Greater Things!

Lynne Green President of the Baptist Union has called us to be beacons of prayer (Click here). If you would like to join me in with praying for the church and the surrounding community over the summer then please visit this blog where I'll be posting what I will be praying for each week. Together we can become a 'beacon of prayer'

Prepare: Jesus knows that we will go through tough times and times of change, . Share those times with God now.

Read:  John 14: 1-14 Click here

Reflection: The disciples are troubled, understandably since Jesus is going away and they are going to be left ‘minding the shop’. They are not worried about how they will get to heaven but how they will live on earth in the absence of Jesus. Jesus assures them that because of what he is about to do they will be able to enjoy the same relationship with God while on earth as he himself has enjoyed while on earth. As a result, they will be able to do what Jesus has been doing and continue his work. In particular, they will be able to pray with confidence and find that Jesus continues to live and work through their prayers (v 13). These words of Jesus state that God wants to do great things through us. That what we ask in line with Gods will will be done. This should revolutionise our praying. What does it mean for you to pray in the name of Jesus (v 13)?

‘You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it’ (v 14).

What’s on your heart and mind? Family? Friends? Ambitious ideas for ministry? Our world and its problems? Are these on God’s heart too? Talk with God – take him up on his promise today, praying ‘in the name’ of Jesus

Prayer Ideas

• Be still and be prepared to let God share what is on his heart for you.  Some of your requests may change – and maybe you will be the answer to some of them yourself (v 13)!

• As you walk or drive through your part of town this week pray that God would open your eyes to what he wants to see happening there.

• Listen to the worship song 'God of this city' by Chris Tomlin: Click here

Once upon a time there was a rich man...

On Sunday we talked about this parable from the Middle East (Adapted for Remembrance Sunday).

Read the story and see what wisdom you think it might offer into situations of Conflict both at home and abroad.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a rich man who lived in the deserts of the Middle East. You could tell how rich he was because of what he owned and especially how many camels belonged to him.  In fact he was so rich that he owned not 1, not 2, not 4, not 6, but 17 camels.

He had led a peaceful and prosperous life and so when he was very old and near to death he wrote his will, explaining how he intended to leave his wealth to his only son, his grandson and to his one nephew. The terms of the will were these: one half of his riches should go to his own son; one third should go to his grandchild and one ninth of his wealth should go to his nephew. This seemed fair. 

A problem dividing the inheritance

Soon after this the rich man died. Now when it came time to dividing up the camels according to the will, the three beneficiaries ran into a problem!

• If half the camels were given to the son, then he should get eight-and-a-half camels, which would mean killing a camel!
• If a third of the camels were given to the grandson, that would mean again killing a camel so he could get five and two thirds!
• And when it came to the nephew, there was no way he could get his share unless another camel was killed.

The three of them became frustrated and soon got very angry with each other. They shouted and quarrelled and argued and even threatened to go to war with one another over the camels. Secretly they began stockpiling their weapons and plotting their battle campaigns.

Nearby there lived a very poor man. You could tell he was very poor because he only had one camel. Although he was so poor and seemed to have no influence, he still felt he should do something to help. He wanted to stop war breaking out. He knew what damage it would cause not only others but him too. He wanted to be a peacemaker. But what could he do? he had so little? So little influence

A Sacrifice

He decided to offer his one and only camel into the rich man's inheritance to help sort out the problem. It was a huge sacrifice. The inheritance now consisted of 18 camels. The three sat down and did the sums.

• Half of 18 would go to the son, so he took 9 camels.
• One third of 18 would go to the grandson so he took 6 camels.
• And one ninth of 18 would go to the nephew, so he took two camels. 
• After each had taken his allotted number, to their great surprise there was one camel left over!

The poor man received his camel back! He had made peace by his willingness to give up all he had and it had made all the difference.

Some questions to think about…

• What is it that people fight over in war if not Land, Riches, Power! Similar things to those things in this story
• What are your thoughts about those preparing for battle? 
• Who would you like to be in the story?
• Who would Jesus be if he were a character in the story?
• What could this story saying to us about making peace? Can peace can only be achieved through great acts of sacrifice? (e.g.The man giving up his camel?)
• What could our country sacrifice to bring peace? 
• What about us? What would we be willing to give to bring peace? 
• What did Jesus sacrifice to bring peace? 

(Story adapted from http://www.barnabasinchurches.org.uk/remembrance-sunday-making-peace/)

I WILL STAND!

I will stand,
I will stand and say,
My God is with me,
Each and every day,
I will shout,
In-spite of doubt,
And fear and shame,
I know the Lord,
The lord who knows my name,

I cannot see where to go now,
I will be faithful, to God this I vow,
And even Though I cannot feel him close,
I shall proclaim loud and clear,
Through the tears,
For all to hear,
Jesus is Lord,
JESUS IS LORD over all,

I will cling on,
To all that God has done,
And as I cry out,
I know once more,
That as I do,
I open up the door,
To my God who reaches in,
Despite my doubt and sin,

So I stand, I stand,
I take a breath, breathe in and out,
Jesus is Lord I WILL shout.

(By Ian Ley)

Why wait?

I have spent a long time waiting recently. Waiting, is utterly annoying and frustrating. Standing waiting to get where I want to go, waiting in traffic, in bank queues, the list goes on. The estimate is that we spend six months of our life queuing.

But the fact that we do wait shows something. It shows that what we are waiting for is worth standing in a queue for, or stuck in a traffic jam for. 

Maybe there is something in this waiting that we should take hold of and make our own. That we should not necessarily enjoy the wait but we should appreciate the opportunity it gives to recognise that we are waiting because it is worth it. Whether it is waiting for a train that is delayed to go home to a loved one, whether it is waiting in a queue to get some money to go out for the night. 

