Christ's wobbly table.

If I may quote Martin Luther King: If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures.

Many people go through life enduring their job from day to day and treat it as a means to earn a living – and no more. And as time goes by, so does the pride they have in their work, and inevitably their standard of performance deteriorates.

Whatever job we have to do in life, whether it is an influential position of power or a carpenter like Christ, it is our duty, surely, to give it all the attention and skill that we possess. Can you imagine Jesus making a table with a wobbly leg?

No!

Then why should we? Whatever task we have been given to do – let’s make sure it is not wobbly.

Temptations.

Not much is spoken about the devil these days. When’s the last time you heard speaking of him in a sermon on Sunday?

His job description is easy: keep people away from God.

And by keeping silent about him, is not the church unwittingly complicit in the devil’s attempts to make us believe he does not really exist?

Our world is full of temptations to lure us away from God and all it takes is a slight diversion of attention, a momentary loss of focus, and we can so easily drift away.

Jesus warned us about this, for He too was tempted, several times. He prayed to His Father as we should too, using His words:

“And lead us not into temptation … but deliver us from evil.”

Donate a Prayer

Just before He was arrested, Jesus prayed for His disciples. (John 17).

Then He prayed for us – yes, you and me. He said:

“I pray not only for them, (the disciples), but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” John 17: 20-21.

Prayer is the greatest gift we can give each other. It shows generosity of spirit, it shows caring, and it shows love on our part for someone else.

Please pray for me.

Please pray for others.

For every comment below promising or requesting a prayer; I promise to pray for the intention mentioned.

God bless.

Christ's Prayer for us.

Just before He was arrested, Jesus prayed for His disciples. (John 17).

Then He prayed for us – yes, you and me. He said:

“I pray not only for them, (the disciples), but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” John 17: 20-21.

Two thousand years later Christians are still disagreeing with each other. The more we dispute on minor things the more we throw doubts and confusion on the Christian message to this world.

The missing logic.

There’s some logic which sometimes escapes us Christians.

We say we believe in God. We also believe in Jesus His only Son. And … hesitantly perhaps … we also believe in the Holy Spirit.

I say hesitantly because most people believe even though they might not know what to believe. And that’s not always their fault.

Sure, they’ve heard what happened at Pentecost, and how the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles. They’ve heard of the Annunciation and the Virgin Birth, and the Holy Spirit appearing at Christ’s baptism.

But apart from these and other stories about the Holy Spirit, people are left with a void, a mystery, something or someone to believe in without question. To them, the Holy Spirit is confined to the pages of the Bible, to be believed in and not dwelt upon for too long.

The important questions are rarely asked:

Is the Holy Spirit relevant to them today? Is the Holy Spirit here now?

Of course He is. And what is more, He is here to guide us throughout our lives, through difficult times and good ones, showing us the way, and teaching us what to say and do.

Yet many people, Christians in every other respect, are unaware of this fact.

Perhaps because they don’t understand, they have not been told, they have not been taught. Perhaps too because of their confusion in accepting and comprehending the Holy Spirit in-dwelling within ourselves.

Why is the church sometimes so reticent in proclaiming this – the greatest news and central message of our Christianity?

God, Christ, is/are with us right now. Through the Holy Spirit.

Inner Style.

Switch on the TV, pick up any magazine, and you’d be surprised how many programs and articles there are devoted to improving our modern life styles.

How to improve one’s home, one’s garden, how to dress better, have a more stylish car, lose weight, be a better cook, etc … etc … The list seems endless on how we can become more sophisticated and more accepted in today’s stylish society.

But I haven’t seen anything said about how we can improve ourselves, our inner being, our very soul.

Nothing said about how we can become kinder to others, more generous, loving, attentive, caring, and so on.

Too difficult I suppose. And not as instant as putting a bit of paint on one’s face or wearing some fancy clothes.

But then, Sunday sermons are supposed to cater for our inner selves, aren’t they?

