Isaiah 55:6
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Some people called it a miracle an act of God. I didn't see it that way. I believe in miracles, I believe that God can move in extraordinary ways beyond our comprehension. However, in this instance I think this wasn't the case. One man had the lives of hundreds in his hands. It looked like a certain disaster with the loss of many lives. All power was gone. All hope seemed to disappear as well. A plane with no engines, in a built up city, with no runway within reach. The odds weren't good and the outlook looked worse. Yet one Chesley Sullenberger was at the controls. He coolly and calmly landed his plane, it's crew and 148 passengers safely, not on a nearby runway or open road but on the Hudson River. People called it the "Miracle on the Hudson", but as I said before I don't think it was. Did the passengers on that plane pray for a miracle. my guess is many of them did. Could God have performed a miracle, I know he could. So, why didn't he? Because Captain Chesley Sullenberger was in control. I guess he had about 2 minutes from realising they were going down until they hit the river. Mr Sullenberger didn't have time to refer to the manual, I guess even if he had have done there wouldn't have been much info on how to land with no engines in a river. However, Captain Chesley Sullenberger had been a fighter pilot and he had been a commercial pilot for 29years. All his training, all his experience pointed to this one event. He knew how to fly this plane, he had flown in every weather condition and had flown for thousands of miles. He had trained, he had prepared, he had practise and because of that, he was ready! He got that plane down safely and saved the lives of those 148 passengers and his crew. It wasn't because of some miracle it was one man was trained, experienced, ready and willing.
Now most of us won't be called on in our lives to land a plane on water or to do anything so dramatic. However, as Christians, we are called day in and day out to make decisions for Christ. If we are trained, willing, practised, experienced and ready we will make wise, discerning decisions. If we are not, the chances are our decisions will be far more touch and go. We need to put in the hours to train ourselves in godliness and righteousness in order, not only to be ready when Christ comes or we are called home, but in order to live the lives God has in store for us. I believe that the Holy Spirit will rarely bring to mind a verse that we have not put into our minds beforehand. If we don’t study God’s word, if we don’t put in the effort it can inhibit the work of God in our lives. If we put in the work, if we study, if we pray , if we seek God we begin to know the heart of God. We can live our lives in the knowledge that He will direct our paths and decisions we make when on auto-pilot will be good and wise ones. When the plane of our life faces a sea of uncertainty it will be the hours of training that we have put in that will make the difference to whether we sink or swim.
1 Corinthians 13: 11
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Hebrew 5: 11-14
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Easter - It's in the Details
There are certain passages of the Bible that you can read time and time again and you read them for the 50th time and something hits you anew. Most of us have read the Easter Story over and over again. So there is probably little I can tell you about it. However, I learnt something new about it this year that I wanted to pass on!
John 20: 3-9
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
I’ve read this passage many times and the two things that have struck me are these. Why does it mention that the cloth that covered Jesus’ head was folded up separately? Why does the other disciple go into an open tomb and suddenly believe, especially as we are also told that the still did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. I think I would have a pile of questions not a belief!! Where was Jesus, who has got his body, why has someone removed his clothes?
Perhaps it’s just me, but even if I had thought he had come back from the dead I would have been thinking - OK Jesus has risen from the dead- and the first thing he did was to rip off his grave clothes but then stop to neatly fold up the napkin that was around his head? So why weren’t the disciples thinking that? They weren’t thinking that because the knew things that I didn’t! The disciples lived in a culture that I simply don’t know enough about.
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, we have to understand a little bit about Hebrew culture of the day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.
The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm finished.." But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........
The folded napkin meant,
"I'm coming back!"
So the disciples didn’t think the grave had been robbed - the clear message that had been left for them in the tomb was “I’m Back!!”
John 20: 3-9
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
I’ve read this passage many times and the two things that have struck me are these. Why does it mention that the cloth that covered Jesus’ head was folded up separately? Why does the other disciple go into an open tomb and suddenly believe, especially as we are also told that the still did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. I think I would have a pile of questions not a belief!! Where was Jesus, who has got his body, why has someone removed his clothes?
Perhaps it’s just me, but even if I had thought he had come back from the dead I would have been thinking - OK Jesus has risen from the dead- and the first thing he did was to rip off his grave clothes but then stop to neatly fold up the napkin that was around his head? So why weren’t the disciples thinking that? They weren’t thinking that because the knew things that I didn’t! The disciples lived in a culture that I simply don’t know enough about.
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, we have to understand a little bit about Hebrew culture of the day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.
The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm finished.." But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........
The folded napkin meant,
"I'm coming back!"
So the disciples didn’t think the grave had been robbed - the clear message that had been left for them in the tomb was “I’m Back!!”
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Finding God in the Mundane
If there’s one thing we as Christians do well it is criticise our church services. Not always negatively but we like to think about them, what was good, what was bad, and what was just downright bizarre!! If we’re being good with think in terms of what brought us nearer to God and what we didn’t find helpful in our walk. We greet the pastor at the door and thank him for a good sermon, which normally means that, for once, we agreed with what he said! We discuss the service over Sunday lunch and decide what we would have said or which hymns we would have chosen.
This is a little bit tongue in cheek but you get what I mean.
The more I have thought about church services and sermons and worship etc. I’ve discovered that it’s all about me! I used to believe that a good, well thought out, service would bring me closer to God. A poor sermon was the fault of the pastor and would, in no way, help me in my journey of faith. Now I believe it is all to do with my attitude, my openness, my level of concentration, my expectation, my focus, my willingness to listen and hear. I believe that God can speak to me through anything. I know he can speak to me through his creation. I know he can speak to me in the silence. He can speak to me in the mundane and in the normal. So, why can’t he speak to me through a dull sermon or a slow and plodding hymn?
If I go to church in the right way God will speak to me through anything. If I go to church in the wrong way the best sermon in the world could easily pass me by. It’s not about what the worship team or pastor puts into the service it’s about what I’m prepared to take out of it. I used to work for a church in Paris, France. It was an Anglican Church and during one of our AGMs someone became a Christian. There was no alter call and nobody preached the gospel but God spoke to that lady in the boring business of a church meeting. She was prepared to listen and had the right attitude. That day her life was changed. Can we find the right way to attend church? Are we prepared for God to speak to us in the normal and the mundane? Can we spend less time pulling the service apart and more time seeking God in the service? It’s not easy - some services are, for us, more conducive to drawing near to God. However, are we prepared to put the effort in during the times when it’s not so easy?
This is a little bit tongue in cheek but you get what I mean.
The more I have thought about church services and sermons and worship etc. I’ve discovered that it’s all about me! I used to believe that a good, well thought out, service would bring me closer to God. A poor sermon was the fault of the pastor and would, in no way, help me in my journey of faith. Now I believe it is all to do with my attitude, my openness, my level of concentration, my expectation, my focus, my willingness to listen and hear. I believe that God can speak to me through anything. I know he can speak to me through his creation. I know he can speak to me in the silence. He can speak to me in the mundane and in the normal. So, why can’t he speak to me through a dull sermon or a slow and plodding hymn?
