This week, in the midst of, still ongoing , situations, wherein I have had no other choice but to depend on God and God alone, the Lord taught me about Christian maturity. It began during a meditation on an extended reading of the Gospel for this Sunday in the Anglican church worldwide. There were lots of questions at the end, the answers to which will no doubt be revealed over time. But the questions are profound and urgent as my country continues to " bleed" both literally and metaphorically, as each time the news begins, almost inevitably the lead story is about murder.
And sometimes, not one, but two and even three in one newscast.
So the questions which occupied my mind as I read the familiar story about the " farmer who sowed seeds" were; why is it so easy for the devil to take away the word, and why are the roots of some Christians so shallow and so they fall away when trouble and persecutions comes. As the result of both situations is that many people in my country are still being help in captivity by the " evil" one and so murder and rape and lying and cheating and wanton immorality comes natural to them. And further, many children of God, children of light, fail to exert their influence on the
" madness" taking place in my country.
But the God is always ahead of us, then lead me to another passage, and there are others, on Christian maturity, which produces good fruit - leading people to repentance and a knowledge of Christ which then transforms their lives and when multiplied several times over, will result in a
a civilized nation. So both passages are very instructive if followed carefully.
THE QUESTIONS
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake......He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched , and they were withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. . Still others fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.
Then Jesus said, ' He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, ' The secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that:
" they may ever be seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven".
Then Jesus said to them, " Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty or even a hundred times what was sown.
Mark 4: 1-20.
Clearly there are other questions! But the big one is where do we fall in this story?
First of all, are we on the inside or on the outside where we are in danger of seeing and hearing what God wants for our lives and for our nation but remaining ignorant by choice? Hearing the answers to the questions that mothers and sisters cry out daily: " Why Lord". " How can we stop this madness Lord". " Lord have mercy". But ignoring them.
Secondly if we are on the inside, are we in danger of falling away, and not bearing the kind of fruit, not doing the job, for which God has places us in this nation and at this time because of troubles, persecutions, the seeking to much after wealth, overcomes by a fretful heart or getting too comfortable with the many material things of this land? If so then how do we : change course" to use a popular political term, turn around our lives and produce fruit, live lives which are pleasing to God, who will then through us " heal this land" of murder and violence and uncouth and uncivilized behaviour?
THE ANSWERS
The answer is a bit long. But this is what the Lord lead me to write and so I am being obedient.
Praise God for those who will be patient, and benefit from spending time in the " word". As this is the kind of attitude which is needed for maturity in the faith and for the healing of a nation - to be immersed in the " word".
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism,; one God and Father of all, who is over all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. That is why it says:
" When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men."
(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?. He who descended is the very one who ascended high higher than all the heavens, in order to fill he whole universe). It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors an teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. from him the whose body, joined and held together by very supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work,
So i tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live like the gentiles so, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is within them due to the hardening of their hearts( ignorance is a dangerous thing and a dangerous sign). Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on your new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put of falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer ( pay your rightful taxes) , but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen ( Be a Barnabas, an encourager not a critic always). And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person --such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath come on those who are disobedient. Therefore so not be partners with them.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ( for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But every ting exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. That is why it is said:
" Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you".
Be very careful then how you live --not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God for every ting, in the name of our Lord Jesus.
Ephesians 4:1-5:20 NIV
Now we know why some are still on the outside, out of ignorance. While some have no root, and others have had the " word" been choked. We all have a lot to repent for on the basis of this extended and very profound reading of the " word". Only then can we become mature and bear the kind of fruit that will lead to the healing our nation - as the times are indeed very evil and the craftiness and deceitfulness of mankind very prevalent. But thank God for Jesus, through whom, (and who is) the living "word" has come to set us free from all sin and empower us to live a holy life, individually and collectively as the body of Christ, by God 's Spirit and to live a life pleasing to God, the Holy One of Israel.
Amen
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Challenging Stories
The first story is that the couple who were so viciously attacked last week, and both reported by the media to have been murdered, has a bitter sweet ending. The husband survived and I spoke with him this week. He was all choked up with the joy of being alive yet devastated by the loss of his wife - and in so tragic a fashion. In fact their daughter is haunted by the memories of finding her mother all chopped to pieces, inside the very church where she and her husband worshipped faithfully for many years.
The second story is a chance encounter with a Lecturer in Social Science at our local University whose training - an Anthropologist - has given him a deep insight into the inner working of the minds of our local gangster who so ruthlessly kill and main each other and " innocent" victims, including women and children, which is a significant departure from the behaviour of criminals in our early history. At the Conference where I met him, we were both speaking to the theme
" The cost of Trauma to our nation. He spoke of social issues. I shared on Road traffic Injuries.
The scientist reminded us of the basic responses of human beings to danger - freezing, flight and fight, in that order. And then offered a reason why so many of our inner city youths had "learned" to bypass the first two and go directly to the fight mode. They were uneducated and unable to reason and to forgive. Hence they carried " belly " anger at those who had done them wrong for whatever reason for many years before avenging the wrongful deed. Hence they take preventive action, pre-emptive strikes, " murder" against those who threaten them or their families. His position is that human beings are naturally selfish and do not naturally forgive, and so when faced with hunger and privation and hurt, real or perceived, those who do not have the ability to reason will act in the violent manner which now bedevils and scars our native land.
So the answer to the problem - education in its widest application. My amazement is that this scientist, with peculiar skills, was not being employed, by our Government, in the fight against crime and violence in the nation, but was, very instructively, a consultant to the Ministry of National Security of a Foreign government. No doubt the church should be in contact with this individual.
The really important story though, is that if we are so aware of the many, varied and predictable imperfections of human beings, which result in such atrocities, why aren't governments and agencies leading the charge to get people into the church - into a family where, sin is freely admitted, repentance offered and salvation ( a new relationship with God and each other ) is assured in and through Christ Jesus. Why aren't we in the church being more successful in convincing sinful mankind ( "Since then we know what it is to fear god we try to convince men" 2 Cor.5:11) to seek God first and all other things after?
Perhaps by word and by deed we Christians have not told, nor reflected the true and powerful story accurately. For some time now the following Scripture passage has helped to answer some deep questions in my soul.
" I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, i press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things"
Philippians 3:10-15 NIV
The key issue here is the overwhelming desire to know Christ. Far too many of us are immature in our thinking and we do not really wish to know Christ but what we can get from Him. And to receive a blessing from God is a wonderful thing and it is to be cherished and spoken about, but how much more of a blessing it is to know with certainly, He who died for us all - for His sake alone.
My God, I love thee, not because
I hope for heaven thereby
Nor yet because those who love thee not
Are lost eternally.
Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me
Upon the Cross embrace
For me didst bear the nails and spear
And manifold disgrace.........
Then why, O blessed Jesu Christ,
Should I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
Nor of escaping hell.
Not from the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward;
But as thyself hast loved me,
O ever-loving Lord
So would I love thee, dearest Lord,
And in thy praise will sing
Solely because thou art my God
And my most loving King
If as church we have not learnt to seek Jesus and Him alone for his own sake, we stand guilty of betraying our Saviour and the teachings of the early church - we have become corrupted by the passing of time.
Let us read again the " attitude" of our early brothers and sisters as recorded in the letter to the Hebrews and compare it with our attitude in this " corrupt generation" - Acts 2:40
As the reality is that we have become far too comfortable with the things of this world. And it is the loss of them, and the lack thereof, in the first place, why many of us seek God in and through Christ Jesus. A long life and good health and recovery from illness. A good life with a good marriage and successful children. Good standing among our peers. Protection from evil. Financial independence. Sound wisdom and good judgement. A dependable and nice looking vehicle. A high tech television set and access to all the sports, game shows and soap operas. The now ubiquitous cell phone - who really wants to know Christ and Christ alone unless somewhere along the way we can also watch L A Lakers, Tiger Woods, Barcelona, our favourite race horse, HDTV, Usain Bolt or Rising Stars in the USA UK or Jamaica. But when " trouble comes", when disaster strikes, when suffering beckons - our very souls recoil in horror and disappointment. Most of us.
But was this so in the early church?
" And what more shall I say? I do not have the time to tell about Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection ( I want to know Christ .....and so somehow achieve resurrection from the dead). Some faced jeers and floggings, while still others were chained and put in prison. they were stoned, they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskin and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. Good had planned something better for us so that together we would be made perfect.
Hebrews 11: 32-40 NIV
And that perfection comes in the form of a person - not a belief or religion but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Time and again in the Bible this issue of suffering with Christ, in order that we may reign with Him, surfaces. Even in the New Testament reading appointed for today in my church.
" ..........The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children , then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8: 12-17 NIV.
The problem is that, as the Priest pointed out today, during a sermon featuring the familiar story of Moses and the Burning Bush and God's declaration to Moses, " take off your sandals as the place where you are standing - in God's presence - is Holy ground", both in the church and worse outside, unlike Moses we really don't fear God anymore. And so we become quite presumptuous unlike the hymn writer who wrote the famous hymn : " My God how wonderful thou art", and in particular the verse:
O how I fear thee, living god,
With deepest, tenderest fears,
And worship thee with trembling hope
And penitential tears...
This is the attitude that is sorely needed in the church today. Penitential tears, as we have not sought Jesus for Himself alone, we have not feared the Almighty God, and we have sought to manipulate the power of the Holy Spirit for our private and collective agendas. All of us.
So the real story of God's Kingdom needs to be told so that, through power, sinful mankind, unforgiving mankind, selfish mankind can find healing of body mind and spirit, and our country can be healed. A story of sacrifice and suffering with Christ. A story of dying to the desires of self and living according to the Spirit and power of Christ. A story of a life completely surrendered to Christ and Christ alone. For this world is not our lasting home, so let us not hold onto anything to tightly, but place our trust in Christ and Christ alone, who will be there to welcome us into our everlasting home one day. Where there will be no pain or tears or sorrows, no hardness of hearts, no Kobe Bryant, no Lebraun James no Lionel Messe no Kaka, no wives nor husbands but fullness of joy for the children of the resurrection in and through Christ Jesus - the Lamb who sits on the heavenly throne and who is worthy together with God, and the Holy Spirit, to receive honor and praise and worship especially on the day when we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday.
