We moved to Northside Church seven years ago. Here are some helpful “Buckhead Driving Rules” for those new to the community.

• Speed limit signs are mere suggestions.
• Blinkers are optional.
• Peachtree Road is a 4 lane street divided into 6 lanes.
• “No Turn on Right” does not apply to YOU.
• Horns work better than brakes.
• The bumping sounds you hear are lane dividers.
• Our zip codes are exempt from the hands-free, cell phone law.
• Northside Parkway from Howell Mill to Paces Ferry is known as “The Quarter Mile of Death.”
• Pot holes serve as speed bumps.
• Neighborhood lanes make great shortcuts.
• Others tailgate, you draft.
• The car in the next lane cost 6 figures.
• Traffic is light from 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.
• Do not play “Chicken” with an Amazon delivery van.

The good news is Buckhead traffic will inspire your prayer life and make you cry out to God!

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Breathe.

Inhale through the nose 4 seconds.

Hold the breath for 7 seconds.

Exhale through the mouth 8 seconds.

The ancient 4/7/8 discipline relaxes body, mind, and soul. Breaths calm, heartbeats slow, and muscles relax.

Baptize the breathing exercise with sacred significance. Memorize the first words of Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Repeat the phrase while inhaling, holding, and exhaling. Claim the space as holy ground and recognize the moment as divine epiphany.

Experience inspiration with its dual meaning of inhalation and encouragement.

Experience enthusiasm with its dual meaning of divine passion and Godly zeal.

Incorporate the spiritual discipline into daily routine.

Breathe.

Inhale through the nose 4 seconds.

Hold the breath for 7 seconds.

Exhale through the mouth 8 seconds.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

This Sunday, June 16, we observe Father’s Day. It is the fourth most popular greeting card day of the year according to Hallmark. Every dad KNOWS that our special day ranks far beneath Mother’s Day.

According to the snopes.com web site, Mother’s Day boasts the largest number of long-distance phone calls annually. Father’s Day records the largest number of COLLECT calls placed during the year.

My sister and I carefully planned Mother’s Day gifts during our childhood. Father’s Day was a no-brainer. My dad ALWAYS got Old Spice cologne. If we were feeling especially generous, he got a gift set of Old Spice aftershave, Old Spice deodorant, and Old Spice talcum powder. Do you sense a theme here?

It’s funny—I cannot recall my dad ever actually WEARING Old Spice.

Another perpetual “can’t miss” gift for Father’s Day was a fashionable tie. Most dads own some “interesting” ties that their children hand-selected. Other gifts are even more creative.

I recall one such a memorable gift from my own son. He had gone on a church trip and spent his OWN money to buy his dear dad a special present. It was a gold and black vanity plate for my car that declared in large, bold letters: “PASTOR!”

I might not be the most patient of drivers. It’s better for my witness, our church, and the kingdom that no one knows my vocation when I’m on the road. I told my son him that I wanted to keep the special gift in my officer in order to view it all the time.

Fortunately, most fathers ascribe to the philosophy that “It is the thought that counts.” We cherish homemade gifts and cards; but sometimes you have GOT to wonder what your children were thinking!

“Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’” (Luke 11:1) Jesus taught his followers what we now know as the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer.

Jesus taught the disciples a Model Prayer that informs all prayer. It’s so simple that young children recite it. It’s so rich that sanctified saints adore it. The Lord shows us how to pray at specific times and places along with all times and places.

Christ’s example provides a template for individual and corporate prayer. Disciples repeat the words in personal devotions, reflecting upon their meaning. Christians recite the prayer in communal worship, using the plurals of “our,” “us,” and “we.”

I learned the words by osmosis as a child in worship, and they still inspire and instruct. During a recent weekend, I recited the Lord’s Prayer multiple times in a 24-hour period at a funeral, wedding, Sunday morning worship services, a confirmation service, and personal prayer.

The New Testament provides two versions of the prayer:

• Matthew 6:9-15:         Contains the more familiar words that we use in worship
• Luke 11:2-4:               Recounts a shorter form of the prayer

The first-century church used a third version of the Lord’s Prayer. The Didache, which is a Greek word for Teaching, was written by second-generation church leaders. It described worship in Christian communities, including the Lord’s Prayer. This version adds the closing doxology “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”

Northside Church’s summer worship series is exploring the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer. Disciples continue to ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.”