Prayer fuelled by relationship with God & Bible

What is the general content of our prayers for others?

Gordon and I have been trying to combine the circumstances of the person we pray for, with their specific prayer requests and added to the mix, Scripture.

Sometimes we jot down a line or two from a Psalm or anywhere in the Bible. 

If we’ve set aside more time, we love to emulate one of Paul’s prayers.  The big result is when God connects requests in line with what comes from His own Mouth with the circumstances of those we pray for.

Two side-notes:

1. We don’t feel selfish to pray these for ourselves (we are too conscious of our need of grace!)
2. We ask boldly for healing or whatever the request is, in submission to God’s will.

You may need to take a deee-eeeep breath before you pray with our brother the Apostle, as he does in Colossians!

• When is the last time I put my hand on the back of a fellow Christian and prayed for their struggles as they also prayed for mine (James 5:16)?
• When is the last time I wept as I prayed?
• When is the last time I got down on my knees…no matter what was going on…and prayed without using robotic clichés and prayed as specifically as I possibly could and thanked Him in advance for His will (1 John 5:14)?
• What Christian does not want to learn to pray better? What Christian would claim that his prayers are as powerful as ever he would want them to be?
Let’s pursue God rather than prayer without a relationship with Him.

“A praying life isn’t something you accomplish in a year.

It is a journey of a lifetime. “

Paul Miller in his book, “A Praying Life.”

A snippet of Elihu, Job and suffering

So when you are considering consoling a grieving friend, will Elihu be of help to you? What will he teach us today? Will it be wise tenderness, will it be compassion and wisdom, like “Jesus with skin on”.


When my friend’s tears fall; when my friend is overwhelmed with grief, what can I learn from Elihu? And what should I avoid at all costs?

ELIHU, THE MAN

Some regard his contribution as long-winded and self-opinionated.  Mind you, he does mention himself a great deal. Elihu is a good listener. He let them have their say without interruption. He paid attention (Job 32:12). He obeyed protocol, but he cannot wait any longer to speak. Elihu gained our respect by waiting. Elihu is courteous and he gave the older men their place and time. Elihu seeks to give some glory to God. He takes no credit for his wisdom (Job 32:8). He is not claiming special revelation as Eliphaz did. Brash or Bold? Many see Elihu as brash, ego-centric with nothing of relevance to say. It can also be said that Elihu is bold enough to challenge the received wisdom of the day. Elihu is passionate. He must speak (Job 32:20).  He isn’t dull or merely academic. He means what he says even if he isn’t all together right. He is no dull preacher. Elihu doesn't flatter. Elihu is wordy in the extreme: it takes him 24 verses to say: “Look out, I’m going to speak”. Elihu pleads his integrity (Job 33:3) He seems conscious that he is a fellow creature and does not see himself to be any better than Job.  Knowing our own weaknesses will lead us to humility and gentleness in approaching others. Elihu is young. Elihu is angry with Job and with his three friends. He counsels from a heart filled with anger which can be dangerous.

Christian Friendship

GOOD CONVERSATION OVER A GOOD MEAL – ON…….Christian Friendship.
It’s Monday, but we cooked and feasted like Sunday.  The reason: to use the last food in our freezer and fridge and switch both appliances off for the 6 weeks we are away from Scotland, in New Zealand.


Gordon and I set the table, and agreed, our own little home-setting is any day, to us, as good as an outing to a restaurant.
Towards the end of our meal, we then read and chatted together from “The Meaning of Marriage” by Tim and Kathy Keller, continuing from page 114 on “Christian Friendship”.

CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP:

1. “Christians have all had their identity changed at the root, so now God’s calling and love are more foundational to who we are than any other thing. 
2. We also long for the same future, journey to the same horizon.
3. Any two Christians, with nothing else but a common faith in Christ, can have a robust friendship, helping each other on their journey…..”
4. Christian friends admit wrongs, offer or ask forgiveness”  (Ephesians 4:32) and take steps to reconcile when one disappoints another.”  (Matthew 5:23ff and 18:15ff)
5. Christian friends bear each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), sharing their goods and their very lives with each other if there is need. (Hebrews 13:16; Philippians 4:14; 2 Corinthians 9:13)
6. Friends encourage each other through honour and affirmation (Romans 12:3-6,10, Proverbs 27:2)
7. Christian friends are to build up each other’s faith through study and worship (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19)
8. Christian friendship is the deep oneness that develops as two people journey together toward the same destination, helping one another through the dangers and challenges along the way.”

A SUMMARY DEFINITION:

• Christian friendship is a deep developing oneness as two people, speaking the truth to one another in love, journey together to the same horizon. 
• The Christian’s horizon is high and far and sure – it is nothing less than “the day of Christ” and what we will be like when we finally see Him face to face.

1 John 3:2,3
²Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

A few sermon notes on John and Jesus' Baptisms

Snow, church and baptisms in Edinburgh

It’s Sunday morning, Edinburgh North, 13 January and time to get our bus to Charlotte Chapel, Rose Street Edinburgh.


We take the 3.5 mile journey into town.  The newspaper has to be fetched, come rain, come snow.


Our bus #29 bobs along the cobbled streets and turn up Frederick Street and first views of the Castle perched on the volcanic outcrop.





We walk the couple of blocks down Rose Street – looking forward to be with our Church family, hear God’s Word and worship with others.





Baptisms, testimonies, encouragements, great music to help us lift our voices and hearts in worship!



We walked past this tempting little place and found real food for our souls!

The London Tube

The iconic London Tube is… 150 years old!


Londoners take shelter in the London Underground during the Blitz. Credit: PA Wire

PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS If only we kept a bullet-point journal of all our journeys on the tube…. If you've been in or near London. you are sure to have interesting memories of the Tube as the gateway to London: Here are some of ours: · Gordon’s daily commute to work. · Share travel-thrills with friends. · Our son, Michael's first holiday with us in the UK.  We ate ice-cream on the train – quickly before it melted! · Michael's painful trips to Royal Marsden, on the purple Piccadilly Line Kensington. Our daughters & husbands who prop up our sleeping grandchildren on the tube train at the end of an exciting day in the city. Our first view of Big Ben from the Westminster’s exit. Feeling and hearing the rumble of an underground train as we enjoy a church service at All Souls, Langham. The bitter and the sweet of the Tube: The London underground - where someone asks around for a cork to open a bottle of wine on the way to Ascot horse races - many hats and the odd top hat. The Tube stations where people took shelter during World Wars. The Tube where many stand or sit and read, and eye-contact is taboo. The Tube stations where terrorist bombs exploded and killed in July 2005.  And the same people who never greeted helped each other and even saved lives. Despite all the moans.........what an efficient network! A last PS – memory regarding…..armpits. Armpits are the pits on a stinking hot day on an overcrowded Tube train.  Bless the commuter who sprays herself or himself to smell "ooh la la".  Now that will get you eye-contact and a grin, with the option to avoid and still get away with it! Viva the London Underground! Are you interested in seeing a small selection of key London Tube photographs taken through the years?

What if my faith "leans towards" unbelief?

1)  WHAT IF I AM LACKING FAITH?

1. What if I just cannot muster enough faith? What when my faith is everything but spontaneous?
2. What if it takes great effort to receive God’s promises, because my divided heart is hesitant or discouraged?
3. How can I come to experience God’s promises in the Bible  “not only in word but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
4. How can I too have a rock-solid confidence in my God so that I can say like Moses: "I'll go anywhere and do anything if You are there" (Exodus 33:14–15).
5. How can I avoid a useless faith (see the book of James)

The purpose of this post is not to attempt to answer these questions, but to gently prod you and me towards realistic looks at our personal faith-levels.

Hebrews 11: 1-3  “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.
³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

What counts is quality of faith rather than quantity of faith …………….and the object of our faith.

 
WHAT T DO WITH THE INNER CONFLICT BETWEEN UNBELIEF AND FAITH?
 
1)  Come to God with your S.O.S  “……help my unbelief!”

2)  Take heart.  When our believing runs out, God’s loving runs on. (Quote Ann Voskamp). Ann is a best-selling author.

3)  Open a Bible and start to read, say one of the first chapters in the New Testament.  

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.! (Romans 10:17)

4)  And, if your heart is soft, rather than wrestling down the truth,  you can be pretty much assured of the beginnings of a new confident trust and resultant security: “

Psalm 125: 1 Those who trust (lean on, confidently trust) in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken (secure) but endures forever.

5)  Get to know God’s great and precious promises (Google this) and know what you hope for:

Psalm 130: 7 “……….. put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

Please, it at all possible time-wise, have a listen to Tim Keller on faith. 
Here Tim Keller attempts to answer questions on faith in the book of Romans and studying the journeys of several prominent intellectual atheists as they came to the Christian faith.

Praying and Parenting

Prayer for our children or our grandchildren: (…………. = (insert name)

• That ………… will grasp something of the wonder that …………(insert name) is loved and wanted by Christ Jesus.
• That Christ’s love will keep……………….’s footing in life.
• That ……………………….will be rooted in the love of God in Christ.
• That ……………………… will be humble and trusting in success and confident in the Father’s love.
• Pray about every visual – in media and life – burned on the mind of …………

Seven brief parent reminders for a quick refresher in the midst of busy parenting.

Affection and Love. We can never show our children too much love. I have yet to meet the adult who tells me, “My parents just showed me too much love!”Shower your children with affection. May they know our warm embraces and messy kisses! Parents can’t “force” their  children to be faithful, less sinful, or more righteous. That isn’t our responsibility. Our responsibility is to be faithful in our own charge as parents. You can hinder or help their sensitivity to Christ, and maturing in character, but you can’t guarantee or determine it, secure it, or determine it. Keep Your Eyes Forward: What will others think? Our children are disobedient and we find ourselves cringing inside and looking to see if anyone else was watching. Will they think my children are disobedient or bad? Will they think I am a terrible parent? Stop! We aren’t parenting for others’ approval. We are parenting for the good of our children to the glory of God. Run in the Right Direction: God knows a thing or two about wayward children, so let’s seek Him who has an understanding ear. What grace we need in parenting and what grace is given in Christ. May we run to Him with our frustrations, struggles, trials, and failures. He should be our first Counsellor and Comforter. Parent on Your Knees. Oh for an army of praying parents - praying for and with our children–not just before bed–not just over meals, but throughout the day and for all their lives. Show and Tell: Let us ask for their forgiveness when we have been irritable or have yelled at them, talk much about Christ, show grace, be quick to point out God’s greatness, sing a few hymns/choruses in the shower! Lastly and Most Importantly, Count the Blessings: Let’s thank God everyday for our children. Even on those hard days, find the blessings amidst the chaos! Count every blessing that comes as a parent. Let it fill us with wonder that the Lord of the Universe has given us the privilege of having these little souls under our care. What a blessing. Thinking on these may even help us get out of that foetal position

I took some of these pointers from Christian Parenting Reminders.