So let us indeed thank God for mercy day by day, and pray for protection from evil daily if not minutely, but most of all repent, let us shed penitentail tears for not seeking Christ and him crucified above all other things - lead us then Lord not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The second story is a chance encounter with a Lecturer in Social Science at our local University whose training - an Anthropologist - has given him a deep insight into the inner working of the minds of our local gangster who so ruthlessly kill and main each other and " innocent" victims, including women and children, which is a significant departure from the behaviour of criminals in our early history. At the Conference where I met him, we were both speaking to the theme
" The cost of Trauma to our nation. He spoke of social issues. I shared on Road traffic Injuries.
The scientist reminded us of the basic responses of human beings to danger - freezing, flight and fight, in that order. And then offered a reason why so many of our inner city youths had "learned" to bypass the first two and go directly to the fight mode. They were uneducated and unable to reason and to forgive. Hence they carried " belly " anger at those who had done them wrong for whatever reason for many years before avenging the wrongful deed. Hence they take preventive action, pre-emptive strikes, " murder" against those who threaten them or their families. His position is that human beings are naturally selfish and do not naturally forgive, and so when faced with hunger and privation and hurt, real or perceived, those who do not have the ability to reason will act in the violent manner which now bedevils and scars our native land.
So the answer to the problem - education in its widest application. My amazement is that this scientist, with peculiar skills, was not being employed, by our Government, in the fight against crime and violence in the nation, but was, very instructively, a consultant to the Ministry of National Security of a Foreign government. No doubt the church should be in contact with this individual.
The really important story though, is that if we are so aware of the many, varied and predictable imperfections of human beings, which result in such atrocities, why aren't governments and agencies leading the charge to get people into the church - into a family where, sin is freely admitted, repentance offered and salvation ( a new relationship with God and each other ) is assured in and through Christ Jesus. Why aren't we in the church being more successful in convincing sinful mankind ( "Since then we know what it is to fear god we try to convince men" 2 Cor.5:11) to seek God first and all other things after?
Perhaps by word and by deed we Christians have not told, nor reflected the true and powerful story accurately. For some time now the following Scripture passage has helped to answer some deep questions in my soul.
" I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, i press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things"
Philippians 3:10-15 NIV
The key issue here is the overwhelming desire to know Christ. Far too many of us are immature in our thinking and we do not really wish to know Christ but what we can get from Him. And to receive a blessing from God is a wonderful thing and it is to be cherished and spoken about, but how much more of a blessing it is to know with certainly, He who died for us all - for His sake alone.
My God, I love thee, not because
I hope for heaven thereby
Nor yet because those who love thee not
Are lost eternally.
Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me
Upon the Cross embrace
For me didst bear the nails and spear
And manifold disgrace.........
Then why, O blessed Jesu Christ,
Should I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
Nor of escaping hell.
Not from the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward;
But as thyself hast loved me,
O ever-loving Lord
So would I love thee, dearest Lord,
And in thy praise will sing
Solely because thou art my God
And my most loving King
If as church we have not learnt to seek Jesus and Him alone for his own sake, we stand guilty of betraying our Saviour and the teachings of the early church - we have become corrupted by the passing of time.
Let us read again the " attitude" of our early brothers and sisters as recorded in the letter to the Hebrews and compare it with our attitude in this " corrupt generation" - Acts 2:40
As the reality is that we have become far too comfortable with the things of this world. And it is the loss of them, and the lack thereof, in the first place, why many of us seek God in and through Christ Jesus. A long life and good health and recovery from illness. A good life with a good marriage and successful children. Good standing among our peers. Protection from evil. Financial independence. Sound wisdom and good judgement. A dependable and nice looking vehicle. A high tech television set and access to all the sports, game shows and soap operas. The now ubiquitous cell phone - who really wants to know Christ and Christ alone unless somewhere along the way we can also watch L A Lakers, Tiger Woods, Barcelona, our favourite race horse, HDTV, Usain Bolt or Rising Stars in the USA UK or Jamaica. But when " trouble comes", when disaster strikes, when suffering beckons - our very souls recoil in horror and disappointment. Most of us.
But was this so in the early church?
" And what more shall I say? I do not have the time to tell about Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection ( I want to know Christ .....and so somehow achieve resurrection from the dead). Some faced jeers and floggings, while still others were chained and put in prison. they were stoned, they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskin and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated -- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. Good had planned something better for us so that together we would be made perfect.
Hebrews 11: 32-40 NIV
And that perfection comes in the form of a person - not a belief or religion but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Time and again in the Bible this issue of suffering with Christ, in order that we may reign with Him, surfaces. Even in the New Testament reading appointed for today in my church.
" ..........The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children , then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8: 12-17 NIV.
The problem is that, as the Priest pointed out today, during a sermon featuring the familiar story of Moses and the Burning Bush and God's declaration to Moses, " take off your sandals as the place where you are standing - in God's presence - is Holy ground", both in the church and worse outside, unlike Moses we really don't fear God anymore. And so we become quite presumptuous unlike the hymn writer who wrote the famous hymn : " My God how wonderful thou art", and in particular the verse:
O how I fear thee, living god,
With deepest, tenderest fears,
And worship thee with trembling hope
And penitential tears...
This is the attitude that is sorely needed in the church today. Penitential tears, as we have not sought Jesus for Himself alone, we have not feared the Almighty God, and we have sought to manipulate the power of the Holy Spirit for our private and collective agendas. All of us.
So the real story of God's Kingdom needs to be told so that, through power, sinful mankind, unforgiving mankind, selfish mankind can find healing of body mind and spirit, and our country can be healed. A story of sacrifice and suffering with Christ. A story of dying to the desires of self and living according to the Spirit and power of Christ. A story of a life completely surrendered to Christ and Christ alone. For this world is not our lasting home, so let us not hold onto anything to tightly, but place our trust in Christ and Christ alone, who will be there to welcome us into our everlasting home one day. Where there will be no pain or tears or sorrows, no hardness of hearts, no Kobe Bryant, no Lebraun James no Lionel Messe no Kaka, no wives nor husbands but fullness of joy for the children of the resurrection in and through Christ Jesus - the Lamb who sits on the heavenly throne and who is worthy together with God, and the Holy Spirit, to receive honor and praise and worship especially on the day when we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday.
So let us indeed thank God for mercy day by day, and pray for protection from evil daily if not minutely, but most of all repent, let us shed penitentail tears for not seeking Christ and him crucified above all other things - lead us then Lord not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Healing Conference and the sharing of stories of God's goodness in Christ Jesus
Not even the text message from a staff member, informing me of the horrible death of two of our very dear patients, could dampen my spirits for long this weekend. I paused to mourn their senseless death, at the hands of a mad man and asked God why should a couple in their 80's, God-fearing and faithful be allowed to die like that. Why?
But that was only one story for the week. The other was a story of joy, of worship, of teaching, of fellowship, of celebrating God's goodness to us in and through Jesus Christ. And most importantly, of healing, as I spent the weekend, at the now must-go, cannot-miss, Annual Healing Conference organized by one of the Bishops of the Anglican Church. But which takes on, without apology, a Pentecostal flavour - in the sense of the constant and uninhibited praising of God, giving glory to God, giving God thanks and just lifting up the name of Jesus throughout the entire weekend.
I will try, but it is hard to describe such a wonderful event in the life of the church. One really has to be there to experience the kind of total joy that the people of God have when they are
" set free" to praise God, to hear sound, bible based, challenging, relevant, contextual and inspiring teaching; to listen to the kind of music which lifts one's spirit into the very heavens with the angels and archangels; to hear stories of healing; to be quiet and contemplative as we hear the word of God and listen to music that quiets the soul before retiring to bed; to listen to a sermon from someone whose life is totally caught up with the joy and peace of an encounter with the risen Lord; to hear his story about healing in his family; and to experience healing from the mighty touch of God working through human hands.
And so on my way back early to catch the Confirmation service at church in Kingston I found myself singing, though I can't really sing:
"Stand up and praise Him if you love my Jesus
Stand and praise Him if you love my Lord".
And one of my favourite hymns and also that of my late Bishop, friend and spiritual father of blessed memory, Herman Spence came into my mind on the way. God is really a good God teaching us about learning from each other and about balance. As why else would He, in a short period of time, and I was not even thinking about those two songs, place music from two quite different traditions in my head.:
Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God;
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
Refrain
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Refrain
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blessed;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Refrain
The Highlights of the Conference;
1. The Teaching - even though it is an Anglican production, the Conference has taken on a distinct Ecumenical flavour as , not only do members of other denominations ( Baptists, Methodists, and others) attend regularly, they participate as presenters. As was the case this year. Rev. Karl Henlin, President of the Baptist Union did three presentations; two on Saturday morning and one in the afternoon. All under the Theme; " Stories of Healing : Our Lord's and ours". The sub themes were:
a. The Healing Ministry of Jesus - an overview
b.Congregations as communities of Healing
c.Faith and Healing - What is happening here?
Take home messages for me, from the stories of healing in the bible - The Paralytic; Blind Bartimaeus; The Lepers and others.
- God made the world good, perfect, wonderful and awesome. Sin and hence the " broken-ness" of mankind and creation 'messed' up the world.
- God's plan ever since been to restore and heal and fix it back together. And so He became Incarnate - sent his Son to take on human flesh and to restore what was broken.
- Jesus did not wait for people to come to Him but He went to them
- Jesus got this message of restoration to the world in two ways.
One by telling stories. The other by dramatic events - healing. Which was more that a physical touch, but a dramatic sign, a foretaste ( that's what I remembered, why Blessed Assurance came into my mind) of the kingdom of God. So that people could see and hear God's voice speaking the abandoned, the outcast, people of " no account", and to fix up back their lives again.