If I go to church in the right way God will speak to me through anything. If I go to church in the wrong way the best sermon in the world could easily pass me by. It’s not about what the worship team or pastor puts into the service it’s about what I’m prepared to take out of it. I used to work for a church in Paris, France. It was an Anglican Church and during one of our AGMs someone became a Christian. There was no alter call and nobody preached the gospel but God spoke to that lady in the boring business of a church meeting. She was prepared to listen and had the right attitude. That day her life was changed. Can we find the right way to attend church? Are we prepared for God to speak to us in the normal and the mundane? Can we spend less time pulling the service apart and more time seeking God in the service? It’s not easy - some services are, for us, more conducive to drawing near to God. However, are we prepared to put the effort in during the times when it’s not so easy?
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Don't put off the Big Stuff
I want to tell you about my best friend Rob. As best friends go he was at the top of the tree. We first met when we were about 12. We went to the local church youth group together and hit it off straight away. One of the most noticeable things about our friendship was that we had nothing in common. On the surface at least. We would go for months and months and see each other each day, we talked for hours, but I’m not sure what about. We never had an argument. We both went to church though I’m not too sure what our faith was like back then. In our late teens Rob started to drift away from church. We didn’t have too many deep conversations back than but I remember clearly one we had. It was a Sunday night as Rob collected me after church to go out for the evening. He said that church didn’t fit well into his lifestyle at the moment. When he wanted to be out drinking, sleeping with his girlfriend and so on the church was saying he was wrong. He went on to say that when he was in his mid thirties, settled down with a wife and a few kids he would come back to church. Then it would fit in with his lifestyle and things would be great.
I can see him saying it now, “when I’m in my mid thirties I will come back to church“. Rob died at the age of 34. He never came back to church, though who knows if he came back to God. Rob contracted MS and in what seemed like the blink of an eye he was gone.
There are decisions in life that need to be made. Yet we put them off and muddle through. If we got a letter from government to say we were owed £1millon in back taxes and other repayments we might find it difficult to believe. We might dream and convince ourselves that it’s true and think of all the things we’d spend the money on. We might put on our rational hat and say that it can’t possibly be true as we’ve never paid £100k in taxes let alone a £million. However until you pick up the phone and ask them you’ll never know for sure. Wouldn’t you want to do everything you could to see if it were true?
The Bible claims some incredible things. In the two thousand years since they were written none of it’s claims have been disproved. Doesn’t that say quite a lot? People try to discredit the Bible for they know if they can’t the claims of the Bible mean that they would seriously have to change their life. Man would no longer be the greatest force in the universe and perhaps we’d have to be a little less self orientated. If the Bible were no more than a self-help guide on how to live our lives it would still be a brilliant book. Surely most of us would agree that it is better to love than to hate, to give rather than receive, live in peace rather than go to war, to tell the truth rather than to lie, to forgive rather than harbour grudges, to put people first rather than be selfish, to be faithful rather than be faithless, to honour people rather than be disrespectful. These are great ideals by which to live your life and if more of us did the world would certainly be a better place. But what if there was more to the Bible than just a life instruction manual. What if what it claims actually was true? Don’t you think it might be worth checking out? What if the world was created, if we do need forgiveness, if Jesus has paid the price for us? What if there really is a heaven and hell, a right way to live and a wrong way? Don’t you think it might be worth looking into, asking friends who do believe to explain what they believe and why? Ask questions by commenting here or join an ALPHA group.
We could put all these questions off until tomorrow. But what if, like Rob, we never have the chance to come back and check it out? Don’t put off until tomorrow what you could start today.
I can see him saying it now, “when I’m in my mid thirties I will come back to church“. Rob died at the age of 34. He never came back to church, though who knows if he came back to God. Rob contracted MS and in what seemed like the blink of an eye he was gone.
There are decisions in life that need to be made. Yet we put them off and muddle through. If we got a letter from government to say we were owed £1millon in back taxes and other repayments we might find it difficult to believe. We might dream and convince ourselves that it’s true and think of all the things we’d spend the money on. We might put on our rational hat and say that it can’t possibly be true as we’ve never paid £100k in taxes let alone a £million. However until you pick up the phone and ask them you’ll never know for sure. Wouldn’t you want to do everything you could to see if it were true?
The Bible claims some incredible things. In the two thousand years since they were written none of it’s claims have been disproved. Doesn’t that say quite a lot? People try to discredit the Bible for they know if they can’t the claims of the Bible mean that they would seriously have to change their life. Man would no longer be the greatest force in the universe and perhaps we’d have to be a little less self orientated. If the Bible were no more than a self-help guide on how to live our lives it would still be a brilliant book. Surely most of us would agree that it is better to love than to hate, to give rather than receive, live in peace rather than go to war, to tell the truth rather than to lie, to forgive rather than harbour grudges, to put people first rather than be selfish, to be faithful rather than be faithless, to honour people rather than be disrespectful. These are great ideals by which to live your life and if more of us did the world would certainly be a better place. But what if there was more to the Bible than just a life instruction manual. What if what it claims actually was true? Don’t you think it might be worth checking out? What if the world was created, if we do need forgiveness, if Jesus has paid the price for us? What if there really is a heaven and hell, a right way to live and a wrong way? Don’t you think it might be worth looking into, asking friends who do believe to explain what they believe and why? Ask questions by commenting here or join an ALPHA group.
We could put all these questions off until tomorrow. But what if, like Rob, we never have the chance to come back and check it out? Don’t put off until tomorrow what you could start today.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
The Race
I love the analogies we find in the Bible of life being a race.
2Timothy 4: 7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
The idea that we need to train in order to do well and that we are passing on the baton to the next generation and to others around us. As the analogy of the baton is used I often picture athletes running around a nice oval running track with the crowd cheering and the finish line in sight.
The race that I seem to be on, and hearing others talk I don’t appear to be alone, is more like an obstacle course. I seem to get myself in a complete mess, can’t always see where I’m going, sometimes lose the baton completely in the mud and generally end up exhausted having gotten no-where.
There is a nice straight and clean path running alongside the obstacle course and I look longingly at those that walk that path. They seem to be getting along much better. They are clean, focussed and their baton is gleaming. However, I don’t feel God is asking me to join that path, not for the moment anyway. For this obstacle course is part of God’s training in my life. He calls me to attempt great things for him, and some of these obstacles are great to me.
I love the story of the man who was asked by God to try and move this enormous boulder. Each day the man went out and put all his strength into pushing the boulder. However hard he tried he could not move it, not even an inch. Day by day he went out to try and move this boulder with no success. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Eventually he had to admit defeat and went to God, his head hanging low. He told God that he had failed and had not even managed to move the boulder at all. God replied, “You have not failed, I did not ask you to move the boulder, only to try and move the boulder. Look at your arms and your legs, how strong they are. I have been training you for what I have in store for you.
Sometimes God calls us to perform what look like fruitless tasks. Is he training us up for the future? Is he helping us to be faithful in the small things so that we can be found faithful in the big things?
