How awesome is God as he comes from his sanctuary— the God of Israel! He gives strength and power to his people. Praise God!
That quote comes from Psalm 68, a longish triumphant song of jubilation written by David. It also has the phrase in it "Our God is a God who saves"
One of my favourite Dylan albums is Shot of Love. The title song says "I need a shot of love, I don't need a shot of heroin to kill my disease" yes it's true that our disease or our uneasiness is one of the biggest problems that we face in life. We need to find a solution to that feeling. This is probably the reason that some of us get caught up in addictive behaviour. And we all do at times. St Augustine put it like this "'You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you'"
I wonder if you have ever read Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonegut? It's an amazing book. Very funny in places but also darkly addressing the question of war and how it impacts on the human heart. In it Vonegut gets his character Billy Pilgrim to soliquoise about religion. I haven't been able to find the exact quote,but Billy concludes that religion is a "fova" that humankind has invented to cope with life. A fova is a word that Vonegut uses which he says means "harmless lie"
When I read the book as a young man this really impacted on me and made me question my belief in Christ. It made me ask myself was I pursuing a harmless lie? The honest answer this older version of Simon can give you is that God has proved himself too many times to me for me to doubt any more. He has changed my heart through inner healing received (forgive me if I am repeating myself), and through the trickle down of other spiritual experiences. He is a God who can answer prayers in his own unique ways. Sending you people who seem almost like angels.
Today I can honestly say I am convinced that if you turn to him he will bless you. This is true even if you have never had a thought about God before in your life, or if you have been an intellectual Christian your entire life.
Martin Luther King used to talk about three conversions being necessary in a persons life. Conversion of heart, conversion of mind, conversion of wallet. The last one is about alms giving I think, but the important point is have you let God into your life at more than just an intellectual level? He wants to be in your hearts life. To perform a hearts conversion on you. So that you can feel for the things that he feels for.
He wants to come into your heart and say "today I have become your father" - turn to God, of your own free will, he is a heart changer.
For reflection:
"I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace, peace for his people and his friends, his help is near for those who fear him and his glory will dwell in our land" Psalm 85:9 Grail Translation
Dear Lord, help me to listen to you today. Bless my life and change my thinking. Open my heart to your compassion and healing love. Amen
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Live by the Spirit (7) - Our Father
The final message in this series takes us back to a Jesus team basic. This prayer was taught by Jesus to the twelve but also to his disciples and believers.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be
Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done,
on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. (traditional version)
If you have been around Christians awhile you will be aware that this prayer is part of the scenery of Church life but each time we say it we should try our best and hear ourselves saying it for the first time. Why? Because if Jesus taught us to say it daily it is important. The reason is that for the serious disciple it is an aide memoir to help us consistently remember the component parts of prayer. And so! Next time you say or hear it I want the words TEAM PRAYER to flash into your mind. And savour its wisdom and meaning. It is for meditation and for saying daily. Lets's have a look why.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven - reminds us that our life comes from God. Our dad in heaven - perfect father to us. Our dad like earthly dads is greater than us his children. Perfectly loving us (unlike our fallible earthly dads). This opening phrase reminds us where we are in the relationship. That God is greater than us. That as author of our lives he is greater and more knowledgeable about us. We should enter prayer with that thought.
Hallowed be Thy Name - These days we would say "Holy is your name" - A reminder that there is power in the God's name. As it says in the Acts of the Apostles, there is no other name by which we can be saved. As followers Jesus wants us to have that thought always before us.
Thy Kingdom come - We are here to build your Kingdom here on earth. As Kingdom builders we yearn for it's coming fully to our neighbourhood. We will do us best to enable it! Not hinder it!
Thy Will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven - There is no point ever, and I mean ever, praying for something that is against God's will. If we desire something illicit we need to ask God to convert our heart. We align ourselves with his will.
Give us this day our daily bread - We ask God to provide for our needs, through our labour, daily. Notice it doesn't mention a Porsche! Just bread.... asking God that we always have the daily necessaries.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation - A reminder to live in daily repentance. Daily we have to forgive others and receive their forgiveness. Very necessary in family life. In our immediate family and beyond where would we be without this! No long held grudges are allowed in the Christian life. If you have one lurking in your life surrender it today!
....but deliver us from evil. A reminder that God is more powerful than any evil we will encounter in our daily life. Stronger than the darkness we encounter.
For meditation:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Jesus said to them,
“When you pray, say this:
‘Father: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come.
Give us day by day the food we need.
Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
And do not bring us to hard testing.’”
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!’ And suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’ Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking. And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:1-9 GNT
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be
Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done,
on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. (traditional version)
If you have been around Christians awhile you will be aware that this prayer is part of the scenery of Church life but each time we say it we should try our best and hear ourselves saying it for the first time. Why? Because if Jesus taught us to say it daily it is important. The reason is that for the serious disciple it is an aide memoir to help us consistently remember the component parts of prayer. And so! Next time you say or hear it I want the words TEAM PRAYER to flash into your mind. And savour its wisdom and meaning. It is for meditation and for saying daily. Lets's have a look why.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven - reminds us that our life comes from God. Our dad in heaven - perfect father to us. Our dad like earthly dads is greater than us his children. Perfectly loving us (unlike our fallible earthly dads). This opening phrase reminds us where we are in the relationship. That God is greater than us. That as author of our lives he is greater and more knowledgeable about us. We should enter prayer with that thought.
Hallowed be Thy Name - These days we would say "Holy is your name" - A reminder that there is power in the God's name. As it says in the Acts of the Apostles, there is no other name by which we can be saved. As followers Jesus wants us to have that thought always before us.
Thy Kingdom come - We are here to build your Kingdom here on earth. As Kingdom builders we yearn for it's coming fully to our neighbourhood. We will do us best to enable it! Not hinder it!
Thy Will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven - There is no point ever, and I mean ever, praying for something that is against God's will. If we desire something illicit we need to ask God to convert our heart. We align ourselves with his will.
Give us this day our daily bread - We ask God to provide for our needs, through our labour, daily. Notice it doesn't mention a Porsche! Just bread.... asking God that we always have the daily necessaries.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation - A reminder to live in daily repentance. Daily we have to forgive others and receive their forgiveness. Very necessary in family life. In our immediate family and beyond where would we be without this! No long held grudges are allowed in the Christian life. If you have one lurking in your life surrender it today!
....but deliver us from evil. A reminder that God is more powerful than any evil we will encounter in our daily life. Stronger than the darkness we encounter.
For meditation:
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Jesus said to them,
“When you pray, say this:
‘Father: May your holy name be honored; may your Kingdom come.
Give us day by day the food we need.
Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
And do not bring us to hard testing.’”
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!’ And suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.’ Well, what then? I tell you that even if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking. And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:1-9 GNT
Dear Lord, open our hearts in prayer. Let your Spirit come in to teach us! Amen
Sunday, 12 August 2012
Live by the Spirit (6) - Forgive
"As water reflects a face, so one's life reflects the heart" Proverbs
It is an inevitable side effect of being human that we will hurt others and they will hurt us. Sometimes it will be deliberate and at other times it will be the sad side swipe of our own or their own incapacity to deal with life.
It's what we do with that hurt that can radically influence our life by the Spirit. Do we hold onto it letting it work it's damages on our thinking and behaviour. Or are we going to allow ourselves to be different, allow ourselves to be people of the Kingdom?
Sometimes we want to hang onto our hurt because we get an almost masochistic pleasure feeling from turning it over in our mind. And it can be convenient to blame somebody else for what is going on in our life.
We can break that cycle of despair or oppression if we choose to. Some changes are always in our power to make. And in addition there is God's life changing Holy Spirit power available in forgiveness.
Believe me I know what I am talking about. I am the son of a chronic alcoholic and for a long time I held onto (in a spirit of unforgiveness) the damages he had caused to my life. But it was through listening to God's father heart and his teaching on forgiveness, that I learnt that I could surrender that hurt and let God's grace work on it and change my inner life. It was a slow process but I have received my inner healing and I want you to know that, if you dare, you can receive yours.
I think it is essential to the life of the Spirit to ask God who we should be forgiving and also to ask who we have offended.
Once we have his answer (our heart will also help us know who) there are two actions that we need to take. Pray hard for God's grace to change your heart, so that you are given by Jesus the desire to forgive.
When you have reached the moment. Find a wise person and discuss how you can take it forward. God might give you the desire to verbalise your forgiveness but for it to be sincere we have to do it with due consideration. Years or decades may have elapsed since we received the hurt or inflicted the hurt.
I urge you to let God speak to you on this whole area. Remember he is like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Ready to come out on the road to welcome you back. Luke 15:11-32
I wish peace to your heart this day as God speaks to you. May you understand life can be different and that the Holy Spirit has healing powers for us. May the Spirit visit you as you think about this. Amen
It is an inevitable side effect of being human that we will hurt others and they will hurt us. Sometimes it will be deliberate and at other times it will be the sad side swipe of our own or their own incapacity to deal with life.
It's what we do with that hurt that can radically influence our life by the Spirit. Do we hold onto it letting it work it's damages on our thinking and behaviour. Or are we going to allow ourselves to be different, allow ourselves to be people of the Kingdom?
Sometimes we want to hang onto our hurt because we get an almost masochistic pleasure feeling from turning it over in our mind. And it can be convenient to blame somebody else for what is going on in our life.
We can break that cycle of despair or oppression if we choose to. Some changes are always in our power to make. And in addition there is God's life changing Holy Spirit power available in forgiveness.
Believe me I know what I am talking about. I am the son of a chronic alcoholic and for a long time I held onto (in a spirit of unforgiveness) the damages he had caused to my life. But it was through listening to God's father heart and his teaching on forgiveness, that I learnt that I could surrender that hurt and let God's grace work on it and change my inner life. It was a slow process but I have received my inner healing and I want you to know that, if you dare, you can receive yours.
I think it is essential to the life of the Spirit to ask God who we should be forgiving and also to ask who we have offended.
Once we have his answer (our heart will also help us know who) there are two actions that we need to take. Pray hard for God's grace to change your heart, so that you are given by Jesus the desire to forgive.
When you have reached the moment. Find a wise person and discuss how you can take it forward. God might give you the desire to verbalise your forgiveness but for it to be sincere we have to do it with due consideration. Years or decades may have elapsed since we received the hurt or inflicted the hurt.
I urge you to let God speak to you on this whole area. Remember he is like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Ready to come out on the road to welcome you back. Luke 15:11-32
I wish peace to your heart this day as God speaks to you. May you understand life can be different and that the Holy Spirit has healing powers for us. May the Spirit visit you as you think about this. Amen
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Live by the Spirit (5) - Give Up Judging
“Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you. Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands—all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.” Luke 6:37
To live by the Spirit requires us to have a different world view. This is because God does not see as man sees and so when we start to think like him an alternative way of seeing starts to be evident in our lives. When the Spirit comes and places his stamp of ownership on us he inevitably brings us to a point where something happens within, because the Holy Spirit is a heart changer when he enters our life. When the Spirit comes he brings compassion for others.. This initial conversion and subsequent conversions make us more loving. There are so many accounts in history of transformation in the lives of the Saints. John Wesley for example tells us how his heart was 'strangely warmed' by the Spirit empowering his ministry and changing his life. St Francis encountered God and changed radically. We change because we start to adopt God's view of others. Compassion pierces our heart and we see our neighbour differently. When we see as God sees we see beyond what people do, to see them with some of the kind of love that God has for them.
But after our initial Holy Spirit experience we need in our more mundane daily lives a mechanism to keep the Spirit's life at work. And that is what we have been talking about these last few weeks. Learning not to judge is an essential component part.
Our problem is that we are prone to lose the ground that we gained previously. To give it away. One of the ways we give it away quickest is when we start to have a critical spirit about other people. Criticising others is like throwing tacks into the path of our spiritual life.
But think on this! The person who helped you most in your life? What were they like? I can almost guarantee that they were someone compassionate who accepted you as you are without judging. Someone who you trusted.
In our daily living we need to think about Jesus words "The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.”
We do all this whilst we are still called daily to discern between good and evil in our choices. Choosing that which gives life.
For reflection
I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 57.2
What measure am I using?
To live by the Spirit requires us to have a different world view. This is because God does not see as man sees and so when we start to think like him an alternative way of seeing starts to be evident in our lives. When the Spirit comes and places his stamp of ownership on us he inevitably brings us to a point where something happens within, because the Holy Spirit is a heart changer when he enters our life. When the Spirit comes he brings compassion for others.. This initial conversion and subsequent conversions make us more loving. There are so many accounts in history of transformation in the lives of the Saints. John Wesley for example tells us how his heart was 'strangely warmed' by the Spirit empowering his ministry and changing his life. St Francis encountered God and changed radically. We change because we start to adopt God's view of others. Compassion pierces our heart and we see our neighbour differently. When we see as God sees we see beyond what people do, to see them with some of the kind of love that God has for them.
But after our initial Holy Spirit experience we need in our more mundane daily lives a mechanism to keep the Spirit's life at work. And that is what we have been talking about these last few weeks. Learning not to judge is an essential component part.
Our problem is that we are prone to lose the ground that we gained previously. To give it away. One of the ways we give it away quickest is when we start to have a critical spirit about other people. Criticising others is like throwing tacks into the path of our spiritual life.
But think on this! The person who helped you most in your life? What were they like? I can almost guarantee that they were someone compassionate who accepted you as you are without judging. Someone who you trusted.
In our daily living we need to think about Jesus words "The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.”
We do all this whilst we are still called daily to discern between good and evil in our choices. Choosing that which gives life.
For reflection
I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 57.2
What measure am I using?
- Who am I judging and why?
- What is the difference between judgement and discernment?
Dear Lord, I so want to be your disciple but I am so fallible. Have mercy on me a sinner, see the good in me and lift me out of my pit of despair. Instead make me a new creation, called out of darkness into your wonderful light. Help me to love without reserve and to see as you see. Amen
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Live by the Spirit (4) Asking
This weeks focus is on "Asking the Holy Spirit what he wants you to do today, sometimes it is only one thing - the Spirit rarely overwhelms us with demands"
It seems novel doesn't it? To Live by the Spirit you listen to it. So why do I find it hard to say to God - “send your Holy Spirit” or “Speak Lord your servant is listening?”
But remember "To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace." Romans 8.6
Perhaps the answer is in conquering our human nature. Again I would say this is not about turning our lives into a joyless dry landscape. The fruits of the Spirit are love, peace and joy. So it stands to reason that when we live more by the Spirit we have more and more of these things in our life. But in order to get to that stage we need to take instructions "to develop a listening ear" for the sweet sound of the Lord's voice on our life saying "this is the way walk in it." With the London 2012 Olympics playing out on our TV screens at present it is easy to draw the comparison to the training of athletes. Listening to an interview yesterday I heard described the training regime of a medal winner in swimming. In order to win you need to get in the water daily.... I would say to you "wade in the Spirit's water daily."
So in your prayer time pause and let the Spirits voice find it's way to you in the peace. Give up the idea that the dialogue with God can happen in a five minute slot that you assign to him first thing in the morning before you brush your teeth! Our God is a very demanding lover and wants more of you than that. What you need to do is give in! Let him have a say in your life - no longer block him out. To block out is from your human nature and is a way of holding God at arm's length so that he cannot influence you with his contagious loving kindness.
Of course we need to discern the Spirit's voice when we hear it. But if it is saying things that ask you to be loving, compassionate, or a builder of relationships then you must be hearing the voice of our God who saves. The one who builds and never diminishes us. The Spirit will never ask us to break or destroy, that voice is the deceiver's voice and the deceiver wants the opposite of what God wants.
You might say how will I know if I get it right? The answer is in the doing. If God tells you to phone a friend and listen to them for half an hour. If you obey and get it wrong God will still honour the fact that you obeyed.
I had the honour of meeting a sweet Benedictine monk once. His name was Fr Ian Petit and he was one of the pioneers of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. He was such a kind man. He was fond of reminding us that the scripture doesn't say "listen Lord your servant is speaking" it says "speak Lord your servant is listening."
We need to dare to believe that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives. That he wants more of us than what we currently give. That he will bless us when we take steps in faith. We need to dare to believe in the loving kindness of "the heart of our God" and let it influence our actions. You can do no wrong by trying to bless another person's life if you do it with kindness and grace.
We are all fellow pilgrims on a journey into the heart of God. I pray that I can remember that. Pilgrims share the good things that they have with others on the journey and don't hide their bread from one another.
Dear Lord, let me listen to your voice. Send again your Holy Spirit to my life, renewing it and refreshing it. Let me be gentle. Amen
It seems novel doesn't it? To Live by the Spirit you listen to it. So why do I find it hard to say to God - “send your Holy Spirit” or “Speak Lord your servant is listening?”
But remember "To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace." Romans 8.6
Perhaps the answer is in conquering our human nature. Again I would say this is not about turning our lives into a joyless dry landscape. The fruits of the Spirit are love, peace and joy. So it stands to reason that when we live more by the Spirit we have more and more of these things in our life. But in order to get to that stage we need to take instructions "to develop a listening ear" for the sweet sound of the Lord's voice on our life saying "this is the way walk in it." With the London 2012 Olympics playing out on our TV screens at present it is easy to draw the comparison to the training of athletes. Listening to an interview yesterday I heard described the training regime of a medal winner in swimming. In order to win you need to get in the water daily.... I would say to you "wade in the Spirit's water daily."
So in your prayer time pause and let the Spirits voice find it's way to you in the peace. Give up the idea that the dialogue with God can happen in a five minute slot that you assign to him first thing in the morning before you brush your teeth! Our God is a very demanding lover and wants more of you than that. What you need to do is give in! Let him have a say in your life - no longer block him out. To block out is from your human nature and is a way of holding God at arm's length so that he cannot influence you with his contagious loving kindness.
Of course we need to discern the Spirit's voice when we hear it. But if it is saying things that ask you to be loving, compassionate, or a builder of relationships then you must be hearing the voice of our God who saves. The one who builds and never diminishes us. The Spirit will never ask us to break or destroy, that voice is the deceiver's voice and the deceiver wants the opposite of what God wants.
You might say how will I know if I get it right? The answer is in the doing. If God tells you to phone a friend and listen to them for half an hour. If you obey and get it wrong God will still honour the fact that you obeyed.
I had the honour of meeting a sweet Benedictine monk once. His name was Fr Ian Petit and he was one of the pioneers of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. He was such a kind man. He was fond of reminding us that the scripture doesn't say "listen Lord your servant is speaking" it says "speak Lord your servant is listening."
We need to dare to believe that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives. That he wants more of us than what we currently give. That he will bless us when we take steps in faith. We need to dare to believe in the loving kindness of "the heart of our God" and let it influence our actions. You can do no wrong by trying to bless another person's life if you do it with kindness and grace.
We are all fellow pilgrims on a journey into the heart of God. I pray that I can remember that. Pilgrims share the good things that they have with others on the journey and don't hide their bread from one another.
Dear Lord, let me listen to your voice. Send again your Holy Spirit to my life, renewing it and refreshing it. Let me be gentle. Amen
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Live by the Spirit (3) - Time spent in the Word
Time spent in the Word feeds our spirit and challenges us.
Sometimes God uses something earthly to teach you something heavenly! I remember in the 1970s in a Café style meeting when a young woman insisted on reading the bible to me, passage after passage, eventually literally sitting on my feet whilst she did so. She prayed that the Holy Spirit would fill me with a love for the Word. Her insistence and prayer has been answered. But it amuses me that God had to use an attractive woman to get my attention so He could get the point through to me.
Now God may not be using that luxury this day with you but chances are he will find some way in your life of speaking to your heart.
Let me assure you that it is my lived experience that there is power in the Word of God, the kind of heart changing power that can only come from God himself.
For the sake of clarity I will explain that when we talk about the Word we mean "the Word of God" or the Bible. Christians believe that the bible is inspired by God - inspired in the sense that God has breathed spiritual power into it. It is a Spiritually true account of humankind's faith journey. But even more than that it tells of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. It gives us his teaching and many other messages, prayers and insights that can help us in our every day life. It is also God's instruction manual for a fulfilled and happy life.
The Word helps us to "Live by the Spirit" because it reveals to us day by day the truth about God. To know more about God is to love him more. To know him is to understand him.
To start dwelling in the Word you could experiment with praying with the scriptures open in front of you during your prayer time. What works for me is to read a passage out loud and then pausing praying for the Spirit to speak to my heart. I then re-read it looking for key phrases that speak to my heart. Quite often there are one sentence phrases in scripture that sum up the passage or open up it's meaning. Some psalms have several. SO find in your passage one of these passages and say it out loud a few times, dwelling on it's meaning for you. An example would be "where your treasure is, so too is your heart" which is from Matthew 6:19-24. Ask God what he wants to tell you in the sentence you have selected. Examine the different meanings it could have.