Waiting give us a chance to give thanks for what we are waiting for and as a result renew our joy in life?

Waiting plays an significant part in the life of those who follow Jesus. We wait in the short term maybe for answers to prayer, or in the long term, we wait for God to put this broken world to right. Maybe God has us wait so often because it helps us realise that God is the one who is in control and not us. But as we wait we can be renewed:

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

Its not about what you have...

...but what you do with what you have

 The stories that people love are the ones where the little guy, with a really hard start in life goes on to achieve something big. Someone who has experienced hardship in childhood really makes something of themselves. Or someone starts a business on a market stall and ends up with a large corporation. Stories like those of Alan sugar or maybe Richard Branson. People who recognise that it is not about what you have, but what you do with what you have. 

As I go about my job it is way too easy to compare myself with other people and I am sure it is the same whatever work you do, whether being a mum or a banker. But comparing what we have with what other people have is pointless because it only leads to being frustrated.

We need to value who we are and not compare ourselves to others. We are each made differently, with different life experiences, education, skills and abilities. We are each unique and if we can grasp hold of this and value who we are then maybe we can each move forward into using to the best of the ability what we have and not being distracted by what others have or are doing

The Bible talks about each of us being knit together by God before we were born (Psalm 139). We are each unique. We have been knit together not to be like someone else or to achieve the same things as other people, but to do unique things in our family or our community or in the world. Comparing ourselves with other people will only end up with us squashing ourselves.

If we can grasp hold of the truth that it is not about 'what we have but what we do with what we have' we will become more accepting of ourselves and move forward as more whole and peaceful people, content with where we are in life and looking forward to seeing where our unique package of gifts and abilities take us.

Accustomed to wrong-ness

Two conversations this week have really made me think. I asked a friend who is about 30,"does where you live feel safe?" and their answer was "yes, definitely . Then later on in the week I was talking to someone older who was telling me how they didn't feel safe anymore. This person lives in the same area as the first but he was telling me that he used to leave his door unlocked but doesn't feel able to do that any more. It raised the question of whether we have got accustomed to living in a way that accepts something wrong.

We have become accustomed to having to lock our doors every time we leave the house. We have got used to a certain way of being, and a certain way of acting. Because we are so used to thinking in this way we don't realise we have got used to something that we shouldn't have to have got used to. We have forgotten that there could be a different way of being. 

When two cultures meet

It is only when two different cultures meet, you see the difference. In the case of my conversation, it was the culture of someone who was 80 and the culture of someone who is 30. But how many other things might there be that we have become accustomed to? 

Maybe if we can look again at the culture that we are part of and reexamine it. If we can see the bits that are bad and the bits that are good we can find ways of bringing about change. Maybe not on a big scale, but maybe in many little ways. If feel we always have to lock our doors, what could we do about it? 

Give yourself a culture shock

We don’t really get perspective on what’s close to us until we spend time away from it or are confronted with a different culture. maybe you could....

• Go into an area where the majority of people are from a different culture to you and if you can stop and chat to people, see what occurs to you as you do this.
• If you are a Christian, go to a different Church from what you are used to. Maybe one that is aimed at Students, or that is very traditional
• A more major culture shock....Go and volunteer in another country with an organisation like VSO (Voluntry Services Overseas)

Reflecting

Try and look at where you live with fresh eyes. Walk around your local area and ask yourself the questions:

• What is there to celebrate here, what is good where I live?
• What is not good here, what is there to dislike?
• What do I see that needs improving?
• What problems are hidden here?

Moving forward

Stop and consider what you can do to bring about change. How can you see things in a fresh way and  change things. How can you help others see things differently. Watch this video for the way one person managed to do this:

Seeing things differently

Or if you believe in God then pray God would help you find new ways to bring about the type of world that He would have us live in. A world where there are no more tears or pain (rev 21:4) or oppression (Luke4:18) and each person loves others as they love themselves (Mark 12:30-31).

'Beautiful' Bond Girls

I have become a bit of a MasterChef addict over the past few weeks. The show sets cooking challenges for a group of aspiring chefs each week and last week in one of the episodes they got together a group of 'Bond' girls, for the contestants to cook for. All women who at one point in their career had starred next to James Bond.

They showed pictures of the women in the films and all of them were roughly in their 20's or early 30's. Then in walked this group of people who were maybe 30 or 40 years older than they were when they starred in the film. And it showed quite clearly that 'beauty' as defined by TV, movies, magazines fades.The type of beauty that is aspired to by many and so emphasized in the media is very short lived. So maybe there should be a different sort of beauty we aspire to.

What does God have to say about beauty?

Do not let your adorning be external...but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.(1 Peter 3:3-4)

The wisdom in the Bible suggests that we aspire to cultivate an inner beauty, something that does last. This wisdom is not just from the Bible but many others have joined with this way of thinking:

“The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.” ― P.C. Cast
“No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

How to change the way you think?

In a country where outer beauty is so emphasized, it is going to be difficult to change how we think but here are some ideas. Which could you do?

One lady has decided not to use mirrors for a year - A radical step to try and change her perception of beauty! (Link). Or maybe...one day a week as a no mirror day?


Maybe change our view of  beauty is to forget about ourselves for a while. Take time to go and serve someone else and cultivate something of that inner beauty that Jesus and the bible speaks about.

Recognise if everyone feels bad about the way they look, it must be the standard that needs changing. 

Remind yourself each time you see an advertising board with the perfect looking person on, that they are not real, almost all pictures are digitally enhanced and remember that the people who use these pictures are trying to make us feel bad about ourselves so we  buy their products. There have been campaigns to get advertisers to label photos that have been digitally enhanced to make people more aware (Link). 

Or suggest other ways in the comments area below.....