-Three things marked the life of Jesus. 1. Teaching. 2. Preaching. 3. Acts of Healing - miracles
- These stories were much more than just random events in the lives of individuals, but a dramatic demonstration of God's Kingdom of wholeness and restoration, breaking into the world, giving us just a glimpse of world where there will be no more tears or sickness, where everything will be restored to it's right relationship with God - as the only source of all power and might and be worshipped for ever.
-Each act of healing then was for wholeness to return to an individual and a community and ultimately to nations. So Jesus healed the whole person in order that he or she would then go on to tell their stories to others, of the love of God, the power of God and the Compassion of God
- Therefore, congregations, where the disciples of Jesus gather for worship, and share a life together ought to be communities of healing. Where we love one another and not indulge in sins of pride and other such destructive behaviours. Where we, having been healed by God's mighty power can therefore go out and tell our stories to others - evangelism. But first healing has to take place in the community of faith - the church.
-Healing and faith is a much misunderstood issue and requires that the bible be read in context, as always and be read in the plural more - the message is not for individuals only but for the body of Christ the church-
Our faith must always be rooted in God and not in " faith". There is a profound difference. One is rooted in the purpose and will of God, and finds joys and provides hope in any circumstance, whether death or life - " Though He slay me, yet will I praise Him" - Job. The other is rooted in our strength and imagination about persistent and great prayers, an assumption that whatever we pray for " in faith", God will give us. And so when disaster strikes confusion reigns and faith in God is disturbed - not so Job and not so real Christianity. So God will sometimes provides physical and mental and emotional healing and even dramatically, but on other occasion although no such visible healing takes place, the soul is healed, to the glory of God.
2. The Sermon this morning at the Healing Service
a. Our stories need to be like those of Jesus and point to God as the only source of all power. If God can take on human flesh in Jesus Christ, then he can use anyone of us to do His divine purpose. God can strengthen us as a community of healing through grace and mercy.
b. When we tell our stories we must get rid of the doubt as the Bible says that comforter, the Holy Spirit can empower us to greater works than Jesus did.
c. We must greatly appreciate the far reaching nature of the work of Christ as he began in Palestine and his stories reached the entire world. So every time we tell our stories of the good news at home or at school, the power of God to sent these stories to far off places and touch lives is unimaginable.
d. We must tell stories of our experience with the risen Lord out of obedience to Him.
e. We must never be afraid of the cynics and the sceptics as the Holy Spirit will enable us to open doors and touch cold hearts
3. The Music - led by Rev. Grace Jervis, Antoinette Bradshaw a guest singer from a Pentecostal church who had a wonderful anointing and anointed voice and a story to tell of her " rescue " by the power of God Almighty, Harold on the keyboards and a percussion group, was simply awesome and lived up to the tradition and high expectation of the Conference. As the quality of the music has done much to enhance the worship and teaching experience.
4. The fellowship - it is difficult to describe the joy of people at one, " just praising the Lord all the daylong". But it was special and has been so for the over twenty five years that I have been attending
5. The Healing Service - over the years many persons of experienced healing of one sort or another. And they come back and tell their stories in formal and informal sessions throughout the weekend and so all of us keep coming back with an expectation and a sure hope that somehow God will find a way through the dark nights of life - even if death occurs. As one day there will be no more tears or sickness and wholeness will return to God's creation.
So we pray God that next year, more of our members, and even people from other traditions will come and see and " taste that the Lord is good". And then by God's mercy we will have less stories of death and violence and more of peace and joy. Praise the Lord. Alleluiah. Amen
But that was only one story for the week. The other was a story of joy, of worship, of teaching, of fellowship, of celebrating God's goodness to us in and through Jesus Christ. And most importantly, of healing, as I spent the weekend, at the now must-go, cannot-miss, Annual Healing Conference organized by one of the Bishops of the Anglican Church. But which takes on, without apology, a Pentecostal flavour - in the sense of the constant and uninhibited praising of God, giving glory to God, giving God thanks and just lifting up the name of Jesus throughout the entire weekend.
I will try, but it is hard to describe such a wonderful event in the life of the church. One really has to be there to experience the kind of total joy that the people of God have when they are
" set free" to praise God, to hear sound, bible based, challenging, relevant, contextual and inspiring teaching; to listen to the kind of music which lifts one's spirit into the very heavens with the angels and archangels; to hear stories of healing; to be quiet and contemplative as we hear the word of God and listen to music that quiets the soul before retiring to bed; to listen to a sermon from someone whose life is totally caught up with the joy and peace of an encounter with the risen Lord; to hear his story about healing in his family; and to experience healing from the mighty touch of God working through human hands.
And so on my way back early to catch the Confirmation service at church in Kingston I found myself singing, though I can't really sing:
"Stand up and praise Him if you love my Jesus
Stand and praise Him if you love my Lord".
And one of my favourite hymns and also that of my late Bishop, friend and spiritual father of blessed memory, Herman Spence came into my mind on the way. God is really a good God teaching us about learning from each other and about balance. As why else would He, in a short period of time, and I was not even thinking about those two songs, place music from two quite different traditions in my head.:
Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God;
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
Refrain
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my Saviour all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Refrain
Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Saviour am happy and blessed;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
Refrain
The Highlights of the Conference;
1. The Teaching - even though it is an Anglican production, the Conference has taken on a distinct Ecumenical flavour as , not only do members of other denominations ( Baptists, Methodists, and others) attend regularly, they participate as presenters. As was the case this year. Rev. Karl Henlin, President of the Baptist Union did three presentations; two on Saturday morning and one in the afternoon. All under the Theme; " Stories of Healing : Our Lord's and ours". The sub themes were:
a. The Healing Ministry of Jesus - an overview
b.Congregations as communities of Healing
c.Faith and Healing - What is happening here?
Take home messages for me, from the stories of healing in the bible - The Paralytic; Blind Bartimaeus; The Lepers and others.
- God made the world good, perfect, wonderful and awesome. Sin and hence the " broken-ness" of mankind and creation 'messed' up the world.
- God's plan ever since been to restore and heal and fix it back together. And so He became Incarnate - sent his Son to take on human flesh and to restore what was broken.
- Jesus did not wait for people to come to Him but He went to them
- Jesus got this message of restoration to the world in two ways.
One by telling stories. The other by dramatic events - healing. Which was more that a physical touch, but a dramatic sign, a foretaste ( that's what I remembered, why Blessed Assurance came into my mind) of the kingdom of God. So that people could see and hear God's voice speaking the abandoned, the outcast, people of " no account", and to fix up back their lives again.
-Three things marked the life of Jesus. 1. Teaching. 2. Preaching. 3. Acts of Healing - miracles
- These stories were much more than just random events in the lives of individuals, but a dramatic demonstration of God's Kingdom of wholeness and restoration, breaking into the world, giving us just a glimpse of world where there will be no more tears or sickness, where everything will be restored to it's right relationship with God - as the only source of all power and might and be worshipped for ever.
-Each act of healing then was for wholeness to return to an individual and a community and ultimately to nations. So Jesus healed the whole person in order that he or she would then go on to tell their stories to others, of the love of God, the power of God and the Compassion of God
- Therefore, congregations, where the disciples of Jesus gather for worship, and share a life together ought to be communities of healing. Where we love one another and not indulge in sins of pride and other such destructive behaviours. Where we, having been healed by God's mighty power can therefore go out and tell our stories to others - evangelism. But first healing has to take place in the community of faith - the church.
-Healing and faith is a much misunderstood issue and requires that the bible be read in context, as always and be read in the plural more - the message is not for individuals only but for the body of Christ the church-
Our faith must always be rooted in God and not in " faith". There is a profound difference. One is rooted in the purpose and will of God, and finds joys and provides hope in any circumstance, whether death or life - " Though He slay me, yet will I praise Him" - Job. The other is rooted in our strength and imagination about persistent and great prayers, an assumption that whatever we pray for " in faith", God will give us. And so when disaster strikes confusion reigns and faith in God is disturbed - not so Job and not so real Christianity. So God will sometimes provides physical and mental and emotional healing and even dramatically, but on other occasion although no such visible healing takes place, the soul is healed, to the glory of God.
2. The Sermon this morning at the Healing Service
a. Our stories need to be like those of Jesus and point to God as the only source of all power. If God can take on human flesh in Jesus Christ, then he can use anyone of us to do His divine purpose. God can strengthen us as a community of healing through grace and mercy.
b. When we tell our stories we must get rid of the doubt as the Bible says that comforter, the Holy Spirit can empower us to greater works than Jesus did.
c. We must greatly appreciate the far reaching nature of the work of Christ as he began in Palestine and his stories reached the entire world. So every time we tell our stories of the good news at home or at school, the power of God to sent these stories to far off places and touch lives is unimaginable.
d. We must tell stories of our experience with the risen Lord out of obedience to Him.
e. We must never be afraid of the cynics and the sceptics as the Holy Spirit will enable us to open doors and touch cold hearts
3. The Music - led by Rev. Grace Jervis, Antoinette Bradshaw a guest singer from a Pentecostal church who had a wonderful anointing and anointed voice and a story to tell of her " rescue " by the power of God Almighty, Harold on the keyboards and a percussion group, was simply awesome and lived up to the tradition and high expectation of the Conference. As the quality of the music has done much to enhance the worship and teaching experience.
4. The fellowship - it is difficult to describe the joy of people at one, " just praising the Lord all the daylong". But it was special and has been so for the over twenty five years that I have been attending
5. The Healing Service - over the years many persons of experienced healing of one sort or another. And they come back and tell their stories in formal and informal sessions throughout the weekend and so all of us keep coming back with an expectation and a sure hope that somehow God will find a way through the dark nights of life - even if death occurs. As one day there will be no more tears or sickness and wholeness will return to God's creation.