OK, if you happen to go to church. But don’t put something like that on TV … it won’t attract the viewers my dear … nor sell copy in magazines!

God Relations.

Intelligence and knowledge increases from one generation to the next. What you and I know, our parents didn’t. And what our parents knew, their parents and grandparents didn’t.

The same applies to relationships and the nature of relationships, I suppose.

Some people today have a personal relationship with God and His Son Jesus. They are not just characters in a book, or in the Bible. They are living Beings with whom we communicate and who communicate with us, help us, guide us, and protect us throughout our lives in preparation for the next.

These are no glib words; but a true reality for some people today.

Others, however, believe in God alright, but He is a little distant. Sitting somewhere up there in the clouds, on His throne, looking at us, and ready to help us when we ask Him. They go to church alright, but to them at least, their relationship with their maker is not a close one. Full of reverence, of course, and perhaps tinged with a modicum of fear.

Our grandparents' sermons were full of God’s wrath, fire and brimstone, and the dread of eternal damnation in hell.

But today, a sermon like that would not go down too well – would it? It would probably not be taken too seriously by church attendants, never mind those who don’t go to church.

So how do we communicate God, Jesus, Heaven and hell in today’s sophisticated modern world full of cynicism, bitterness and bile?

Some describe hell as being in the complete absence of God for eternity. But then, there are those in this state right now, in this very lifetime; so how can they see or understand the concept of hell, never mind fear it?

Perhaps one way is to accentuate the positive in a personal and close relationship with God. Not then … in Heaven … sometime in the future.

But here and now, today, and every day.

Through the Holy Spirit. The third person in the Holy Trinity. The gift. As described by St Hilary of Poitiers, (Bishop in the 3rd Century AD). Sent to us by Jesus after He was raised to Heaven.

Not much is said about the Holy Spirit in church these days.

Yet He is here, living, loving, and ready to guide us in this life, in preparation for an eternity with God, in the next.

If we let Him.

And these are no glib words either ... but meant quite literally.

Moaner Lisa.

I asked a sick old man how he was doing, just as a conversation starter. He replied: I can’t complain ... there are so many others worse than me.

This set me thinking. When we complain about our situation, it may be a big thing, or a small matter ... a little grumble ... you know what I mean ... what are we doing exactly?

We are opening the door one tiny little bit for the devil to sneak in and play havoc with our thoughts. One tiny complaint leads to another ... and soon we become a Moaner Lisa !!!

If our Walk with Christ is to be perfect we should trust Him in everything. So the slightest complaint, grumble or moan is a hint that perhaps we don’t trust Him as much as we should or as much as we claim.

Don't panic ... don't panic !!!

Crises will happen to us from time to time. God permits them for His own purpose and for His own reasons.

Our natural reaction may be to panic.

Our un-natural reaction is to remain calm. Take a deep breath and trust in God.

At times of crisis we need to proceed slowly, in the conscious knowledge that God is with us and will protect us.

I repeat: in the conscious knowledge.

We should speak our truth quietly, as the opportunity arises, and as the Holy Spirit guides us.

We should avoid needless talk, or needless worries and concerns. But nurture a peace in our hearts that comes from Him, who cares and will protect us. If we allow Him to.

Our prayers should be focused on His will, and His plans for us in this critical situation; in the sure belief that He will see us through it just as He has brought us to it.

Twisting the Word of God.

Once upon a time Jesus was in a synagogue on the Sabbath; and there was a man with a paralysed hand. (Matthew 12:9–14).

Some people wanted to accuse Him of doing wrong and asked Him whether it is against their Law to heal (work) on the Sabbath.

Jesus asked them if any of them had a sheep which fell into a deep hole on the Sabbath whether they would rescue it. Then to prove His point, He healed the man with the paralysed hand.

So what is Jesus saying here?

Is He encouraging people to break one of the Ten Commandments?

Of course not.

Jesus is saying: Beware of those who would use God’s Word for their own ends. They would either take it literally or miss-quote it to suit their own argument and to their benefit.

God has given you a brain. