Posted by Gareth Matthews | Posted on 30-03-2006
Category : Religion
Ok – so I am confused. I have been to a few meetings recently where we have been praying for healing for people – sometimes it is physical stuff, sometimes emotional or other stuff. But I have been really confused as to knowing what to pray for. I mean, as Christians we believe that God can heal us and wants to heal us, but then as Christians we don’t often see God doing that straight away and so we often need to persevere with it and trust God. Apparently just praying ‘God if you want to heal me, then please do’ shows a lack of faith – so what an earth am I supposed to pray?
So maybe I am overdramatising this slightly – but you get my point yeah? I think that as Christs body we really need to be able to pray effectively into the situations we see around us. Whether that be stuff that we are involved in or stuff that we are simply just ‘standing in the gap’ for. I believe that praying effectively means that we don’t say stuff like “If you want to God, do it – but if you don’t, well then don’t” – as that doesn’t really say much at all. But there are times when we pray for things and they don’t happen – yet months later we look back and agree that it was better that God did not answer our prayers directly and that it was better that we waited.
So when we see someone who is sick – what should we pray? If we pray for direct healing and it happens then maybe we will get complacent as the Isralites did when they wandered the desert and simply took for granted that bread fell out of the sky everyday. If we pray for direct healing and it doesn’t happen we could get discouraged and never pray for it again – as we don’t want to feel silly. The thing is that this didn’t seem to happen to Jesus – and when it happened to His disciples, he rebuked their lack of faith.
I guess the conclusion I am coming too is that often we will pray and ask for things that God has other ideas about. Sometimes, we can actually change God’s mind, just as Moses did. Sometimes I think God really does know best – and it is worth waiting for His plan to come to fulfilment. I wonder if it is like when a child asks something from their parents – they wouldn’t be good parents if they let their children have everything they asked for. I think that God is the same. So as for what we should ask for when we pray? Well I guess we should aim at the top – pray for healing and always keep listening to what God is saying about the situation we are praying in to.
Posted by Felix Page | Posted on 16-03-2006
Category : Religion, Society
So I read this� on Sunday.
Quickly, I jumped to the conclusionÃ? this makesÃ? us Christian types look bad…Ã?Â
….. and that IÃ? most certainlyÃ? would notÃ? give up my faith like that if anyone I loved was killed.
I would realise that God is in totalÃ? control and I would forgive the suicide bomber as Jesus forgives me…Ã? just like I would have not committed adulteryÃ? if put in David’s position;Ã? I wouldÃ? not haveÃ? run away from my calling like Jonah and I most certainly would have completelyÃ? trusted Jesus. I would haveÃ? walked on water, understood all his teachings and parables first time, I wouldÃ? not haveÃ? panicked during the storm or denied that I knewÃ? him three times…… errrrrm.
I ask myself, why� is it that when� I see other people being so openly truthful,� honest and admitting weakness in their� faith, that I get so high and mighty?
My ‘religiousÃ? mind’Ã? jumps to the conclusionsÃ? that they must not beÃ? reading their bible or praying enough… orÃ? even more outrageousÃ? ….Ã? that it is probablyÃ? becauseÃ? they don’t knowÃ? what it ‘really’ meansÃ? to loveÃ? God anway…. ouch 
On the other hand you have this� story.
Is itÃ? the secondÃ? articleÃ? that contains theÃ? ’better’ Christian? Some might say…Ã?Â
But let me ask a better question…
Who would God be more� disappointed� with? The lady who was honest, the other� lady who was honest, or my� heart, that� I decide to� judge other people with such blatant hypocrisy?
Mercy and Grace for me please……
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Posted by Felix Page | Posted on 13-03-2006
Category : Religion, Society
Recently in my day toÃ? day work with young people,Ã? I have been addressing myÃ? thinking about the approachÃ? thatÃ? we as youth workersÃ? take towards Christian events, specifically, ‘Youth’ events. I am starting toÃ? ask myself questions thatÃ? shake the very foundations of my guitar playing soul!
In some� situations, I� have� found that the attempted� answer to a lack of provision of true biblical teaching and� discipleship� for young people, is to launch an event, with lights and sound and funky tunes and games and such like, with a gospel message of some description being sneakily tied in� at the end.
Why do I feel� that sometimes� we are attempting to� trick young people into accepting Jesus?
As� followers of� Jesus,� can we� potentially� feel the need to impress young people with how hip we can be? By flashing some lights at them and hoping that they will be so delighted and emotionally convicted� with our use of a heart wrenching power point presentation that they will accept Jesus!?
Now don’t get me wrong, I met with Jesus for the first time at one of the youth events I have described, andÃ? He blew me away.Ã? I also see that in a culture where image and attitudeÃ? seem toÃ? beÃ? the only way of attracting people toÃ? follow the latest craze,Ã? is itÃ? becoming more andÃ? more common to think that JesusÃ? must want us toÃ? do the same?
I guess what itÃ? comes down to is that IÃ? am scared that to attempt toÃ? reverse the trend of declining ‘traditional’Ã? church attendancesÃ? we will look to ‘cool events’ to attract young people. I am scared that is all they’ll be, an ‘event’ in the young person’s life, with no support or true discipleship after the hype of theÃ? ’event’ has subsided.
Father, I pray that you remind us that you have the power to move� in anyway you choose to� reach your lost children.� Help us to trust in your� agenda and your� plans and not our own.
Amen.