In my life on the obstacle course there are things that I seem called to do that I don’t understand. Yet in doing them God has been training me. However, just as in parenting, we need to be wise to pick our battles. Some obstacles in our path will test us and make us fitter and more useful to God. Others though will distract us, use up our time and energies and in the end keep us from doing what God desires of us. We need the wisdom to know which obstacles to tackle and when to quietly step off the course onto that long straight path alongside it.
2Timothy 4: 7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
The idea that we need to train in order to do well and that we are passing on the baton to the next generation and to others around us. As the analogy of the baton is used I often picture athletes running around a nice oval running track with the crowd cheering and the finish line in sight.
The race that I seem to be on, and hearing others talk I don’t appear to be alone, is more like an obstacle course. I seem to get myself in a complete mess, can’t always see where I’m going, sometimes lose the baton completely in the mud and generally end up exhausted having gotten no-where.
There is a nice straight and clean path running alongside the obstacle course and I look longingly at those that walk that path. They seem to be getting along much better. They are clean, focussed and their baton is gleaming. However, I don’t feel God is asking me to join that path, not for the moment anyway. For this obstacle course is part of God’s training in my life. He calls me to attempt great things for him, and some of these obstacles are great to me.
I love the story of the man who was asked by God to try and move this enormous boulder. Each day the man went out and put all his strength into pushing the boulder. However hard he tried he could not move it, not even an inch. Day by day he went out to try and move this boulder with no success. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Eventually he had to admit defeat and went to God, his head hanging low. He told God that he had failed and had not even managed to move the boulder at all. God replied, “You have not failed, I did not ask you to move the boulder, only to try and move the boulder. Look at your arms and your legs, how strong they are. I have been training you for what I have in store for you.
Sometimes God calls us to perform what look like fruitless tasks. Is he training us up for the future? Is he helping us to be faithful in the small things so that we can be found faithful in the big things?
In my life on the obstacle course there are things that I seem called to do that I don’t understand. Yet in doing them God has been training me. However, just as in parenting, we need to be wise to pick our battles. Some obstacles in our path will test us and make us fitter and more useful to God. Others though will distract us, use up our time and energies and in the end keep us from doing what God desires of us. We need the wisdom to know which obstacles to tackle and when to quietly step off the course onto that long straight path alongside it.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Peace
We're told in Phillipians 4: 7
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I had always understood that this meant that it was a peace from God that we couldn't understand. Although this still remains true (at least for me) I now understand it differently and to me it makes much more sense.
We all have questions, problems and things we can't work out. We are all on a journey to find answers. Why did God allow this? Is this right or is it this? What does God what me to do? Some of us have questions and worries that keep us awake at night and ruin our days. Sometimes when we find the answer to a question that has been on our mind we heave a huge sigh of relief and for a while we are at peace. We’ve had our question answered and we are satisfied, at least for a while, until the3 next one pops up. When it talks in Philippians about God's peace transcending (passes) all understanding it is talking about a peace that comes without the need for the question to be answered. It's saying that we don't need to find understanding, we don't need to lie awake at night with those questions going around in our head. God's peace replaces the need to ask why? True peace from God is like the peace you'd find when all your questions and worries have been answered, but without the need to have them answered. In some ways we need to cling on to God for that peace. We need to surrender to Him saying that I will seek your peace, not the answers to my questions. At the end of the day God's peace is something real and tangible and worth seeking. If we continue to look for answers we will always have something missing. Now don't get me wrong, there are things that we can find answers to and it is right for us to look for them and to ask others and to seek God for them. This, however should be a short journey. I believe that we are not meant to spend our lives seeking answers, for to some questions there are no answers to be found this side of heaven. It will just be a frustrating and fruitful pursuit. We need to trust God and seek his peace that bypasses the need to find an answer. Let all your strivings cease and accept God’s peace. Keep those thoughts, those questions, captive and may the peace of God become a reality in your lives.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I had always understood that this meant that it was a peace from God that we couldn't understand. Although this still remains true (at least for me) I now understand it differently and to me it makes much more sense.
We all have questions, problems and things we can't work out. We are all on a journey to find answers. Why did God allow this? Is this right or is it this? What does God what me to do? Some of us have questions and worries that keep us awake at night and ruin our days. Sometimes when we find the answer to a question that has been on our mind we heave a huge sigh of relief and for a while we are at peace. We’ve had our question answered and we are satisfied, at least for a while, until the3 next one pops up. When it talks in Philippians about God's peace transcending (passes) all understanding it is talking about a peace that comes without the need for the question to be answered. It's saying that we don't need to find understanding, we don't need to lie awake at night with those questions going around in our head. God's peace replaces the need to ask why? True peace from God is like the peace you'd find when all your questions and worries have been answered, but without the need to have them answered. In some ways we need to cling on to God for that peace. We need to surrender to Him saying that I will seek your peace, not the answers to my questions. At the end of the day God's peace is something real and tangible and worth seeking. If we continue to look for answers we will always have something missing. Now don't get me wrong, there are things that we can find answers to and it is right for us to look for them and to ask others and to seek God for them. This, however should be a short journey. I believe that we are not meant to spend our lives seeking answers, for to some questions there are no answers to be found this side of heaven. It will just be a frustrating and fruitful pursuit. We need to trust God and seek his peace that bypasses the need to find an answer. Let all your strivings cease and accept God’s peace. Keep those thoughts, those questions, captive and may the peace of God become a reality in your lives.
Monday, 25 January 2010
Prayer - what a lot of questions Part four.
Preparatory Steps to a Successful Time of Prayer.
1. Find a place of quiet. We live in a noise filled world and yet we are searching for a “still, small voice”. We need to find a place away from the busyness and noise and distractions of our everyday lives where we can just be and spend time with God.
2. Find a Time to Suit You. Each one of us has their own preferences, habits and schedules. We each need to find a regular time of day that fits in with who we are and what we do. Some people say that the morning is the best time to pray, but some of us are NOT morning people and this is fine. Find a time that works for you, but try to stick to it. Remember discipline is more than half the battle.
3. Remove Distractions. There in no point in finding a place of quiet if you know the kids are likely to burst in at any moment. You’ll be sitting there less in expectation of meeting with God and more in anticipation of being disturbed. Before you start to pray have a think about whether you need to take the phone off the hook or put the money out for the milkman to stop yourself being disturbed. It might be worth thinking about setting an alarm to tell you when to finish. It might sound silly but the last thing you want to do is constantly be thinking about the time and whether you should have left yet to go to your next meeting when you should be focusing on God.
4. Find the Correct Position
Think about finding a prayer position that works for you. You want to be comfortable but not so comfortable that you start to pray and 2 hours later you wake up!!!
5. Have a Notebook to Hand. This is useful for two main reasons. 1. As a help to removing distractions. If you start to pray and then it pops into your mind that you must remember to take the meat out for tomorrow, instead of focusing on that so you don’t forget, make a note in the notebook and refocus back on God. 2. If God shares something with you or a verse comes to mind, jot it down. Over the weeks you may find a pattern and looking back you’ll be encouraged by what God has been saying.