So we pray God that next year, more of our members, and even people from other traditions will come and see and " taste that the Lord is good". And then by God's mercy we will have less stories of death and violence and more of peace and joy. Praise the Lord. Alleluiah. Amen
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Discipline yourself of be disciplined
I had not seen him for a while. We used to talk about life, and about Salvation. He would listen , perhaps even with interest, but generally he was lukewarm to the idea. Then I saw him again last week and this time the story was quite different. He shared a horrifying experience of having being held up by gunmen and faced, in his mind, certain death. To the point where he wished they would just " do it" and get over with it. But God was merciful, and he was thankful and would now consider living the Christian life. But he was scared out of his mind. And so are many others who have had similar experiences in my country. And so as I thanked God for His mercy, I recalled that many others had not been so fortunate, and they had been faithful.
The lesson is that life often changes suddenly and dramatically. Both for the believer and for the non-believer. None is exempt. It all depends on God's mercy. For some it may be the news of a life threatening illness, and for others, like my friend, "your worse nightmare come true". For some it may disaster of one sort or another in the family, for others disaster in the community.
Then I went to the wedding of a young lady who is one of my many " daughters", having
" grown up in my hands" and experienced the joy of seeing two young people commit their future together in the hands of the Lord. What a joy indeed. Especially when it happens to someone you love dearly.
In the midst of these reflections about life, and its many and ever changing scenes, the Lord led me through a series of meditations and a focus on His Word, to remember that life is all about worshipping Him and praising Him first, and doing everything else after. Quite often, we forget this profound truth, as we seek to cope with life's many problems, in economically, politically and socially challenging times. Or lose our focus when caught up with the enjoyment of our sucesses and good fortune. And none of the messages was more clear than this hymn, which I
" happened upon", whilst searching for another.
Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e'en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part:
Praise in the common things of life,
Its going out and in;
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise:
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I may be and weak
So shalt thou, Lord, receive from me
The praise and glory due;
And so shall I begin on earth
The song for ever new.
So shall each fear, each fret, each care,
Be tuned into song;
And every winding of the way
The echo shall prolong.
So shall no part of day or night
Unblest or commmon be;
But all my life, in very step,
Be fellowship with thee.
The key thing here, is that no matter what life has to offer, and no matter what God decides, if we have a mind which is geared towards praising God, at all times, then then we will find " God's peace" at work in our souls in all situations. It is a sobering thought as we seek to make sense out of a world, where there are no guarantees about life anymore - if there ever was.
But there is more. We are called not just to praise God in all situtations, as a way of life, but to work for His Kingdom, first, before looking about our own affairs.
MAY 21 DIVINE REASONING OF FAITH OSWALD CHAMBERS
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
Immediately we look at these words of Jesus, we find them the most revolutionary statement humans ears ever listened to. " Seek ye first the kingdom of God." We argue the opposite way ---" I must live; I must make money; I must be clothed; I must be fed". The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God, but how we are to fit ourselves to live. Jesus reverses the order: get rightly related to God first, maintain that as the great care of your life, and never put the concern of your care on the other things.
" Take no thought for your life....." Our Lord points out the utter unreasonableness from His standpoint of being anxious over the means of living. Jesus is not saying that the man who takes thought for nothing is blessed -- that man is a fool. Jesus taught that a disciple has to make his relationship to God the dominanting concentration of his life, and be carefully careless about everything else in comparison to that. Jesus is saying " Don't make the ruling factor of your life what you shall eat and what you shall drink, but be concentrated absolutely on God."
Some people are careless over what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it; they are careless about what they wear and they suffer for it; they look like they have no business to look; they are careless about their earthly affairs, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the greatest care of life is to put the relationship to God first, and everything else second.
It is one of the severest disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses.
Finally I was very impressed with the passage of Scripture which is part of the reading for the Epistle in the Anglican church this week:
" He who has the Son has life; he who does not have he Son of God has no life".
John 5:12. NIV
Increasingly, with the fall out in global economic system, - with the attendant loss of jobs - the worlwide increase in violent crimes, the constant threat of some kind of virus, whether H1N1 or HIV, and the reality of the hurricane season or the threat of earthquakes, it is very easy and understandable for human beings, even believers, to concentrate on survival. And forget that we serve a mighty God, whose purposes are beyond our abilities to reason. Whose purpose for humankind is to bring them into a deeper and more fruitful relationship with Him in and through Jesus Christ.
Sometimes, it takes disaster or near disaster for us to come to our senses - believers or Christians. We all need this kind of reminder, according to God's own plans and assessment of our hearts - the secrets of which are known by Him alone. Not even ourselves.
These last two passages, in this context, are very instructive. Pray God that we will all take heed.
" Endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined ( and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. how much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our own good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the same time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been tained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Hebrews. 12: 7-12 NIV
" We do not want you to uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."
2 Cor. 1:8-9 NIV
The lesson is that life often changes suddenly and dramatically. Both for the believer and for the non-believer. None is exempt. It all depends on God's mercy. For some it may be the news of a life threatening illness, and for others, like my friend, "your worse nightmare come true". For some it may disaster of one sort or another in the family, for others disaster in the community.
Then I went to the wedding of a young lady who is one of my many " daughters", having
" grown up in my hands" and experienced the joy of seeing two young people commit their future together in the hands of the Lord. What a joy indeed. Especially when it happens to someone you love dearly.
In the midst of these reflections about life, and its many and ever changing scenes, the Lord led me through a series of meditations and a focus on His Word, to remember that life is all about worshipping Him and praising Him first, and doing everything else after. Quite often, we forget this profound truth, as we seek to cope with life's many problems, in economically, politically and socially challenging times. Or lose our focus when caught up with the enjoyment of our sucesses and good fortune. And none of the messages was more clear than this hymn, which I
" happened upon", whilst searching for another.
Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e'en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part:
Praise in the common things of life,
Its going out and in;
Praise in each duty and each deed,
However small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise:
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
Poor though I may be and weak
So shalt thou, Lord, receive from me
The praise and glory due;
And so shall I begin on earth
The song for ever new.
So shall each fear, each fret, each care,
Be tuned into song;
And every winding of the way
The echo shall prolong.
So shall no part of day or night
Unblest or commmon be;
But all my life, in very step,
Be fellowship with thee.
The key thing here, is that no matter what life has to offer, and no matter what God decides, if we have a mind which is geared towards praising God, at all times, then then we will find " God's peace" at work in our souls in all situations. It is a sobering thought as we seek to make sense out of a world, where there are no guarantees about life anymore - if there ever was.
But there is more. We are called not just to praise God in all situtations, as a way of life, but to work for His Kingdom, first, before looking about our own affairs.
MAY 21 DIVINE REASONING OF FAITH OSWALD CHAMBERS
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
Immediately we look at these words of Jesus, we find them the most revolutionary statement humans ears ever listened to. " Seek ye first the kingdom of God." We argue the opposite way ---" I must live; I must make money; I must be clothed; I must be fed". The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God, but how we are to fit ourselves to live. Jesus reverses the order: get rightly related to God first, maintain that as the great care of your life, and never put the concern of your care on the other things.
" Take no thought for your life....." Our Lord points out the utter unreasonableness from His standpoint of being anxious over the means of living. Jesus is not saying that the man who takes thought for nothing is blessed -- that man is a fool. Jesus taught that a disciple has to make his relationship to God the dominanting concentration of his life, and be carefully careless about everything else in comparison to that. Jesus is saying " Don't make the ruling factor of your life what you shall eat and what you shall drink, but be concentrated absolutely on God."
Some people are careless over what they eat and drink, and they suffer for it; they are careless about what they wear and they suffer for it; they look like they have no business to look; they are careless about their earthly affairs, and God holds them responsible. Jesus is saying that the greatest care of life is to put the relationship to God first, and everything else second.
It is one of the severest disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses.
Finally I was very impressed with the passage of Scripture which is part of the reading for the Epistle in the Anglican church this week:
" He who has the Son has life; he who does not have he Son of God has no life".
John 5:12. NIV
Increasingly, with the fall out in global economic system, - with the attendant loss of jobs - the worlwide increase in violent crimes, the constant threat of some kind of virus, whether H1N1 or HIV, and the reality of the hurricane season or the threat of earthquakes, it is very easy and understandable for human beings, even believers, to concentrate on survival. And forget that we serve a mighty God, whose purposes are beyond our abilities to reason. Whose purpose for humankind is to bring them into a deeper and more fruitful relationship with Him in and through Jesus Christ.
Sometimes, it takes disaster or near disaster for us to come to our senses - believers or Christians. We all need this kind of reminder, according to God's own plans and assessment of our hearts - the secrets of which are known by Him alone. Not even ourselves.
These last two passages, in this context, are very instructive. Pray God that we will all take heed.
" Endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined ( and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. how much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our own good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the same time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been tained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Hebrews. 12: 7-12 NIV
" We do not want you to uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."
2 Cor. 1:8-9 NIV
Will that gentleman rely on God, now that he been through his baptism of fire, and God was merciful? Further, and more importantly, how much more will God have to " discipline us" so that we might " share in His holiness"? Only we can answer that question by disciplining ourselves to seek the kingdom of God first.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Murder, Personal Holiness and Trust in God
It's difficult to recover when your week starts with the news of the death, the brutal killing of someone whom you have known for over twenty five years. Someone whom you have touched, held conversation with, and someone whose entire family you have come to know and to love. Someone who has become yet another victim of the senseless violence which is now so pervasive in my country. A business man, owned a thriving bakery in the heart a rural area, and on coming home one night, he was robbed, and shot several times. Yet he managed to walk away, waited on help to come, assuming that the killers had left. But they returned and without mercy pumped more bullets into a vital area. This was a good man, a helpful man, a family man whose only 'crime' was that he was successful. So we offered comfort to the family and prayed and prayed.
A couple of weeks ago another incident left me feeling numb. This time the ending was not tragic, but nonetheless highly disturbing. Another person I knew, found himself looking down a gun, held by a young man who had commandeered his car, and the memories of two of his brothers who had been captured and whose bodies had never been found, flooded into his consciousness. Understandably, though his life was spared, he plans to leave this place very soon.
Finally in my mind this week is the memory of a lady, a big woman, who did something very " out of order", in public, at her work place, and was very embarrassed to have to tell me about it. When pushed for an explanation she could only reply that " the devil made her do it".
In the midst of all this madness the Lord spoke very clearly through His Word, meditations from old Saints, and through an experience at the funeral of my friend today at a Pentecostal church. In addition I have been constantly reflecting on an Anglican ( gleaned from a discussion with an someone in high office) approach to differences of opinions on important issues within the church which states that: " On issues where people of faith differ after deep reflection and searching the Scriptures, even though there is disagreement, we should, with humility, hold the view that the Lord may have revealed something to the " other side" about which we may not yet have a full understanding".
The Word from the Lord began with some words the Psalm for the Anglican community for last week. Psalm 66: 18-19 NIV
" If I had cherished sin in my heart
the Lord would not have listened
but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer".
and some from this week's Psalm
" No king is saved by the size of his army ( sounds like Gideon's experience doesn't it?)
no warrior escapes by his great strength
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance
despite all its great strength it cannot save
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine"
Psalm 33: 16-19 NIV
The next passage that struck me was the one from the book of Acts for today:
" Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
Acts 11: 19-21.
Finally some word from a meditation on John 15:5 " Apart from me you can do nothing".
By Chris Tiegen and which passage I read on May 14, comes just before the Gospel appointed for today John 15:9-17. NIV
.....Only Jesus can live the Christian life; we can't. We can only have Him live that life in us.
And which triggered a text message to a number of persons in my cell phonebook:
" Apart from me you can do nothing". John. Only Jesus can live the Christian life. Tiegen.
So let us not try so hard and end up despondent. But rather sing and pray expectantly: Come into my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee."
Finally today I went to the funeral in a Pentecostal church to " mourn with those who mourn".
And heard the following:
That God was going to avenge the death of the man who was murdered. " Murderer, blood is on your shoulder".
That mothers, whose children were involved in wrong doing, should repent of the sins of children.
That the church, not just the local Pentecostal church, but the whole body of Christ, needs to be in agreement and pray for the healing of the nation and protection from these wicked gunmen.
That personal holiness was pre-requisite to move God into action against evil. That all people should repent of their sins now. And that failure to heed the call to repentance and forgiveness will lead to destruction.
That who God decides to protect no man can touch. That the angels of the Lord encampeth around those that fear Him. And that when God decides to take vengeance, then people are going to perish.
Therefore all who had not yet repented of their sins, should hold up their hand and ask for prayer. Many did and a loving prayer of God's love in Christ Jesus was shared.
All of this shared with the kind of confidence about the knowledge of God's will for individuals, the body of Christ - the church - and nation, in some cases direct revelation from God, in other cases discernment from Scriptures, all of which is one of the hallmarks of the Pentecostal experience when compared to my own Anglican church.
So what did I learn from the Lord in all of this.
First and foremost, that personal holiness is the most critical issue facing Christians today in a Jamaica which is rapidly being overrun by evil. No "wishy washy" Christian can call upon the power of God, with confidence, for mercy in times of trouble. For the church to be effective in its witness in all times, and especially in times of great tribulation, we need to be determined to live a holy life, in big things and in small things. Individually and collectively. No Christian who is troubled by the state of the nation can afford to allow even " a hint of sin" in their life.
" If I had cherished sin in my heart the Lord would not have listened".
Therefore we all need to be constant and immediate in living a repentant life - for the sake of the church , the nation and for our own personal situation. Sin is not to be " hugged up", left for tomorrow, or be the subject of a great debate. But rather, to be recognized, be the subject of repentance, placed at the foot of the Cross, and accept God's forgiveness.
Secondly, the battle is not ours but the Lord's. Not only in terms of " Vengeance is mine says the Lord", but that only Jesus can live the Christian life. Only He, living in us, has the power to confront evil, forgive our enemies and those that persecute us, understand the Scriptures, live a Holy life, love one other, love those that hate us. So, it is when the Spirit of God abides in us, enabling us to live a Holy life, empowering us to be obedient to, and discerning of ,the Spirit of God, that ; " The Lord's hand will be with us and a great number of people will believe and turn to God". For my country to be rescued from evil, not only will the God's vengeance take place, but our people will need to turn to the Lord again. " Lord will you not turn and quicken us, so that thy people may rejoice in thee" - a prayer which we say at church, every Sunday, in preparation for the service.
Thirdly, we need to trust God, once we are determined to live a Holy life, and be confident in his promises - in public and in private. I was very sensitive to the fact that, this evening, here was a community under siege from gunmen - the area is rampant with gunmen and people are afraid. Not many have grills. None of them would have King Alarm or Hawkeye or any security firm to respond to a break in. Very few, if any would have a licensed firearm to protect them.
Yet there was a deep trust and faith in a Mighty God, who would be with them in the war against the gunmen. " No weapon will prosper against them" the Evangelist declared. Perhaps the greatest issue we face as Christians, is a lack of faith in a mighty God. A lack of trust. A kind of Christianity which is comfortable when it has " back up". Alarm systems. A personal forearm. Quick access to good medical care. Social safety nets - at worst. And even better a healthy bank account. As a result, for too many of us, our prayers are " anemic" and general. Lacking in the conviction that God can and has promised to do " abundantly more that we can ask or imagine". Yes there is the constant reminder that we serve a suffering Christ, and that, " not mine, but thy will be done". But I sometimes wonder if we do not use those things as an excuse for not placing our whole trust in a Mighty God, in all things. It's like we have an " exit clause", as a back up, if our prayers do not work.
In recent times the Spirit of the Lord has moved me to be in prayer for the whole body of Christ daily. The Roman Catholic Church, the SDA's, the Church of God, the Pentecostals, the United Church, the Methodists, the Baptists, the Moravian church, the Anglican church, and all the Evangelical churches. I believe we can all learn from one another. I believe that the power that will be unleashed in Jamaica from a repentant church and from a church in agreement about the remedy for the state of our nation, will cause evil to flee from this country. I believe that our very existence is dependent on the faith of the church, as the situation is entirely out of hand, as far as the security forces are concerned. They cannot manage the kind of evil which is spread abroad in my nation.
But " Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind....' says the Psalmist.
Amen
A couple of weeks ago another incident left me feeling numb. This time the ending was not tragic, but nonetheless highly disturbing. Another person I knew, found himself looking down a gun, held by a young man who had commandeered his car, and the memories of two of his brothers who had been captured and whose bodies had never been found, flooded into his consciousness. Understandably, though his life was spared, he plans to leave this place very soon.
Finally in my mind this week is the memory of a lady, a big woman, who did something very " out of order", in public, at her work place, and was very embarrassed to have to tell me about it. When pushed for an explanation she could only reply that " the devil made her do it".
In the midst of all this madness the Lord spoke very clearly through His Word, meditations from old Saints, and through an experience at the funeral of my friend today at a Pentecostal church. In addition I have been constantly reflecting on an Anglican ( gleaned from a discussion with an someone in high office) approach to differences of opinions on important issues within the church which states that: " On issues where people of faith differ after deep reflection and searching the Scriptures, even though there is disagreement, we should, with humility, hold the view that the Lord may have revealed something to the " other side" about which we may not yet have a full understanding".
The Word from the Lord began with some words the Psalm for the Anglican community for last week. Psalm 66: 18-19 NIV
" If I had cherished sin in my heart
the Lord would not have listened
but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer".
and some from this week's Psalm
" No king is saved by the size of his army ( sounds like Gideon's experience doesn't it?)
no warrior escapes by his great strength
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance
despite all its great strength it cannot save
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine"
Psalm 33: 16-19 NIV
The next passage that struck me was the one from the book of Acts for today:
" Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
Acts 11: 19-21.
Finally some word from a meditation on John 15:5 " Apart from me you can do nothing".
By Chris Tiegen and which passage I read on May 14, comes just before the Gospel appointed for today John 15:9-17. NIV
.....Only Jesus can live the Christian life; we can't. We can only have Him live that life in us.
And which triggered a text message to a number of persons in my cell phonebook:
" Apart from me you can do nothing". John. Only Jesus can live the Christian life. Tiegen.
So let us not try so hard and end up despondent. But rather sing and pray expectantly: Come into my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee."
Finally today I went to the funeral in a Pentecostal church to " mourn with those who mourn".
And heard the following:
That God was going to avenge the death of the man who was murdered. " Murderer, blood is on your shoulder".
That mothers, whose children were involved in wrong doing, should repent of the sins of children.
That the church, not just the local Pentecostal church, but the whole body of Christ, needs to be in agreement and pray for the healing of the nation and protection from these wicked gunmen.
That personal holiness was pre-requisite to move God into action against evil. That all people should repent of their sins now. And that failure to heed the call to repentance and forgiveness will lead to destruction.
That who God decides to protect no man can touch. That the angels of the Lord encampeth around those that fear Him. And that when God decides to take vengeance, then people are going to perish.
Therefore all who had not yet repented of their sins, should hold up their hand and ask for prayer. Many did and a loving prayer of God's love in Christ Jesus was shared.
All of this shared with the kind of confidence about the knowledge of God's will for individuals, the body of Christ - the church - and nation, in some cases direct revelation from God, in other cases discernment from Scriptures, all of which is one of the hallmarks of the Pentecostal experience when compared to my own Anglican church.
So what did I learn from the Lord in all of this.
First and foremost, that personal holiness is the most critical issue facing Christians today in a Jamaica which is rapidly being overrun by evil. No "wishy washy" Christian can call upon the power of God, with confidence, for mercy in times of trouble. For the church to be effective in its witness in all times, and especially in times of great tribulation, we need to be determined to live a holy life, in big things and in small things. Individually and collectively. No Christian who is troubled by the state of the nation can afford to allow even " a hint of sin" in their life.
" If I had cherished sin in my heart the Lord would not have listened".
Therefore we all need to be constant and immediate in living a repentant life - for the sake of the church , the nation and for our own personal situation. Sin is not to be " hugged up", left for tomorrow, or be the subject of a great debate. But rather, to be recognized, be the subject of repentance, placed at the foot of the Cross, and accept God's forgiveness.
Secondly, the battle is not ours but the Lord's. Not only in terms of " Vengeance is mine says the Lord", but that only Jesus can live the Christian life. Only He, living in us, has the power to confront evil, forgive our enemies and those that persecute us, understand the Scriptures, live a Holy life, love one other, love those that hate us. So, it is when the Spirit of God abides in us, enabling us to live a Holy life, empowering us to be obedient to, and discerning of ,the Spirit of God, that ; " The Lord's hand will be with us and a great number of people will believe and turn to God". For my country to be rescued from evil, not only will the God's vengeance take place, but our people will need to turn to the Lord again. " Lord will you not turn and quicken us, so that thy people may rejoice in thee" - a prayer which we say at church, every Sunday, in preparation for the service.
Thirdly, we need to trust God, once we are determined to live a Holy life, and be confident in his promises - in public and in private. I was very sensitive to the fact that, this evening, here was a community under siege from gunmen - the area is rampant with gunmen and people are afraid. Not many have grills. None of them would have King Alarm or Hawkeye or any security firm to respond to a break in. Very few, if any would have a licensed firearm to protect them.
Yet there was a deep trust and faith in a Mighty God, who would be with them in the war against the gunmen. " No weapon will prosper against them" the Evangelist declared. Perhaps the greatest issue we face as Christians, is a lack of faith in a mighty God. A lack of trust. A kind of Christianity which is comfortable when it has " back up". Alarm systems. A personal forearm. Quick access to good medical care. Social safety nets - at worst. And even better a healthy bank account. As a result, for too many of us, our prayers are " anemic" and general. Lacking in the conviction that God can and has promised to do " abundantly more that we can ask or imagine". Yes there is the constant reminder that we serve a suffering Christ, and that, " not mine, but thy will be done". But I sometimes wonder if we do not use those things as an excuse for not placing our whole trust in a Mighty God, in all things. It's like we have an " exit clause", as a back up, if our prayers do not work.
In recent times the Spirit of the Lord has moved me to be in prayer for the whole body of Christ daily. The Roman Catholic Church, the SDA's, the Church of God, the Pentecostals, the United Church, the Methodists, the Baptists, the Moravian church, the Anglican church, and all the Evangelical churches. I believe we can all learn from one another. I believe that the power that will be unleashed in Jamaica from a repentant church and from a church in agreement about the remedy for the state of our nation, will cause evil to flee from this country. I believe that our very existence is dependent on the faith of the church, as the situation is entirely out of hand, as far as the security forces are concerned. They cannot manage the kind of evil which is spread abroad in my nation.
But " Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind....' says the Psalmist.
Amen
Sunday, May 10, 2009
No man is an Island: No Christian lives alone
Like many other countries across the world, Jamaica is struggling to keep afloat during in this period of economic recession. But we have bigger problems than most others in that we are one of the most indebted countries in the world - owing over one trillion Ja. dollars. We are also counted among the most violent nations in the world running in excess of 1200 deaths/year for some time now - we heard from a Northern Ireland representative to the Anglican Consultative Committee that they had suffered 4000 deaths in a decade of war.
These are very challenging problems for a small nation of 2.5m people and limited natural resources. So most sensible people, including the Prime Minister, are calling for the entire nation to pull together in order for us to " weather the Storm". "All hands must be on deck" is the mantra now! Will this clarion call for unity work? Others have issued similar challenges before. I can well recall reading how Sir Winston Churchill, in the darkest moment of British history, when the German army threatened menacingly, quoting from a Jamaican poet Claude McKay to inspire his people to defend their island home against the " axis of evil":
" If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs.
Making their mock at our accursed lot..........
So can this call for national unity by our political leader, in the face of one of the greatest challenges we have faced as a nation, really bear fruit? Only time will tell.
This week, in the spiritual realm, the Lord led me through situations, meditations and passages of Scripture, to point out the absolute need for Christians to work together in unity if His power is to flow through us to build His Kingdom. A Kingdom where Christ is not only acknowledged as Lord and Saviour (" Not everyone who says Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of God") but of equal importance, where His life is followed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in true discipleship. A life which ensures that the good news is preached to the poor, the "blind" are given sight, the "oppressed" are given respite, the " captives" set free, and the year of the Lord's favor is announced. And further, that one of the great imperatives is a church praying constantly and in unity and with deep conviction that God will act, in big things and in small things, for His Glory and honor. So there is in fact no such thing as an individual Christian out there working tirelessly to do God's work. In the secular world, people of means and those possessed of a certain intellect may, mistakenly, believe that they can survive, regardless of what happens, around them. Christians, however, have no such option.
The Meditations
YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME
Mozarabic Sacramentary ( 3rd century) From the third through the eleventh century this liturgy was used by believers inhabiting parts of the Iberian peninsula - Spain and Portugal
Jeremiah 29:10-14
FOR HOPE
Lord when we think of our own wants and desires, we are impatient to have them satisfied, yet in our hearts we know that such satisfaction will crumble to dust. Give us that spirit of hope which can enable us to want what you want, and to wait patiently on your time, in the knowledge that in you alone comes true and lasting pleasure.
FOR LOVE
O Lord, you have brought all your faithful people into a single universal family stretching across heaven and earth. Bind us together with a spiritual love which is stronger than any human love, that in serving one another we may neither count the cost nor seek reward, but think only of the common good.
( This prayer in particular spoke to our encounter, as a church family today, with members of the Anglican Consultative Council - a Primate ( the Archbishop from Australia), a professor and theologian from Madagascar, a lay member trained in dispute resolution in Northern Ireland, and a representative to the World Council of Churches in Geneva. And our discussions about Mission to the poor and needy.
FOR PEACE
O God, through the death of your Son you reconciled us one to another, drawing us together in the bond of peace. In times of trouble and adversity, may your peace sustain us, calming our fretful and anxious hearts, and saving us from all hateful and violent activities.
( This is the prayer which touched my heart in respect of the need for unity. In fact the Jeremiah passage was sent by a dear friend in response to a discussion on " troubled times", and having read it in my " Classics Devotional Bible" I found these prayers. As the peace which sustains us in times of trouble, or any other time, comes from both our reconciliation to God and to each other. So we need each other. To live together in unity as " the body of Christ", and to pray together and for each other, as the " body of Christ". Individual prayers are important, but much more so are the collective prayers of the church. And not just the prayers of the Anglican church to which I belong, but to the wider church - the Pentecostals, the Church of God, the Seventh day Adventists, the Baptists, the Methodists, the United church, the Moravian Church and the Salvation Army and all the other evangelical churches)
FOR PURITY
Make us O Lord flourish like pure, white lilies in the courts of your house, giving forth the sweet fragrance of your love to all who pass.
FOR MERCY
O God, in revealing to us the perfect spiritual beauty of your Son, you have shown the grotesque ugliness of our depravity and so filled us with remorse. We beg you, Lord to reach down to us in your mercy, re-creating us in the image of of your Son, that we may be fit to live with him in your heavenly kingdom.
THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE
After spending time on Isaiah 43: 1-4, again sent to me for reflections, I kept on reading and came across this verse which I had underlined many yeas before:
" Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob
You have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel"
Isaiah 43: 22 NIV
One of things the the Lord accused His people of, was their superficial and unsustained prayers. A problem which afflicts the " New Testament" people in today's world. We too are guilty of not " wearing out" ourselves in prayer before and for God. We have not spent long hours in diligent search for God and for the things of God. Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, when He was going through His hour of greatest need, and His disciples had fallen asleep, exhorted them to
" pray without ceasing lest you fall into temptation". As a church, as the body of Christ, we have not together, in unity, prayed without ceasing, for the release of our country from the hands of wicked men, and from the economic challenges which confront us. Private prayers, yes. But the collective prayers of the body of Christ in Jamaica - not sufficiently.
This reflection then led to the Roman chapters on the fate of the people of Israel and God's mercy. And finally:
"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not confirm any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12: 1-2 NIV
Finally the God who is always ahead of us provided this meditation today:
CHRIST TIEGEN
PUBLIC PRAYERS
"I know you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me".
John 11:42
THE WORD Too often our prayers are the private matter of our own hearts. That is, of course, where to begin. That is where God deals with us and speaks to us. But not all prayers are to be left there. The glory of God is a public matter, and nowhere on earth is God more glorified than when He is clearly at work. Miracles occur every day, but they often go unnoticed by or are considered " coincidental" because no one heard the specific prayer of someone's heart that God answered in His mercy and power. When mercy and power come, the prayer needs to have already been on the record. God is glorified as He responds to public requests.
Jesus spells this out for us. As He approaches the tomb of Lazarus, He is grateful for the public forum. He could have done this miracle with a minimum of of onlookers and in the privacy of the tomb. He could have lifted up a silent prayer, leaving people to wonder whose prayers were answered. Was Lazarus raised because of Mary and Martha's goodness? Because of Lazarus' faithfulness? Because of a huge medical misunderstanding? No, it was a divine response to Jesus' prayer. it was, in essence, yet another sign from heaven saying, " This is my Son". It was validation that God was at work in Jesus and that Jesus was doing God's work. How do we know? Because before Lazarus got us, Jesus prayed. Out loud.
IN DEED We're afraid to pray such risky prayers. That's understandable; we should only pray them after we've arrived at a position of faith and confidence in God's will and with sensitivity to his timing. But once we're there, we need to let God show His glory publicly. His demonstration of power is usually not a private, personal matter. It is more often a showcase for His mercy. When our prayers are witnessed by others and then God answers, He receives honor, and the faith of others is strengthened.
What does all of this mean for me, and for the church? This Internet ministry had been under girded by the prayer my church used for " the decade of evangelism" many years ago:
" Lord renew thy church beginning with me. Lord renew thy church that the church may renew the nation(s)"
I am convinced that a major part of the renewal of the church is the need for the renewal of its prayer life. We need to pray together. We need to pray with conviction and with power. We need to pray "big" prayers for the nation, so that the nations of the world may be renewed. We need to " offer ourselves as living sacrifices......by the renewing of our minds so that we will be able to test and know God's will". And then pray accordingly for mercy and for his honor and glory. But for our minds to be renewed, we must pray without ceasing lest we fall into temptation and not " weary ourselves before and for God". Amen
These are very challenging problems for a small nation of 2.5m people and limited natural resources. So most sensible people, including the Prime Minister, are calling for the entire nation to pull together in order for us to " weather the Storm". "All hands must be on deck" is the mantra now! Will this clarion call for unity work? Others have issued similar challenges before. I can well recall reading how Sir Winston Churchill, in the darkest moment of British history, when the German army threatened menacingly, quoting from a Jamaican poet Claude McKay to inspire his people to defend their island home against the " axis of evil":
" If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs.
Making their mock at our accursed lot..........
So can this call for national unity by our political leader, in the face of one of the greatest challenges we have faced as a nation, really bear fruit? Only time will tell.
This week, in the spiritual realm, the Lord led me through situations, meditations and passages of Scripture, to point out the absolute need for Christians to work together in unity if His power is to flow through us to build His Kingdom. A Kingdom where Christ is not only acknowledged as Lord and Saviour (" Not everyone who says Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of God") but of equal importance, where His life is followed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in true discipleship. A life which ensures that the good news is preached to the poor, the "blind" are given sight, the "oppressed" are given respite, the " captives" set free, and the year of the Lord's favor is announced. And further, that one of the great imperatives is a church praying constantly and in unity and with deep conviction that God will act, in big things and in small things, for His Glory and honor. So there is in fact no such thing as an individual Christian out there working tirelessly to do God's work. In the secular world, people of means and those possessed of a certain intellect may, mistakenly, believe that they can survive, regardless of what happens, around them. Christians, however, have no such option.
The Meditations
YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME
Mozarabic Sacramentary ( 3rd century) From the third through the eleventh century this liturgy was used by believers inhabiting parts of the Iberian peninsula - Spain and Portugal
Jeremiah 29:10-14
FOR HOPE
Lord when we think of our own wants and desires, we are impatient to have them satisfied, yet in our hearts we know that such satisfaction will crumble to dust. Give us that spirit of hope which can enable us to want what you want, and to wait patiently on your time, in the knowledge that in you alone comes true and lasting pleasure.
FOR LOVE
O Lord, you have brought all your faithful people into a single universal family stretching across heaven and earth. Bind us together with a spiritual love which is stronger than any human love, that in serving one another we may neither count the cost nor seek reward, but think only of the common good.
( This prayer in particular spoke to our encounter, as a church family today, with members of the Anglican Consultative Council - a Primate ( the Archbishop from Australia), a professor and theologian from Madagascar, a lay member trained in dispute resolution in Northern Ireland, and a representative to the World Council of Churches in Geneva. And our discussions about Mission to the poor and needy.
FOR PEACE
O God, through the death of your Son you reconciled us one to another, drawing us together in the bond of peace. In times of trouble and adversity, may your peace sustain us, calming our fretful and anxious hearts, and saving us from all hateful and violent activities.
( This is the prayer which touched my heart in respect of the need for unity. In fact the Jeremiah passage was sent by a dear friend in response to a discussion on " troubled times", and having read it in my " Classics Devotional Bible" I found these prayers. As the peace which sustains us in times of trouble, or any other time, comes from both our reconciliation to God and to each other. So we need each other. To live together in unity as " the body of Christ", and to pray together and for each other, as the " body of Christ". Individual prayers are important, but much more so are the collective prayers of the church. And not just the prayers of the Anglican church to which I belong, but to the wider church - the Pentecostals, the Church of God, the Seventh day Adventists, the Baptists, the Methodists, the United church, the Moravian Church and the Salvation Army and all the other evangelical churches)
FOR PURITY
Make us O Lord flourish like pure, white lilies in the courts of your house, giving forth the sweet fragrance of your love to all who pass.
FOR MERCY
O God, in revealing to us the perfect spiritual beauty of your Son, you have shown the grotesque ugliness of our depravity and so filled us with remorse. We beg you, Lord to reach down to us in your mercy, re-creating us in the image of of your Son, that we may be fit to live with him in your heavenly kingdom.
THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE
After spending time on Isaiah 43: 1-4, again sent to me for reflections, I kept on reading and came across this verse which I had underlined many yeas before:
" Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob
You have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel"
Isaiah 43: 22 NIV
One of things the the Lord accused His people of, was their superficial and unsustained prayers. A problem which afflicts the " New Testament" people in today's world. We too are guilty of not " wearing out" ourselves in prayer before and for God. We have not spent long hours in diligent search for God and for the things of God. Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, when He was going through His hour of greatest need, and His disciples had fallen asleep, exhorted them to
" pray without ceasing lest you fall into temptation". As a church, as the body of Christ, we have not together, in unity, prayed without ceasing, for the release of our country from the hands of wicked men, and from the economic challenges which confront us. Private prayers, yes. But the collective prayers of the body of Christ in Jamaica - not sufficiently.
This reflection then led to the Roman chapters on the fate of the people of Israel and God's mercy. And finally:
"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not confirm any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12: 1-2 NIV
Finally the God who is always ahead of us provided this meditation today:
CHRIST TIEGEN
PUBLIC PRAYERS
"I know you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me".
John 11:42
THE WORD Too often our prayers are the private matter of our own hearts. That is, of course, where to begin. That is where God deals with us and speaks to us. But not all prayers are to be left there. The glory of God is a public matter, and nowhere on earth is God more glorified than when He is clearly at work. Miracles occur every day, but they often go unnoticed by or are considered " coincidental" because no one heard the specific prayer of someone's heart that God answered in His mercy and power. When mercy and power come, the prayer needs to have already been on the record. God is glorified as He responds to public requests.
Jesus spells this out for us. As He approaches the tomb of Lazarus, He is grateful for the public forum. He could have done this miracle with a minimum of of onlookers and in the privacy of the tomb. He could have lifted up a silent prayer, leaving people to wonder whose prayers were answered. Was Lazarus raised because of Mary and Martha's goodness? Because of Lazarus' faithfulness? Because of a huge medical misunderstanding? No, it was a divine response to Jesus' prayer. it was, in essence, yet another sign from heaven saying, " This is my Son". It was validation that God was at work in Jesus and that Jesus was doing God's work. How do we know? Because before Lazarus got us, Jesus prayed. Out loud.
IN DEED We're afraid to pray such risky prayers. That's understandable; we should only pray them after we've arrived at a position of faith and confidence in God's will and with sensitivity to his timing. But once we're there, we need to let God show His glory publicly. His demonstration of power is usually not a private, personal matter. It is more often a showcase for His mercy. When our prayers are witnessed by others and then God answers, He receives honor, and the faith of others is strengthened.
What does all of this mean for me, and for the church? This Internet ministry had been under girded by the prayer my church used for " the decade of evangelism" many years ago:
" Lord renew thy church beginning with me. Lord renew thy church that the church may renew the nation(s)"
I am convinced that a major part of the renewal of the church is the need for the renewal of its prayer life. We need to pray together. We need to pray with conviction and with power. We need to pray "big" prayers for the nation, so that the nations of the world may be renewed. We need to " offer ourselves as living sacrifices......by the renewing of our minds so that we will be able to test and know God's will". And then pray accordingly for mercy and for his honor and glory. But for our minds to be renewed, we must pray without ceasing lest we fall into temptation and not " weary ourselves before and for God". Amen
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Is it well with your Soul?
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured out on the head,
running down the beard,
running down Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessings,
even life for evermore.
Psalm 133 NIV
This Psalm very aptly describes how I felt today at the special service held at our National Arena in Jamaica, where all, or many Anglicans, gathered together in celebration of the visit of the worldwide Anglican Consultative Council's visit to our island. This 150 strong group, representing Anglicans from all over the world, carries out the work of the Anglican Communion in between the synod of Bishops which meets in Lambeth UK every ten years. The Archbishop of Canterbury, and the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, delivered the sermon , while the Lord Bishop of Jamaica officiated.
The Governor General was in attendance. So too the leader of the parliamentary Opposition. Note was made of representatives of other traditions and they were warmly welcomed. The music, apologetically Caribbean featuring Bob Marley and others, sang by a mass choir and Olive Lewin's group was of an extremely high quality. our own David Aarons with a Steel Pan ensemble also featured.
This was, without any doubt, the highlight of my week, during which the Lord spoke in various ways. I am intrigued by the fact that, the very same passage ( an extended version ) which featured in this week's early morning ( always special) 4: am message, was used by the Archbishop in his very practical and "easy to understand and apply to one's life", sermon.
"On their release Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this they raised their voices together in prayer to God. " Sovereign Lord", they said, " you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David:'
Why do nations rage and the people plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.
'Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch our hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. there was no needy person among them........
