Showing posts with label Mission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mission. Show all posts

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Faith and Princes

Had a long rehearsal day today, and new it was going to be long.  I spent a large amount of the bus journey reading my new book, 'The Authentic Gospel of Jesus'. It is a fascinating book. Just to take the blurb off the back - 'Who was the real Jesus? What was the original message of the charismatic Jewish healer and moralist who changed the world? Renowned biblical scholar Geza Vermes distils a lifetime's knowledge to examine every saying attributed to Jesus, scraping aside millennia of Christian tradition and writing to return to the true teachings of the man behind the Messiah.'
The first chapter of the book examines all of his commands, and what i have realized more than ever, is how faith underpins them all; 'Your faith has healed you', - every healing he says happens because of the persons faith - their belief that it will be cured.
Of course Jesus also tells us that 'If you have so much as a mustard seed of faith, then if you ask that mountain to move, then it shall move'.
But how often do we truly put our faith in God, for this to happen?
I know that I find it so hard to let go of certain things to God. Some times I try to do things too much on my own, because - lets be honest, I don't trust him with it. Because of a lack of faith.
But actually, it's not because I don't trust HIM with it, it is because I wouldn't trust ANYBODY with it. It isn't because he is not trust worthy, rather because we don't like losing control, and we think that - possibly because of our experiences with other people, 'if you want something done, then you should do it yourself'. Maybe this is the case when it comes to people, but God is not a person.
Can we truly say that we would be able to do it better than God? This God who created the universe down to the very smallest detail?
But he doesn't know what I want! This God who knows our hearts better than we know our own first names?!! He knows what we want better than we do!
Back to the bus journey. I also spent about 10 minutes or so praying, asking what God wanted of me that day. What I kept getting was that he wanted me to step up to the mark more - that I was a Prince, and I needed to start acting like one, and believing it. It then got me thinking - isn't this the same for all of us? We are brothers of Jesus, and he is the King of Kings. Therefore, we must be Princes.
And the people we call Royalty on this planet - there is really no difference between us and them; Scientists say that there is about 2% genetic difference between every healthy human being on the planet. Therefore that is how similar we are to every prince and princess on the planet - we are 98% the same.
We are all built to be Royalty. Lets start believing it. Let’s start believing that anything is possible, because with God, it is.

This song says it all perfectly.

You Never Let Go–Matt Redman

 

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Romans 12–Love In Action

 

Tonight at Christian Union, we looked at Romans 12. I just wanted to post it here, because judging from the many different reactions I have seen from different Christians over the recent events in Japan, and with an eye on how we should be responding to these events. I also think that this verse links well to my previous comments about how we can strengthen our church family, in my previous blog, Brothers of Christ, Sons of God.

But wherever we are, and whatever we are dealing with in our lives, I think this is relevant to all of us.

Romans 12 - Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Sunday, 13 March 2011

God and the Tsunami

I just want to start with Christian Aid's prayer for the victims of the Tsunami.
Please join me in praying this prayer:

‘O God, our refuge and strength,
our help in times of trouble.
Have mercy on the lands where the earth has given way.
Have mercy on the lands where the weather has destroyed livelihoods.
Prosper those who rebuild houses,
and strengthen those who rebuild hope
so that entire communities
may face the future without fear.
Amen’

It seems to me that you can argue all you want – is God to blame, isn’t he, but is this really the time to be having this argument? All the time we are arguing, we are not helping those who need it. While we are doing this, we are missing a chance to live out the commandment of loving our neighbours, and to defend our faith by showing God in action. Lets use this as a time to show and facilitate God’s love, rather than trying to argue for it or rationalise it.
In my last blog, I was talking about the power and strength of the Church Family. Lets be praying on how this Church Family can help victims of the events of the last few days.
Just pray, and listen to God – let him tell you how you can help. Let his love shine through the situation.
It is worth remembering that a lot of the time, God’s light shines brightest through struggle: I was talking to a teacher of mine, who had lived in Africa, and had been to a church with over 50,000 members. He said that one of the reasons he just can’t ‘let go’ of Christianity, is that through God’s response to their problems through prayer, he knows that God is definitely there. He talked to me and some other classmates about seeing children being prayed for and being completely cured of AIDS, he has seen people who have had strokes, leaving them paralysed down one side of the body be prayed for and literally completely snap out of it, and again, through prayer, he has seen friends in wheelchairs instantly get up and start walking.
Undoubtedly we are going to be tested in our faith over this issue, but we just need to hold strong and keep faith that God will show through. He has proven since the beginning of time that he shows up, so have faith that he will do the same this time! One of the things mentioned in the blog about steps of faith, is that God’s word stays true no matter how we are feeling. We need to keep faith, and keep encouraging each other as a family, as well as praying for strength and guidance. Once again, I would like to point people towards the documentary about George Muller, for inspiration.
Here is an article on how a number of Christian Organisations are aiding relief work already.

Friday, 11 March 2011

Tsunami– You Can Help




Google have released a version of Friend Finder to help with the current Tsunami Crisis, wich can be found on the right - hand side of this page.
The article below has been taken from http://www.christianaid.org.uk/. If you feel God is calling to do this, assist them in helping the people effected in any way you can – one such way is by donating money through their website.

Tsunami warning for the Pacific

11 March 2011
Christian Aid and partners are holding a watching brief as a tsunami warning is issued for the Pacific region after a devastating earthquake hit Japan. At this point in time our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan which has been devastated by an earthquake earlier today.
Christian Aid partners in the Philippines are already helping to evacuate the most vulnerable coastal communities as they brace themselves for a tsunami wave at least one metre high along the east coast.
We are also watching the tsunami as it heads towards central and south America where partners are on alert and ready to respond if needed.
Support those who are suffering and those who are working hard to save lives by joining with us in prayer.

 

Pray with us

O God, our refuge and strength,
our help in times of trouble.
Have mercy on the lands where the earth has given way.
Have mercy on the lands where the weather has destroyed livelihoods.
Prosper those who rebuild houses,
and strengthen those who rebuild hope
so that entire communities
may face the future without fear.
Amen
Can I just add that we take this moment to pray the above prayer, and also to pray for guidance on what we can do to help all those effected.