6. Have a Point of Focus. It can be quite hard to turn off from all you’ve been doing and focus on God. It may be useful to have something to focus on. Some people use a verse or two from scripture to centre themselves. However, some find it useful to focus on a candle, a cross or an inspiring photograph.
So, what now?
If I want to go and see the Queen I have to get a lift to the station, a train into London, a tube across London and then walk all the way up to Buck House. That’s before the nice guard at the gate tells me I haven’t got an appointment and therefore not a hope of meeting with the Queen. It’s not easy meeting or talking with people in high places, but with God it’s totally different. He is there just waiting for us to communicate with Him. It’s part of why He made us and we have access to Him 24/7.
So where do we start? It’s easy, it really is and yet we so often forget. If we want to visit the queen we need an invitation and a lengthy journey but God has made it some much more easy to meet with Him. How do we get to talk to God, how do we enter His presence? Quite simply, He says, we enter into the presence of God with thanksgiving. It’s not rocket science, we don’t need to wait for an invitation or go on a long journey. We enter God’s presence but being in an attitude of thanksgiving and praising him. So, having found our quiet place, the right time, position etc. and removed all distractions we start with thanking God. We have so much to thank God for even on our worst days.
So now we have entered the presence of God what happens next?
Now, this is a good question. Ask ten church leaders how to pray and you’ll get 12 different answers. However, in it’s most basic form now is when you have a conversation with God. No two conversations will be the same—sometimes you will approach him with boldness wanting Him to act—sometimes you’ll be very humble asking for forgiveness and sometimes you’ll just want to sit and listen to what He has to say. Most times it will be a mix of many different things.
How do I know what to pray?
Here are a few pointers to ask yourself when praying.
● Will the thing that I am praying fit in with a just and righteous life style, or is it superfluous and just born out of my fleshly desires?
● Am I being submissive to God's will, and will I gladly accept whatever God is willing to give me, if anything.
● If my prayer is answered will the result honour God?
● Will it harm or hurt someone else.
● Will what you pray for delight God?
● Does my request contradict or conflict with the Word of God.
● Will it further my spiritual growth. Will what I pray for bring me closer to God?
1. Find a place of quiet. We live in a noise filled world and yet we are searching for a “still, small voice”. We need to find a place away from the busyness and noise and distractions of our everyday lives where we can just be and spend time with God.
2. Find a Time to Suit You. Each one of us has their own preferences, habits and schedules. We each need to find a regular time of day that fits in with who we are and what we do. Some people say that the morning is the best time to pray, but some of us are NOT morning people and this is fine. Find a time that works for you, but try to stick to it. Remember discipline is more than half the battle.
3. Remove Distractions. There in no point in finding a place of quiet if you know the kids are likely to burst in at any moment. You’ll be sitting there less in expectation of meeting with God and more in anticipation of being disturbed. Before you start to pray have a think about whether you need to take the phone off the hook or put the money out for the milkman to stop yourself being disturbed. It might be worth thinking about setting an alarm to tell you when to finish. It might sound silly but the last thing you want to do is constantly be thinking about the time and whether you should have left yet to go to your next meeting when you should be focusing on God.
4. Find the Correct Position
Think about finding a prayer position that works for you. You want to be comfortable but not so comfortable that you start to pray and 2 hours later you wake up!!!
5. Have a Notebook to Hand. This is useful for two main reasons. 1. As a help to removing distractions. If you start to pray and then it pops into your mind that you must remember to take the meat out for tomorrow, instead of focusing on that so you don’t forget, make a note in the notebook and refocus back on God. 2. If God shares something with you or a verse comes to mind, jot it down. Over the weeks you may find a pattern and looking back you’ll be encouraged by what God has been saying.
6. Have a Point of Focus. It can be quite hard to turn off from all you’ve been doing and focus on God. It may be useful to have something to focus on. Some people use a verse or two from scripture to centre themselves. However, some find it useful to focus on a candle, a cross or an inspiring photograph.
So, what now?
If I want to go and see the Queen I have to get a lift to the station, a train into London, a tube across London and then walk all the way up to Buck House. That’s before the nice guard at the gate tells me I haven’t got an appointment and therefore not a hope of meeting with the Queen. It’s not easy meeting or talking with people in high places, but with God it’s totally different. He is there just waiting for us to communicate with Him. It’s part of why He made us and we have access to Him 24/7.
So where do we start? It’s easy, it really is and yet we so often forget. If we want to visit the queen we need an invitation and a lengthy journey but God has made it some much more easy to meet with Him. How do we get to talk to God, how do we enter His presence? Quite simply, He says, we enter into the presence of God with thanksgiving. It’s not rocket science, we don’t need to wait for an invitation or go on a long journey. We enter God’s presence but being in an attitude of thanksgiving and praising him. So, having found our quiet place, the right time, position etc. and removed all distractions we start with thanking God. We have so much to thank God for even on our worst days.
So now we have entered the presence of God what happens next?
Now, this is a good question. Ask ten church leaders how to pray and you’ll get 12 different answers. However, in it’s most basic form now is when you have a conversation with God. No two conversations will be the same—sometimes you will approach him with boldness wanting Him to act—sometimes you’ll be very humble asking for forgiveness and sometimes you’ll just want to sit and listen to what He has to say. Most times it will be a mix of many different things.
How do I know what to pray?
Here are a few pointers to ask yourself when praying.
● Will the thing that I am praying fit in with a just and righteous life style, or is it superfluous and just born out of my fleshly desires?
● Am I being submissive to God's will, and will I gladly accept whatever God is willing to give me, if anything.
● If my prayer is answered will the result honour God?
● Will it harm or hurt someone else.
● Will what you pray for delight God?
● Does my request contradict or conflict with the Word of God.
● Will it further my spiritual growth. Will what I pray for bring me closer to God?
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Prayer - what a lot of questions Part three.
Prayer that gets an answer.
Basically this couldn’t be simpler - or at least the theory of it couldn’t. What we’re looking to do is find the will of God and pray in accordance to that. We’re wanting to find out what God wants to do and then asking him to do just that. Often we are far too eager to wade in telling God what we want Him to do or even what we think He should do. What we fail to do is to ask Him what it actually is that He wants to do.
So, a friend becomes ill and we immediately start to pray that God would heal them. A brother loses his job and we pray for a new job, and quickly. A colleague get anxious over something and we pray for peace. To us it seems obvious the situations have changed - to us it seems for the worse - so our answer it to get God to reverse what has changed. Someone becomes ill we want them to be not ill, someone becomes unemployed we want them to be employed, someone is anxious we want them to be not anxious. Hang on a sec though, what if God wants to use these situations for teaching and instruction. People get sick and we pray for healing but God doesn’t heal time and time again. Does this not show us that it is not God’s will to heal (in those situations). We are therefore praying against the will of God. Not only is this futile and a waste of our time and energies but it is also a dent to our faith. If we are praying for healing and it is not forthcoming, over time, this will help diminish our faith in a God who heals. What if God wants to heal but only after a lesson is learnt or certain things have been done. We won’t know this until we search for the will of God. If God doesn’t want to heal in certain cases why fill the suffering person with false hope that He might. How much better is it to tell them god’s will and release them into that will. If it is known that it is God’s will for someone to die what an honour that is to know that. It gives the dying person time to put there house in order, have conversations that they’ve been meaning to have for years, tell their loved ones how much they love them and be a great witness of how God numbers our days and gives us a certain hope even in the face of death.