Acts 4: 23-36
The Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams made the point that the lesson to be gained from reflecting on this passage of Scripture, which is very similar in nature to the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came on the disciples, is that the role of the church today is to ensure that people's needs are met. Both material and spiritual. That this is the ultimate manifestation of God's Spirit. Justice is carried out. Poverty is attacked. Health care needs are met. But even more importantly, forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope, the deepest needs of the human spirit are met. And all of this is the effective working of the Holy Spirit, who comes to us in and through the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ - the Good Shepherd. A basic uncluttered message, which the entire world needs to hear, again and again through the actions of us, the disciples of Christ, that one would expect from a man of God and a leader of men, as the Archbishop clearly is. Pray God that all of us there, and all Christians would do well to remember and carry out this mandate - to meet the needs of people both inside and outside the church. As people in Jamaica are hurting. Inside and outside the church. In the Adventist church, the Baptist; the United ; the Pentecostal; the Moravian; the Church of God; the Roman Catholic; the all the Evangelical and traditional Churches. People in Politics are hurting and filled with needs - despite our often cavalier and uncaring attitude towards them. So too the captains of Industry and commerce - they and their families are hurting and filled with unmet needs, more so spiritual than material. Even our celebrated sportsmen and women, the "high and mighty" journalists who expose everybody else's "business", and perhaps especially our highly influential entertainers. People are hurting in the ghettos, in the uptown houses, in the Bishop's Palaces, in the White House, in Palaces of Kings and Queens. People are hurting in the country areas and in the urban areas. And they are all around us -waiting or a message of hope.
No doubt these thoughts are consistent with those expressed by Martin Luther ( 1483-1546) whose meditation on " Quickening grace " I read and was moved by, this week.
Vs. Zechariah 12: 10
When a Christian begins to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, through whom he is redeemed from death and brought into his kingdom and inheritance, his heart is aglow with a flaming love of God, and he would gladly help everyone to the same experience. For he knows no greater joy than that he possesses this treasure, that he knows Christ. Therefore he goes out and teaches and exhorts other people, praising and testifying to it before all men, praying and yearning that they too might attend to such grace. That is a restless spirit enjoying the highest rest in the grace and peace of God, for it cannot be silent or idle, but is always striving with all its power to spread the honor and glory of God among the people, that others too may receive this Spirit of peace and grace and may then help with the work of prayer. For where the Spirit of grace is, he quickens our hearts, so that we can, and may, begin to pray.
The question is therefore , " how restless is our spirit" to proclaim Christ? How determined are we to live a life as disciples of Christ. How restless is our spirit to tell our friends, our children, our partners, our colleagues at work, our fellow human beings in the " war torn " areas of the city, our "sisters' who are prostitutes, our " brothers" who are gay, the next door neighbour whose dog is constantly digging up our beautifully manicured lawn or the one who plays loud and even lewd music thus disturbing our space - yes call the police, but when last have we prayed for his soul as well. Yes we must yearn for the day when in our church " the place will shake with the power of the Holy Spirit", but then what? .....For where the Spirit of grace is he quickens our hearts, so that we can, and may, begin to pray...... To pray for those in need both materially and spiritually and then become " poured out wine and broken bread" to fill their needs.
This is why the people turned up today. One lady even in bare feet - perhaps took them off to feel more comfortable. Not only to hear the Archbishop. Not only to support our Lord Bishop. Not only to share in the wonderful fellowship which is like " precious oil running down Aaron's beard". No, they, most of them poor working class people, left their homes in the dark and traveled far and wide, made many sacrifices, sat on hard benches, endured hunger, to reach early because they have a " restless spirit" in them to celebrate and proclaim Christ. "O how good and pleasant it is ( most of them there today were women) when sisters and brothers dwell together in unity".
Finally, and ultimately the question is, now and forevermore, " Is it well with your soul"?
The Lord led me to dwell on this hymn this week and inspired a text message which was sent out to many of my cell phone contacts. Is it well with your souls? My soul! Do we have a restless sprit to " tell, and be, the good news" to someone in need.
That's the final question that will matter on the day when Christ returns on the day, not of Pentecost, but of judgement. When it will not be the church that will shake, but the very stars and the heavens. And then will come the end of this world. No more Bishops. No more Kings and Queens. No more Politicians and Journalists.
No more discussions on whether or not Jesus is God or if He is the only way to God.
No more needy and suffering - for those in Christ Jesus. As one of our leaders famously declared " Argument done". So, is it well with your soul? Is it well with my soul?
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine,
for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper
Thy peace to my soul.
Refrain
But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel!
Oh voice of the Lord!Blessed hope,
blessèd rest of my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain
Amen
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured out on the head,
running down the beard,
running down Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessings,
even life for evermore.
Psalm 133 NIV
This Psalm very aptly describes how I felt today at the special service held at our National Arena in Jamaica, where all, or many Anglicans, gathered together in celebration of the visit of the worldwide Anglican Consultative Council's visit to our island. This 150 strong group, representing Anglicans from all over the world, carries out the work of the Anglican Communion in between the synod of Bishops which meets in Lambeth UK every ten years. The Archbishop of Canterbury, and the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, delivered the sermon , while the Lord Bishop of Jamaica officiated.
The Governor General was in attendance. So too the leader of the parliamentary Opposition. Note was made of representatives of other traditions and they were warmly welcomed. The music, apologetically Caribbean featuring Bob Marley and others, sang by a mass choir and Olive Lewin's group was of an extremely high quality. our own David Aarons with a Steel Pan ensemble also featured.
This was, without any doubt, the highlight of my week, during which the Lord spoke in various ways. I am intrigued by the fact that, the very same passage ( an extended version ) which featured in this week's early morning ( always special) 4: am message, was used by the Archbishop in his very practical and "easy to understand and apply to one's life", sermon.
"On their release Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this they raised their voices together in prayer to God. " Sovereign Lord", they said, " you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David:'
Why do nations rage and the people plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.
'Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch our hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. there was no needy person among them........
Acts 4: 23-36
The Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams made the point that the lesson to be gained from reflecting on this passage of Scripture, which is very similar in nature to the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came on the disciples, is that the role of the church today is to ensure that people's needs are met. Both material and spiritual. That this is the ultimate manifestation of God's Spirit. Justice is carried out. Poverty is attacked. Health care needs are met. But even more importantly, forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope, the deepest needs of the human spirit are met. And all of this is the effective working of the Holy Spirit, who comes to us in and through the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ - the Good Shepherd. A basic uncluttered message, which the entire world needs to hear, again and again through the actions of us, the disciples of Christ, that one would expect from a man of God and a leader of men, as the Archbishop clearly is. Pray God that all of us there, and all Christians would do well to remember and carry out this mandate - to meet the needs of people both inside and outside the church. As people in Jamaica are hurting. Inside and outside the church. In the Adventist church, the Baptist; the United ; the Pentecostal; the Moravian; the Church of God; the Roman Catholic; the all the Evangelical and traditional Churches. People in Politics are hurting and filled with needs - despite our often cavalier and uncaring attitude towards them. So too the captains of Industry and commerce - they and their families are hurting and filled with unmet needs, more so spiritual than material. Even our celebrated sportsmen and women, the "high and mighty" journalists who expose everybody else's "business", and perhaps especially our highly influential entertainers. People are hurting in the ghettos, in the uptown houses, in the Bishop's Palaces, in the White House, in Palaces of Kings and Queens. People are hurting in the country areas and in the urban areas. And they are all around us -waiting or a message of hope.
No doubt these thoughts are consistent with those expressed by Martin Luther ( 1483-1546) whose meditation on " Quickening grace " I read and was moved by, this week.
Vs. Zechariah 12: 10
When a Christian begins to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, through whom he is redeemed from death and brought into his kingdom and inheritance, his heart is aglow with a flaming love of God, and he would gladly help everyone to the same experience. For he knows no greater joy than that he possesses this treasure, that he knows Christ. Therefore he goes out and teaches and exhorts other people, praising and testifying to it before all men, praying and yearning that they too might attend to such grace. That is a restless spirit enjoying the highest rest in the grace and peace of God, for it cannot be silent or idle, but is always striving with all its power to spread the honor and glory of God among the people, that others too may receive this Spirit of peace and grace and may then help with the work of prayer. For where the Spirit of grace is, he quickens our hearts, so that we can, and may, begin to pray.
The question is therefore , " how restless is our spirit" to proclaim Christ? How determined are we to live a life as disciples of Christ. How restless is our spirit to tell our friends, our children, our partners, our colleagues at work, our fellow human beings in the " war torn " areas of the city, our "sisters' who are prostitutes, our " brothers" who are gay, the next door neighbour whose dog is constantly digging up our beautifully manicured lawn or the one who plays loud and even lewd music thus disturbing our space - yes call the police, but when last have we prayed for his soul as well. Yes we must yearn for the day when in our church " the place will shake with the power of the Holy Spirit", but then what? .....For where the Spirit of grace is he quickens our hearts, so that we can, and may, begin to pray...... To pray for those in need both materially and spiritually and then become " poured out wine and broken bread" to fill their needs.
This is why the people turned up today. One lady even in bare feet - perhaps took them off to feel more comfortable. Not only to hear the Archbishop. Not only to support our Lord Bishop. Not only to share in the wonderful fellowship which is like " precious oil running down Aaron's beard". No, they, most of them poor working class people, left their homes in the dark and traveled far and wide, made many sacrifices, sat on hard benches, endured hunger, to reach early because they have a " restless spirit" in them to celebrate and proclaim Christ. "O how good and pleasant it is ( most of them there today were women) when sisters and brothers dwell together in unity".
Finally, and ultimately the question is, now and forevermore, " Is it well with your soul"?
The Lord led me to dwell on this hymn this week and inspired a text message which was sent out to many of my cell phone contacts. Is it well with your souls? My soul! Do we have a restless sprit to " tell, and be, the good news" to someone in need.
That's the final question that will matter on the day when Christ returns on the day, not of Pentecost, but of judgement. When it will not be the church that will shake, but the very stars and the heavens. And then will come the end of this world. No more Bishops. No more Kings and Queens. No more Politicians and Journalists.
No more discussions on whether or not Jesus is God or if He is the only way to God.
No more needy and suffering - for those in Christ Jesus. As one of our leaders famously declared " Argument done". So, is it well with your soul? Is it well with my soul?
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
Refrain
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine,
for in death as in life Thou wilt whisper
Thy peace to my soul.
Refrain
But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel!
Oh voice of the Lord!Blessed hope,
blessèd rest of my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain
Amen
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