eventually I realized it was all those things and more. And it was really not even his fault.  So..what did he say?

It was how he reacted toward a piece of fruit.  "Hey, this tastes just like a peach!", he exclaimed loudly as little children do in public places to the chagrin of their parents.  As I glanced over, curious at what it could be, I think I smiled, because he had just taken a bite of...a peach.  Maybe he was too young to know that a peach was what he was holding or maybe he wasn't paying attention, being distracted by a dog or a clown or a firetruck.  Who knows?  He continued to spout excitements about his discovery.  And I continued to eavesdrop. 

Eventually, as the sun rose on this horrible fruit truth, I realized now seeing fully, that the boy had never eaten a peach.  Not an an actual peach that fell off an actual peach tree.  He had only had peach-flavored ice cream or peach-flavored candy or peach jelly or peach fruit drink...flavored of course, but never the genuine article.  Difficult to fathom, at least now the kid had enjoyed a real peach.  It is a bit understandable..I mean enjoying real peaches is difficult.  It's hard work.

Think about it...First of all, you have to get them in season, then you have to pick through a pile of peaches to find some good ones, then you have to be sure to wash them off (because nothing ruins a good peach experience like insecticide), then after all that work they may not even be very good.  And man!..Peaches are messy! There is no polite way to eat a ripe peach. (Personally, I consider that a plus...but that's me) And if you don't eat them in time they go bad.  It's just so much easier to substitute with fake peach products.  They fit in so much better with our busy 21st century jet-setting lifestyles.  Just like God.

It wasn't until a few days ago I made this connection. How eating peaches is kind of like our relationship to God.  In our culture we have so much God-flavored stuff.  Christian music, Christian books, Christian dating sites, Christian movies, websites, schools...blah, blah, blah ....  How easy in our busy schedules it is to forget and actually enjoy the real thing. God Himself. 

So, as you're blasting your radio driving down I-95 singing along with some Chris Tomlin or Toby Mac, or watching Fireproof with your spouse (or VeggieTales with your kids) for the 3rd time, don't forget that God, the real God from the real heaven, who really loves you, wants to fellowship with you and show you why no God-flavored thing can ever properly substitute for the real thing.

I Dare You To Pray This

This is an amazing and scary challenge from Francis Chan (spontaneously while he's  on a plane).  But in my humble opinion, if you're too afraid to pray things that scare the living daylights out of you for fear that God may actually answer then why on earth did you become a believer in Jesus in the first place.  This is a scary prayer, but I say let's go for broke, let's take the leap.  God's abundant life is not boring, you can be sure.  It has challenged me and my wife greatly.  I prayed...and am now very much afraid.  Go ahead.  I dare you.

The Nightmare of Communism in North Korea

Hey, If you care at all about what is happening in N. Korea I encourage you to read this admonishment by John Piper.  The Nightmare of Communism in North Korea Then pray for N. Korea.  Then go out and buy a copy of Operation World.  You will thus be helping the church take a huge step towards fulfilling this verse in Revelation:

⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:
   “Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."

A Missional View of Work

Because the Bible says we are to spurn one another to good deeds (or something like that) consider yourself spurned. 

I'm ashamed that it has taken me 5 years to finally get around to doing this, but I finally did it.  I created a prayer map of my office.  Not too difficult since I only work with 80+ people. Simply put, I was convicted that I preach and say that I believe in the power of prayer in Jesus' name, yet here I was placed in the middle of a group of people who don't know Christ (the strict definition of a missionary) and I did not have a plan to pray for them on a regular basis.  Thank God for His mercy.  So, anyway since I work in a small office it was not too hard to draw up a map of where everybody sits (I did it in pencil since it seems people move around alot in my office.  Not sure why.)  Then, as you can see, I merely divided it up into 6 days to make praying for my colleagues manageable.  Here it is:

Now, I realize that in our age of digital prowess, with a hoard of of free online tools available to us, this hand drawn "map" is pretty rudimentary, read: caveman-like.  I'm sure there are many out there who could do better.  I think that's awesome.  So I challenge you: Do It. 

But the sticking point is that God did not send His Son to die on the cross so that we can live unburdened for those around us who don't know Christ. So wherever we are, God has placed us there strategically.  To stand in the gap for them, appeal to Christ on their behalf (yes...even your moron boss who you can hardly stand the sight of some days...he/she needs prayer too.  GROAN!)  There are three things that God has convicted me to do, that are EASY...and effective.  Here they are.  If you want your life to count for eternity, I highly recommend them.

1) Pray for your co-workers (Use my map...well not MY map, make your own.  I would love to see what others out there do.  Please forward me your creations)

2) Pray for yourself.  Don't forget that our fight is NOT against flesh and blood.  The guy that constantly rides you at work - He is not your enemy.  But we do have an enemy. Pray that God will put a shield of protection around you.  I know for me, work is stressful and I constantly am tempted to get angry, to yell...to get into arguments.  In other words, Satan will try to chip away at our testimony and integrity.  Pray against Him (look at Luke 10:19)

3) Pray for opportunities.  I have gotten into that habit of praying as I walk from my car into the office.  I merely acknowledge that this is God's work, not mine.  So I just ask for Him to bring opportunities to glorify Him, whatever that means.  Sometimes we think that being effective means sharing the Gospel with a tract and a Bible.  There IS a place for that.  But more often than not, I've learned that just being aware of my surroundings and looking for those opportunities that God provides is enough.  These days just to have someone deliberately recognize their accomplishment is huge. So do that. Or volunteer for the project nobody else wants.  Or DON'T complain when everyone else does.  You get the idea. 

Lastly, if you are encouraged by this let me know.  And forward it to a friend.