So, we need to take a step back. We need to tame our tongue and our emotions seek God for what He wants to do in any given situation. It’s not just a case of praying “Let your will be done”. It’s a case of asking God what his will is and then praying that with confidence. If we know the will of God we can pray knowing that God will answer with a great big YES. I always used to pray in faith knowing that God COULD do what I was asking, but with little faith that He WOULD actually do what I was asking. This was because I was asking God to do what I wanted Him to do not what He wanted to do. The Bible makes it quite clear that if we pray according to His will He will answer us - if we pray according to our will we enter the lottery of whether or not our will happens to coincide with the will of God. The Bible teaches us that whatever we ask in Jesus’ Name will be given to us. I used to believe that tagging the words “In Jesus’ Name Amen” onto the end of the prayer would give the prayer more power or more chance of being answered. I used it as some sort of magic formula for getting my prayers answered - and even though it didn’t work I continued it for years. I have now come to realise that praying in Jesus Name means praying with and under His authority. Praying in Jesus name, in essence, means the same as praying according to God’s will.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we have asked of him.
So finding God’s will and then praying that gives us a confidence in pray that we have never previously had. We can pray with the confidence and certainty that God will answer our prayers. Not that God could do it but that God will do it.
Part 4 will help us explore how we seek God’s will in practical terms.
Basically this couldn’t be simpler - or at least the theory of it couldn’t. What we’re looking to do is find the will of God and pray in accordance to that. We’re wanting to find out what God wants to do and then asking him to do just that. Often we are far too eager to wade in telling God what we want Him to do or even what we think He should do. What we fail to do is to ask Him what it actually is that He wants to do.
So, a friend becomes ill and we immediately start to pray that God would heal them. A brother loses his job and we pray for a new job, and quickly. A colleague get anxious over something and we pray for peace. To us it seems obvious the situations have changed - to us it seems for the worse - so our answer it to get God to reverse what has changed. Someone becomes ill we want them to be not ill, someone becomes unemployed we want them to be employed, someone is anxious we want them to be not anxious. Hang on a sec though, what if God wants to use these situations for teaching and instruction. People get sick and we pray for healing but God doesn’t heal time and time again. Does this not show us that it is not God’s will to heal (in those situations). We are therefore praying against the will of God. Not only is this futile and a waste of our time and energies but it is also a dent to our faith. If we are praying for healing and it is not forthcoming, over time, this will help diminish our faith in a God who heals. What if God wants to heal but only after a lesson is learnt or certain things have been done. We won’t know this until we search for the will of God. If God doesn’t want to heal in certain cases why fill the suffering person with false hope that He might. How much better is it to tell them god’s will and release them into that will. If it is known that it is God’s will for someone to die what an honour that is to know that. It gives the dying person time to put there house in order, have conversations that they’ve been meaning to have for years, tell their loved ones how much they love them and be a great witness of how God numbers our days and gives us a certain hope even in the face of death.
So, we need to take a step back. We need to tame our tongue and our emotions seek God for what He wants to do in any given situation. It’s not just a case of praying “Let your will be done”. It’s a case of asking God what his will is and then praying that with confidence. If we know the will of God we can pray knowing that God will answer with a great big YES. I always used to pray in faith knowing that God COULD do what I was asking, but with little faith that He WOULD actually do what I was asking. This was because I was asking God to do what I wanted Him to do not what He wanted to do. The Bible makes it quite clear that if we pray according to His will He will answer us - if we pray according to our will we enter the lottery of whether or not our will happens to coincide with the will of God. The Bible teaches us that whatever we ask in Jesus’ Name will be given to us. I used to believe that tagging the words “In Jesus’ Name Amen” onto the end of the prayer would give the prayer more power or more chance of being answered. I used it as some sort of magic formula for getting my prayers answered - and even though it didn’t work I continued it for years. I have now come to realise that praying in Jesus Name means praying with and under His authority. Praying in Jesus name, in essence, means the same as praying according to God’s will.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we have asked of him.
So finding God’s will and then praying that gives us a confidence in pray that we have never previously had. We can pray with the confidence and certainty that God will answer our prayers. Not that God could do it but that God will do it.
Part 4 will help us explore how we seek God’s will in practical terms.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Prayer - what a lot of question - part two.
Part 2
So how do we pray?
If you’re like me I’ve heard more tips about how to pray than I have about gardening. Now you’re thinking and this is just another tip why should this one be any different from the hundreds of others I’ve tried and found not to work. Well, in truth it might not be, but to me it makes so much sense and at the end of the day what have we got to lose?
When we come to prayer it is usually our mouths we open first before our ears. God is longing to speak to us, Job 33: 14 if only we are ready to listen. So how do we pray? We pray with our ears and our mouths. God knows what we want before we even ask so it shouldn’t be our top priority to come to God with our requests. We see this clearly in Matthew…
“when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “
Jesus goes on to teach the Disciples how to pray in what we now know as the Lords Prayer. So, what is this teaching all about? These disciples ask Jesus how to pray and what they get in return is one prayer? Or do they get a template on how to pray? So what do we have? He had been in close communion with His Father and he knew the right way to approach and communicate with Him. The Lord’s prayer is template on how to commune with the father. Let’s have a look…
Our Father
Approach Him with respect recognising the right relationship between God and us.
In heaven
Let’s make no mistake who we’re talking to here, we are approaching the creator God of Heaven who made all that exists. Heaven is out of sight, and a world of spirits, therefore our conversation with God in prayer must be spiritual; it is on high, therefore in prayer we must rise above the world, and lift up our hearts.
Hallowed be your name
Hallowed - to make holy. Holy be your name, Holy is your name. A statement of Worship and statement of Praise. Psalm 100 tells us that we
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. “
Basically worship, praise, thanksgiving draws us into the presence of God. If we want to get God’s attention there is no better way than to praise Him.
Let Your Kingdom come
Let your rule, your reign, commence. Have your way with me. I am your servant. I am willing to be submissive to all you want to do in and through me. I acknowledge you are the King and ruler of my life.
Let your will be done
Not my will Lord, not my agenda, but yours. I want to know your will. I want to pray that Your will in all situations, whether I like it or not, be done. Now, I think this is a massively important point and one we continually pass over. We are so busy telling God what we want Him to do for us and those we know we miss what He might be wanting to do. We come with our shopping lists asking God to heal this person and help that person and give this person money and that person a job etc. etc. and we don’t stop to ask God what he would like to do in any given situation. We need to step back, say God this is the situation, what do YOU want to do in it? Seek God for His will and then ask Him to do it. When we find God’s will and then pray that into a situation we suddenly find God answers. Funny that!!
