Married to God, but dating Becky Sue
We started the session a little differently tonight. I suggested that one volunteer offer prayer to God, then we went around the whole group, each person who wanted to, offering a short prayer to God, aloud, also. Many of the prayers were simply beautiful. The inmates said they liked the new opening.
We Read Pslam 150, it is short, so we had to read it several times to get all the way around the circle of people. It's praise. We're trying to remind the men how it is good to offer praise to God because he is worthy of it. It also takes our eyes off of ourselves, and that's a usually good thing.
We sang two songs. At this point we were half way thru the 90 minute session and I was getting a little impatient to get to the lesson for the evening. But the inmates wanted to sing another song. OK, another song. One guy wanted to sing for the rest of the session. Nah. But we sang the one more song.
Ok. The lesson. We asked how people's personal prayer time was going. We've been encouraging the inmates to reach for one hour of prayer a day, each day, to see it as a "God Visit". The reports weren't great. Most people have reasons why they can't give God one hour in prayer. It doesn't even have to be one hour at a time, it can be 30 mins in the morning, 30 at night, or whatever. But the guys are having real trouble setting that time aside for God. Very interesting.
I asked the guys to think about when they were in love with someone. To think about how they felt, how they always wondered what she was doing, and calling her, and being with her and so on. I referenced the Psalms, as a deer pants for water in a desert.....
Then I asked them to think about a relationship that was more of an obligation, like work, or homework. How you get up in the morning and know you have to do something for the person, but you put it off. Then lunchtime comes and you put it off more. Then dinner comes and you still haven't done the chore and then it's 10pm and you realize you didn't get it done.
After a moment to think, I asked the guys to consider, to themselves privately, which relationship more accurately describes where they are at with God currently. We gave them time to think on that.
One guys said that he feels since God is always there, he is sort of an obligation. And that sometimes he wants to stray and then return to God. Talk like this can be very insightful and can tell you where a group of people are spiritually. Listen to how the other people in the group respond when someone opens up honestly like that. Be careful not to tell the person they are wrong. It's where they are at. At least they are being honest with you. Isn't that what we want? If you shut someone down verbally, they may not open up again and certainly may not be as honest with you. And if you can't be honest with the group there is trouble. So, even if something shocks you, thank them for sharing and ask for other people to comment.
So I used an illustration. I said that some of us come to the dance with God, but want to leave with Becky Sue (a made up name). And Becky Sue is a sorry looking gal. But that's what we want to leave the dance with. Lots of people had comments on that thread.
We went to Matthew 6 (read it in NIV) (read it in The Message) and then Matthew 16 (read NIV) (read The Message). You can't serve two masters. You can't date two gods and keep them both happy. The really sad thing is, Becky Sue ain't even a god and she's ugly as sin, dirty as a sewer, personable as a pourcupine and there's no future in a relationship with her. Compared to the beauty of God, our creator, who loves us, she's a pile of dung. But that's what attracts us.
The guys didn't seem to like this message. It's amazing how we don't want to surrender our little handful of soon to die, weak, disease ridden, rotten flesh over to God in exchange for his perfect, loving, accepted, healed, eternal life. We like to stay in control. God help us.
I asked the guys if they have thought much about something we talked about several weeks ago. I had read Matthew 5:22-24 (read passage in The message). I asked the inmates what a person should do if they had negatively impacted someone in past. Like introduce them to drug abuse. The room got quiet as people were thinking. Then, several guys said that since God forgave them, that's the end of it, things are clean. I asked if we weren't to do something to offset the harm we had done in the past. As some guys argued that there's nothing they can do now, one guy got very serious and asked, "What if you sold dope to the whole village?" and he was serious. I said I didn't know.
My hope is that the inmates that come out of jail would someday be part of the solution to drug abuse in town. That not only would they stay off drugs, but would be positive influence for others too.
We Read Pslam 150, it is short, so we had to read it several times to get all the way around the circle of people. It's praise. We're trying to remind the men how it is good to offer praise to God because he is worthy of it. It also takes our eyes off of ourselves, and that's a usually good thing.
We sang two songs. At this point we were half way thru the 90 minute session and I was getting a little impatient to get to the lesson for the evening. But the inmates wanted to sing another song. OK, another song. One guy wanted to sing for the rest of the session. Nah. But we sang the one more song.
Ok. The lesson. We asked how people's personal prayer time was going. We've been encouraging the inmates to reach for one hour of prayer a day, each day, to see it as a "God Visit". The reports weren't great. Most people have reasons why they can't give God one hour in prayer. It doesn't even have to be one hour at a time, it can be 30 mins in the morning, 30 at night, or whatever. But the guys are having real trouble setting that time aside for God. Very interesting.
I asked the guys to think about when they were in love with someone. To think about how they felt, how they always wondered what she was doing, and calling her, and being with her and so on. I referenced the Psalms, as a deer pants for water in a desert.....
Then I asked them to think about a relationship that was more of an obligation, like work, or homework. How you get up in the morning and know you have to do something for the person, but you put it off. Then lunchtime comes and you put it off more. Then dinner comes and you still haven't done the chore and then it's 10pm and you realize you didn't get it done.
After a moment to think, I asked the guys to consider, to themselves privately, which relationship more accurately describes where they are at with God currently. We gave them time to think on that.
One guys said that he feels since God is always there, he is sort of an obligation. And that sometimes he wants to stray and then return to God. Talk like this can be very insightful and can tell you where a group of people are spiritually. Listen to how the other people in the group respond when someone opens up honestly like that. Be careful not to tell the person they are wrong. It's where they are at. At least they are being honest with you. Isn't that what we want? If you shut someone down verbally, they may not open up again and certainly may not be as honest with you. And if you can't be honest with the group there is trouble. So, even if something shocks you, thank them for sharing and ask for other people to comment.
So I used an illustration. I said that some of us come to the dance with God, but want to leave with Becky Sue (a made up name). And Becky Sue is a sorry looking gal. But that's what we want to leave the dance with. Lots of people had comments on that thread.
We went to Matthew 6 (read it in NIV) (read it in The Message) and then Matthew 16 (read NIV) (read The Message). You can't serve two masters. You can't date two gods and keep them both happy. The really sad thing is, Becky Sue ain't even a god and she's ugly as sin, dirty as a sewer, personable as a pourcupine and there's no future in a relationship with her. Compared to the beauty of God, our creator, who loves us, she's a pile of dung. But that's what attracts us.
The guys didn't seem to like this message. It's amazing how we don't want to surrender our little handful of soon to die, weak, disease ridden, rotten flesh over to God in exchange for his perfect, loving, accepted, healed, eternal life. We like to stay in control. God help us.
I asked the guys if they have thought much about something we talked about several weeks ago. I had read Matthew 5:22-24 (read passage in The message). I asked the inmates what a person should do if they had negatively impacted someone in past. Like introduce them to drug abuse. The room got quiet as people were thinking. Then, several guys said that since God forgave them, that's the end of it, things are clean. I asked if we weren't to do something to offset the harm we had done in the past. As some guys argued that there's nothing they can do now, one guy got very serious and asked, "What if you sold dope to the whole village?" and he was serious. I said I didn't know.
My hope is that the inmates that come out of jail would someday be part of the solution to drug abuse in town. That not only would they stay off drugs, but would be positive influence for others too.
posted by Kathy Kolb | 4:23 PM
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