Sometimes God uses something earthly to teach you something heavenly! I remember in the 1970s in a Café style meeting when a young woman insisted on reading the bible to me, passage after passage, eventually literally sitting on my feet whilst she did so. She prayed that the Holy Spirit would fill me with a love for the Word. Her insistence and prayer has been answered. But it amuses me that God had to use an attractive woman to get my attention so He could get the point through to me.
Now God may not be using that luxury this day with you but chances are he will find some way in your life of speaking to your heart.
Let me assure you that it is my lived experience that there is power in the Word of God, the kind of heart changing power that can only come from God himself.
For the sake of clarity I will explain that when we talk about the Word we mean "the Word of God" or the Bible. Christians believe that the bible is inspired by God - inspired in the sense that God has breathed spiritual power into it. It is a Spiritually true account of humankind's faith journey. But even more than that it tells of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God. It gives us his teaching and many other messages, prayers and insights that can help us in our every day life. It is also God's instruction manual for a fulfilled and happy life.
The Word helps us to "Live by the Spirit" because it reveals to us day by day the truth about God. To know more about God is to love him more. To know him is to understand him.
To start dwelling in the Word you could experiment with praying with the scriptures open in front of you during your prayer time. What works for me is to read a passage out loud and then pausing praying for the Spirit to speak to my heart. I then re-read it looking for key phrases that speak to my heart. Quite often there are one sentence phrases in scripture that sum up the passage or open up it's meaning. Some psalms have several. SO find in your passage one of these passages and say it out loud a few times, dwelling on it's meaning for you. An example would be "where your treasure is, so too is your heart" which is from Matthew 6:19-24. Ask God what he wants to tell you in the sentence you have selected. Examine the different meanings it could have.
Debs and I tried this with Psalm 68 the other day and we each got different things out of it and shared with each other. It led to quite a special time of the Spirit speaking to us. I for example reflected on the phrase that says God is "a father for the fatherless" - which has been true in my life. I grew up in a household with an absent father. From time to time in my life God has provided for me men who have had a father role with me. Good men, it has to be said, who could speak in wisdom to my life. Debs had "Summon your power , God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before." Sometimes we find things that encourage us. At other times things that challenge us. At other times steps to take in faith.
May Jesus be present to you today. May your life receive the blessing of Christ - the Holy One of God. May his gentle peace be with you, refreshing and renewing you. Amen
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Live by the Spirit (2) Prayer
Last week I wrote "Regular daily prayer time changes us. Remember 'to pray is to change.'"
I promised to say more, so here it is! Let's deal with why we pray first. You can view prayer as a chance to be in God's presence. It is intentional face time with God. It begins with us choosing to come into His presence and making ourselves available. But why? To pray is to speak to God - as it says in the bible itself "Speak to God as you would a friend" (Exodus 33:11). I would add that you can speak to God as you would your very best friend. Telling Him the unedited version of your life! In doing this I find that prayer very often brings peace to me although there are times when God like a true friend, gently challenges me with the truth. I find that I do a fair amount of telling God stuff, some asking, some praising God and then there is Listening.
Starting off in prayer can be the biggest challenge for us. Yet God always wants to hear from us. The danger is that we decide to wait until we can make our prayers fully formed and in doing this consequently hold back until we think we can be elequonent. The reality is that we have to start somewhere and that somewhere can be very faltering. I remember years back in the 1970s going to a weekly prayer group and being encouraged by the leader to pray out loud. For weeks at a time all I could manage was one sentence here and there. But I began to realise that God was just as accepting of my one sentence prayers as those of the others.
To praise God is to tell him how great he is. If we look at the psalms we can see the praise language developing in a prayer context, we hear the psalmist say things like "the Lord is King, let the earth rejoice" or "blessed be the name of the Lord." Although we have heard those words many times out of habit or tradition it is good to remind ourselves that we say things like that for two reasons. The main being that it reminds us that of the two of us God is definitely greater. God is worthy to be praised because he is our creator, and he made the universe and all that is in it. The second reason for praising God is that he likes it! It's just a fact!