On Earth as it is in Heaven
We long for Christ to return and for God’s perfect rule to begin. Until then we are told that the Kingdom of God is at hand and we want to experience as much of that reality as possible. We are in the world but not of the world. We live here but are not under its rule. We want to usher in the Kingdom of God, we believe it starts in the here and now and we want that Kingdom on earth to expand.
Give us today our daily bread
So much can be taken from this one little line, in fact you can take it word by word.
Give
We are asking for the kindness of God. We’re not asking for a loan or for something we deserve or have earned we are asking for an unmerited gift from God.
Us
It is a term of inclusion. We’re not just asking for ourselves but for those around us. For those we love and care for.
Today
Here is our sense of urgency. As a new day is upon us we recognise the need for God’s provision. We need God’s provision for each day of our lives whether we recognise it or not.
Our
Here we recognise that we want God’s provision for us - we do not want the bread coming from others or due for others. We acknowledge that there is enough to go round and we don‘t want more than our share. We’re asking God to help us not to be selfish or greedy but to want what God wants to give us.
Daily
Thinking not of tomorrow, but trusting God for that, we ask for what is needed for today. We are aligning ourselves with our parts of the Bible that urge us not to worry about tomorrow but to stay focused on the here and now.
Bread
Here we are asking God for what is needed. Nothing fancy, simply bread. Yes, food to sustain us but also other everyday needs. God knows what we need and He is more than willing to provide that - we don’t need to spell out all our needs we simply need to acknowledge our need of God’s provision.
Forgive us our debts
An acknowledgement of our fallen, sinful nature; that we can be forgiven, redeemed and that God is the one who can forgive us. Taken in conjunction with the previous section the implication being that this is a daily request to continuously and constantly be forgiven. When this is prayed our slate is wiped clean once again.
As we also have forgiven our debtors
A call to duty. What good is it for us if we are forgiven but cannot forgive those who have wronged us? It is a great call to hope that if we can find it in our hearts to forgive those that have done wrong to us - how much more will God, whose forgiveness is perfect, readily forgive us.
And lead us not into temptation
We’ve admitted our sin, asked and received forgiveness and so it is natural that having a clean slate we ask for God’s help to keep it clean and not to err again. We are not saying that we believe God leads us into temptation but acknowledging the guiding hand and power of the spirit to lead us away from situations that may cause us to sin.
But deliver us from evil
We’ve asked for God to guide us away from situations that may cause us to sin. Now we are asking Him for His protection from the one who hounds us, the devil and all his agents. We are also asking for his deliverance from sin itself.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever Amen
And so we return to praise and adoration. Telling God what He has already told us. Affirming our hope that God can do all that we have asked of Him and so much more besides.
So Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray and he gave them the Lord’s prayer. Now I don’t for one minute think that this was something that he came up with on the spare of the moment. We’re not told but my guess is that Jesus had been perfecting this prayer for years. Moulding it, perfecting it and using it as His own. If you look at each petition they are all petitions that will receive a YES from God. Does God want to give us what we need - YES. Does God want to forgive us - YES. Does God want to deliver us for the devil - YES. So how can we form our prayers so as to get more YES answers from God? We will see in part three.
So how do we pray?
If you’re like me I’ve heard more tips about how to pray than I have about gardening. Now you’re thinking and this is just another tip why should this one be any different from the hundreds of others I’ve tried and found not to work. Well, in truth it might not be, but to me it makes so much sense and at the end of the day what have we got to lose?
When we come to prayer it is usually our mouths we open first before our ears. God is longing to speak to us, Job 33: 14 if only we are ready to listen. So how do we pray? We pray with our ears and our mouths. God knows what we want before we even ask so it shouldn’t be our top priority to come to God with our requests. We see this clearly in Matthew…
“when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “
Jesus goes on to teach the Disciples how to pray in what we now know as the Lords Prayer. So, what is this teaching all about? These disciples ask Jesus how to pray and what they get in return is one prayer? Or do they get a template on how to pray? So what do we have? He had been in close communion with His Father and he knew the right way to approach and communicate with Him. The Lord’s prayer is template on how to commune with the father. Let’s have a look…
Our Father
Approach Him with respect recognising the right relationship between God and us.
In heaven
Let’s make no mistake who we’re talking to here, we are approaching the creator God of Heaven who made all that exists. Heaven is out of sight, and a world of spirits, therefore our conversation with God in prayer must be spiritual; it is on high, therefore in prayer we must rise above the world, and lift up our hearts.
Hallowed be your name
Hallowed - to make holy. Holy be your name, Holy is your name. A statement of Worship and statement of Praise. Psalm 100 tells us that we
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. “
Basically worship, praise, thanksgiving draws us into the presence of God. If we want to get God’s attention there is no better way than to praise Him.
Let Your Kingdom come
Let your rule, your reign, commence. Have your way with me. I am your servant. I am willing to be submissive to all you want to do in and through me. I acknowledge you are the King and ruler of my life.
Let your will be done
Not my will Lord, not my agenda, but yours. I want to know your will. I want to pray that Your will in all situations, whether I like it or not, be done. Now, I think this is a massively important point and one we continually pass over. We are so busy telling God what we want Him to do for us and those we know we miss what He might be wanting to do. We come with our shopping lists asking God to heal this person and help that person and give this person money and that person a job etc. etc. and we don’t stop to ask God what he would like to do in any given situation. We need to step back, say God this is the situation, what do YOU want to do in it? Seek God for His will and then ask Him to do it. When we find God’s will and then pray that into a situation we suddenly find God answers. Funny that!!
On Earth as it is in Heaven
We long for Christ to return and for God’s perfect rule to begin. Until then we are told that the Kingdom of God is at hand and we want to experience as much of that reality as possible. We are in the world but not of the world. We live here but are not under its rule. We want to usher in the Kingdom of God, we believe it starts in the here and now and we want that Kingdom on earth to expand.
Give us today our daily bread
So much can be taken from this one little line, in fact you can take it word by word.
Give
We are asking for the kindness of God. We’re not asking for a loan or for something we deserve or have earned we are asking for an unmerited gift from God.
Us
It is a term of inclusion. We’re not just asking for ourselves but for those around us. For those we love and care for.
Today
Here is our sense of urgency. As a new day is upon us we recognise the need for God’s provision. We need God’s provision for each day of our lives whether we recognise it or not.
Our
Here we recognise that we want God’s provision for us - we do not want the bread coming from others or due for others. We acknowledge that there is enough to go round and we don‘t want more than our share. We’re asking God to help us not to be selfish or greedy but to want what God wants to give us.
Daily
Thinking not of tomorrow, but trusting God for that, we ask for what is needed for today. We are aligning ourselves with our parts of the Bible that urge us not to worry about tomorrow but to stay focused on the here and now.
Bread
Here we are asking God for what is needed. Nothing fancy, simply bread. Yes, food to sustain us but also other everyday needs. God knows what we need and He is more than willing to provide that - we don’t need to spell out all our needs we simply need to acknowledge our need of God’s provision.
Forgive us our debts
An acknowledgement of our fallen, sinful nature; that we can be forgiven, redeemed and that God is the one who can forgive us. Taken in conjunction with the previous section the implication being that this is a daily request to continuously and constantly be forgiven. When this is prayed our slate is wiped clean once again.
