A break from panic

It's early still, and the kids are yet sleeping. I love this quiet time of day.
This morning, I was reading in the book of John, from my bible. There are a couple of interesting things that I noticed as I read over the things that Jesus was talking about.
He was telling His men about how they needed to love Him, and do the stuff He had taught them to do. If they would do those things, then He and the Father would come and "abide" with them. I got to thinking how awkward it would be to have God abiding with me if I wasn't doing the stuff He said. You know, if God was in the guestroom for a year....dang. I would be all whisper-yelling at my kids so He wouldn't hear me raise my voice in anger. My house would be all kinds of clean. What if He were having to ride along in my car, and listen to my music, and see how I drive? I think it's interesting that He will "abide," (which means to live with) those who love Him and obey Him. I wouldn't want Him living here if I didn't intend to be fully committed. I am mostly (I had typed "fully" instead of "mostly" but then I realised that I was lying) committed, and the thought still makes me squirm!
This book I am reading was talking about how to be a disciple of Jesus. I think I have told you a little bit about this book. It's called The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard. He points out that you and I totally understand what it is to apprentice ourselves to someone. Let's say you are going to apprentice with Tiger Woods, for example. Or George Bush. Or Bill Clinton, for that matter.
The point is...if you want to be just like the person you have decided to learn from, then you will go where they go, do what they do, dress how they dress, find out how they think. You think you wouldn't? Liar. Capitalist marketing proves otherwise. Can I give you an example?
We went to the store this week to buy football cleats for my eldest son. The store was totally sold out of all the cleats in his size...except the Michael Vick shoes. The salesman apologetically explained that there was a pair of shoes in the right size, but that they were not out on the shelves. You see, with Mr Vick's current dogfighting scandal, no aspiring football players want to buy his label, ie: no one wants to be like him.
Why do you buy a Coach handbag? Because there's power in the name!
If I make a conscious decision to apprentice myself to Jesus, then I have to pay very close attention to the way He lives and how He behaves. And I have to pattern myself after that model. If I do not do this, then I must not call myself a Christian. Christianity is is not a clientel of a particular church organization. It is an individual life of apprenticeship to Jesus, and a group of similar disciples functioning as a unit. Amen?
Whew!
Can you handle one more thought?
The whole concept of asking for stuff "in Jesus' name." Well, I do some work for a man as a sort of personal assistant. This means that I frequently handle his personal and business transactions. I function "in his name." When I present myself to order a particular transaction, the first question I always have to address is: Do I have the authority to act thus? The answer is proven by a token. This could be a legal document, such as a Power of Attorney, or as simple as the last four digits of his social security number. The point is that once I prove that I have clearance, I may function as him.
What if it's the same with asking in Jesus' name? What if this is a reference to the authority behind my request? There is a heck of a lot of responsibility in that! If I misrepresent my employer, then I damage his reputation. Not unlike misrepresenting Jesus, if I claim to be acting in His name. Wow. This, then would be taking His name in vain.
Think about that as you go about your day!
Who are you apprenticed to?
Whose Power of Attorney are you functioning with?
Are you abiding with the God of Creation?