Why or how do we change? I think it is a combination of the Holy Spirit gradually acting on our lives and melting our hearts making them more compassionate and also through prayer and being in a relationship with Jesus we are gradually challenged to be a bit different in our outlook and behaviour.
How did prayer start? Throughout faith history, going back thousands of years in the bible there are many recorded times of prayer. For our Jewish and Christian ancestors it was just an accepted part of every day life and many of their prayers are written in the bible and can be helpful for us to read.
Here is an example of a prayer of blessing from a father to a child "May the Lord bless you and take care of you, May the Lord be kind and gracious to you: May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace" GNT Numbers 6:2
Jesus prayed as part of the natural rhythm of his life and we need to be like that too. He would say to his disciples "come away with me to a quiet place" he gave us the "Our Father" and he promised us about prayer that "where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
I call you forward into prayer and into relationship with God. May he bless you today as you read this and may his spirit gently infuse your soul with the peace of Christ and his love. When I started writing this there was really heavy rain. I stumbled across a passage which seemed to be like a word from God showing me his sense of humour but also teaching me something. "May my instruction soak in like the rain, and my discourse permeate like the dew, Like a downpour upon the grass, like a shower upon the crops. For I will sing the Lord’s renown."
May the Lord be in our hearts and in our love today. Help us to step forward O Lord in prayer. Free us to praise you and listen to you. You are worthy to be praised. Amen
I promised to say more, so here it is! Let's deal with why we pray first. You can view prayer as a chance to be in God's presence. It is intentional face time with God. It begins with us choosing to come into His presence and making ourselves available. But why? To pray is to speak to God - as it says in the bible itself "Speak to God as you would a friend" (Exodus 33:11). I would add that you can speak to God as you would your very best friend. Telling Him the unedited version of your life! In doing this I find that prayer very often brings peace to me although there are times when God like a true friend, gently challenges me with the truth. I find that I do a fair amount of telling God stuff, some asking, some praising God and then there is Listening.
Starting off in prayer can be the biggest challenge for us. Yet God always wants to hear from us. The danger is that we decide to wait until we can make our prayers fully formed and in doing this consequently hold back until we think we can be elequonent. The reality is that we have to start somewhere and that somewhere can be very faltering. I remember years back in the 1970s going to a weekly prayer group and being encouraged by the leader to pray out loud. For weeks at a time all I could manage was one sentence here and there. But I began to realise that God was just as accepting of my one sentence prayers as those of the others.
To praise God is to tell him how great he is. If we look at the psalms we can see the praise language developing in a prayer context, we hear the psalmist say things like "the Lord is King, let the earth rejoice" or "blessed be the name of the Lord." Although we have heard those words many times out of habit or tradition it is good to remind ourselves that we say things like that for two reasons. The main being that it reminds us that of the two of us God is definitely greater. God is worthy to be praised because he is our creator, and he made the universe and all that is in it. The second reason for praising God is that he likes it! It's just a fact!
Why or how do we change? I think it is a combination of the Holy Spirit gradually acting on our lives and melting our hearts making them more compassionate and also through prayer and being in a relationship with Jesus we are gradually challenged to be a bit different in our outlook and behaviour.
How did prayer start? Throughout faith history, going back thousands of years in the bible there are many recorded times of prayer. For our Jewish and Christian ancestors it was just an accepted part of every day life and many of their prayers are written in the bible and can be helpful for us to read.
Here is an example of a prayer of blessing from a father to a child "May the Lord bless you and take care of you, May the Lord be kind and gracious to you: May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace" GNT Numbers 6:2
Jesus prayed as part of the natural rhythm of his life and we need to be like that too. He would say to his disciples "come away with me to a quiet place" he gave us the "Our Father" and he promised us about prayer that "where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
I call you forward into prayer and into relationship with God. May he bless you today as you read this and may his spirit gently infuse your soul with the peace of Christ and his love. When I started writing this there was really heavy rain. I stumbled across a passage which seemed to be like a word from God showing me his sense of humour but also teaching me something. "May my instruction soak in like the rain, and my discourse permeate like the dew, Like a downpour upon the grass, like a shower upon the crops. For I will sing the Lord’s renown."
May the Lord be in our hearts and in our love today. Help us to step forward O Lord in prayer. Free us to praise you and listen to you. You are worthy to be praised. Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)