As we also have forgiven our debtors
A call to duty. What good is it for us if we are forgiven but cannot forgive those who have wronged us? It is a great call to hope that if we can find it in our hearts to forgive those that have done wrong to us - how much more will God, whose forgiveness is perfect, readily forgive us.
And lead us not into temptation
We’ve admitted our sin, asked and received forgiveness and so it is natural that having a clean slate we ask for God’s help to keep it clean and not to err again. We are not saying that we believe God leads us into temptation but acknowledging the guiding hand and power of the spirit to lead us away from situations that may cause us to sin.
But deliver us from evil
We’ve asked for God to guide us away from situations that may cause us to sin. Now we are asking Him for His protection from the one who hounds us, the devil and all his agents. We are also asking for his deliverance from sin itself.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever Amen
And so we return to praise and adoration. Telling God what He has already told us. Affirming our hope that God can do all that we have asked of Him and so much more besides.
So Jesus was asked by His disciples how to pray and he gave them the Lord’s prayer. Now I don’t for one minute think that this was something that he came up with on the spare of the moment. We’re not told but my guess is that Jesus had been perfecting this prayer for years. Moulding it, perfecting it and using it as His own. If you look at each petition they are all petitions that will receive a YES from God. Does God want to give us what we need - YES. Does God want to forgive us - YES. Does God want to deliver us for the devil - YES. So how can we form our prayers so as to get more YES answers from God? We will see in part three.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Gaining a Sense of Urgency
A few months ago I attended a seminar at Spring Harvest run by a friend of mine Rachel Gardener. It was an excellent seminar (I’d better put that in case she reads this!!) and as part of it I took part in a very thought provoking role-play. We were asked to imagine that a group of newly converted refugees had started attending our church. They were, however, going to be deported back to a country with no Christian presence in six months time. We were asked to devise a programme that would equip them with the Christian skills and knowledge they would need on their return.
There was quite a buzz as everyone in our group had something to contribute to this discussion. We talked about discipleship, links to be forged to mission agencies, trades to be learnt, prayer support to be set up, practical support for their six-month stay, gifts to be prayed for, the list went on. There was a sense of urgency and an eagerness to help. People really felt that it was something they could back and get their teeth into.
Then came the damming question…
Why don’t we do that for every single member of our congregations? It certainly is a challenge and one to which I shall return.
Many years ago I was challenged by a friend about the kind of films I watched. He said would I sit and watch 18 certificated violent films if Jesus was sat next to me? I replied that is Jesus was sat next to me I would not only not watch 18 certificated films I wouldn’t go to church, pray or go to work. I would be so interested in talking to him, getting him to pray for me, picking his brain and getting to know him more I wouldn’t have the time or the desire for anything else.
It was not until years later that I realised the absurdity of my words. Jesus IS sat next to me! Jesus IS praying for me! Jesus has given us His Word and His Spirit in order for us to get to know him better! I can pick His brain any time I want! So why don’t I?
Jesus left the disciples with a real sense of urgency. He hinted that some would still be alive at his return. They were left knowing that they had to get the job done, there was no time to waste. What has happened to this sense of urgency. Why do we constantly put off for tomorrow what we should be doing today? We have gotten so good at putting things off that we not only put things off until tomorrow we put things off permanently. We never get around to doing what we know we should. We put off things in our teens until we are adults and then put them off until we are married and then until we are retired and then we die never having done them. Yet if we knew Jesus was coming again at the end of the year we would accomplish so much for Him. We would draw close to Him in ways we have never attempted before. We would swerve Him with new vigour and determination. We would serve others with renewed love and concern.
I remember working for major supermarket in my teens. They used to display a poster in the staff area that said “Things that need to be done in the event of an Area Inspection… Absolutely nothing!!”
The implication being that good practise should be taking place at all times and when an inspection comes nothing should change. So it should be with our lives. Whether we know Christ is coming tomorrow, not for a million years or whether he is sitting right next to us nothing should change. This is far from the truth in my life and, I’m guessing, in the lives of most other Christians as well so why is this the case and what can we all do about it?
So why is this the case?
1. We live in the present and our mind is mainly focussed on the near past, the present and the near future.
2. Our lives are more easily moulded by the physical than the spiritual. What I mean by this is that we live with an “out of sight - out of mind” mentality. We are distracted by things and those around us rather than things like God and Jesus that are out of sight. The spiritual gets pushed out by the physical.
3. We focus on God’s loving, forgiving, patient, grace filled nature. We know when we fail God will forgive us, pick us up, brush us off and give us a fresh start. We conveniently forget His Wrath and Judgement and that we are created to glorify Him.
What can we do about it?
1. Take small steps. If we don’t break the task before us into small steps we will look at the big picture be overwhelmed and therefore do nothing. There is no point in diving headlong into a spiritual change, overdo it and after a week be back where we started. Think of one thing that we could do this week to improve the situation. Once you’re mastered that move on to something else.
2. Why is our spiritual life any different to the rest of our life? If we want to lose weight, be better organised, further our career or take up a hobby we plan. We set goals, make lists, plan our diary, seek advice and so on. So it should be with our spiritual life. We need achievable goals to head towards and advice on how to achieve them. I remember Graham Cooke saying that we should always ask ourselves how our relationship with God, how our praise and worship of God and how our service to God will be better this year than it was last year. This won’t just happen we need to work on it.
3. We need to surround ourselves with people that will join us, encourage us, share our struggles on this journey. Our Christian friends are the best physical aid to our growth as Christians. We need to be there for each other, we can’t journey successfully on our own. We need to work on devices with our friends that can enable us to be that motivation for each other.
4.We need to develop a sense of urgency. Be this through prayer or conversations with friends we need to have a sense of immediacy in our lives. I used to work with someone who lived with a sense that tomorrow she could be hit by a bus. Somehow we need to find that urgency. Jesus may not return tomorrow, we may not die tomorrow but we need to learn to live as if one of those possibilities were the case.
There was quite a buzz as everyone in our group had something to contribute to this discussion. We talked about discipleship, links to be forged to mission agencies, trades to be learnt, prayer support to be set up, practical support for their six-month stay, gifts to be prayed for, the list went on. There was a sense of urgency and an eagerness to help. People really felt that it was something they could back and get their teeth into.
Then came the damming question…
Why don’t we do that for every single member of our congregations? It certainly is a challenge and one to which I shall return.
Many years ago I was challenged by a friend about the kind of films I watched. He said would I sit and watch 18 certificated violent films if Jesus was sat next to me? I replied that is Jesus was sat next to me I would not only not watch 18 certificated films I wouldn’t go to church, pray or go to work. I would be so interested in talking to him, getting him to pray for me, picking his brain and getting to know him more I wouldn’t have the time or the desire for anything else.
It was not until years later that I realised the absurdity of my words. Jesus IS sat next to me! Jesus IS praying for me! Jesus has given us His Word and His Spirit in order for us to get to know him better! I can pick His brain any time I want! So why don’t I?
Jesus left the disciples with a real sense of urgency. He hinted that some would still be alive at his return. They were left knowing that they had to get the job done, there was no time to waste. What has happened to this sense of urgency. Why do we constantly put off for tomorrow what we should be doing today? We have gotten so good at putting things off that we not only put things off until tomorrow we put things off permanently. We never get around to doing what we know we should. We put off things in our teens until we are adults and then put them off until we are married and then until we are retired and then we die never having done them. Yet if we knew Jesus was coming again at the end of the year we would accomplish so much for Him. We would draw close to Him in ways we have never attempted before. We would swerve Him with new vigour and determination. We would serve others with renewed love and concern.
I remember working for major supermarket in my teens. They used to display a poster in the staff area that said “Things that need to be done in the event of an Area Inspection… Absolutely nothing!!”
The implication being that good practise should be taking place at all times and when an inspection comes nothing should change. So it should be with our lives. Whether we know Christ is coming tomorrow, not for a million years or whether he is sitting right next to us nothing should change. This is far from the truth in my life and, I’m guessing, in the lives of most other Christians as well so why is this the case and what can we all do about it?
So why is this the case?
1. We live in the present and our mind is mainly focussed on the near past, the present and the near future.
2. Our lives are more easily moulded by the physical than the spiritual. What I mean by this is that we live with an “out of sight - out of mind” mentality. We are distracted by things and those around us rather than things like God and Jesus that are out of sight. The spiritual gets pushed out by the physical.
3. We focus on God’s loving, forgiving, patient, grace filled nature. We know when we fail God will forgive us, pick us up, brush us off and give us a fresh start. We conveniently forget His Wrath and Judgement and that we are created to glorify Him.
What can we do about it?
1. Take small steps. If we don’t break the task before us into small steps we will look at the big picture be overwhelmed and therefore do nothing. There is no point in diving headlong into a spiritual change, overdo it and after a week be back where we started. Think of one thing that we could do this week to improve the situation. Once you’re mastered that move on to something else.
2. Why is our spiritual life any different to the rest of our life? If we want to lose weight, be better organised, further our career or take up a hobby we plan. We set goals, make lists, plan our diary, seek advice and so on. So it should be with our spiritual life. We need achievable goals to head towards and advice on how to achieve them. I remember Graham Cooke saying that we should always ask ourselves how our relationship with God, how our praise and worship of God and how our service to God will be better this year than it was last year. This won’t just happen we need to work on it.
3. We need to surround ourselves with people that will join us, encourage us, share our struggles on this journey. Our Christian friends are the best physical aid to our growth as Christians. We need to be there for each other, we can’t journey successfully on our own. We need to work on devices with our friends that can enable us to be that motivation for each other.
4.We need to develop a sense of urgency. Be this through prayer or conversations with friends we need to have a sense of immediacy in our lives. I used to work with someone who lived with a sense that tomorrow she could be hit by a bus. Somehow we need to find that urgency. Jesus may not return tomorrow, we may not die tomorrow but we need to learn to live as if one of those possibilities were the case.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Holy Communion
So what’s all this about? I was sitting through a communion service the other day when suddenly the thought hit me “is this really what Jesus meant?” It was a service much like any other. There was nothing out of the ordinary. There was little in the means of any interaction between members of the congregation, it was all very formal and kid of impersonal, we could all have been in little Perspex cubicles cut off from everyone else. The minister told us we were doing it as Jesus commanded us to in remembrance of him and still all I could think was - is this really what Jesus meant?
Let’s have a little think about what Jesus could have been asking of us.
He was sharing the Passover meal with his closest followers - closest friends. He was showing them more of who he was and what they should be like, especially after his departure from them. It was a lavish feast and as part of it, as with most meals at that time, there would have been bread and wine. So this was a time of fellowship, intimacy, sharing, familiarity, comfort. If a friend of theirs had walked in they would have understood the situation. It was a culturally normal thing to be doing. They would have recognised much of the symbology used in the context of the meal. The breaking of the bread and the drinking from the cup may have been new symbols but were created out of things found at every meal table.
Was Jesus not taking two very ordinary, everyday items to say, when you eat together, when you have fellowship with each other, remember me and what I mean in your lives. Remember the extraordinary when you do the very ordinary. When, each day, you eat bread and drink wine remember the sacrifice I have made for you. In this, the sacrifice of Christ is remembered in the ordinary everyday stuff that we do and especially in our time of fellowship together. It is not something set apart, formalised, done with great pomp and ritual. Wasn’t he saying, that just as we as Christians say grace at meal times, share this symbol to place me at the centre. Did Christ really mean that we should only specifically focus on his sacrificial death once a month in a formal, quite bizarre, ritual. Or was he taking the things of everyday life and saying - when you eat, when you drink, when you meet with fellow believers - I am there with you - remember me - acknowledge my presence - commune with me, let me in on your conversations, remember that the power that raised me from death is available to you now, here, today - use it. What I did, who I am, is relevant to your everyday lives. I want to be at the centre of everything you do. I want you to remember me, remember what I stand for in your lives, not now and then but as regularly as you eat and drink. So remember when you eat and drink just as you are being fed physically, remember, I want to feed you spiritually. As you remember me I want you to remember who you are through me. What I have called you to be. So, eat and drink and remember and go and do.
Let’s have a little think about what Jesus could have been asking of us.
He was sharing the Passover meal with his closest followers - closest friends. He was showing them more of who he was and what they should be like, especially after his departure from them. It was a lavish feast and as part of it, as with most meals at that time, there would have been bread and wine. So this was a time of fellowship, intimacy, sharing, familiarity, comfort. If a friend of theirs had walked in they would have understood the situation. It was a culturally normal thing to be doing. They would have recognised much of the symbology used in the context of the meal. The breaking of the bread and the drinking from the cup may have been new symbols but were created out of things found at every meal table.
Was Jesus not taking two very ordinary, everyday items to say, when you eat together, when you have fellowship with each other, remember me and what I mean in your lives. Remember the extraordinary when you do the very ordinary. When, each day, you eat bread and drink wine remember the sacrifice I have made for you. In this, the sacrifice of Christ is remembered in the ordinary everyday stuff that we do and especially in our time of fellowship together. It is not something set apart, formalised, done with great pomp and ritual. Wasn’t he saying, that just as we as Christians say grace at meal times, share this symbol to place me at the centre. Did Christ really mean that we should only specifically focus on his sacrificial death once a month in a formal, quite bizarre, ritual. Or was he taking the things of everyday life and saying - when you eat, when you drink, when you meet with fellow believers - I am there with you - remember me - acknowledge my presence - commune with me, let me in on your conversations, remember that the power that raised me from death is available to you now, here, today - use it. What I did, who I am, is relevant to your everyday lives. I want to be at the centre of everything you do. I want you to remember me, remember what I stand for in your lives, not now and then but as regularly as you eat and drink. So remember when you eat and drink just as you are being fed physically, remember, I want to feed you spiritually. As you remember me I want you to remember who you are through me. What I have called you to be. So, eat and drink and remember and go and do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
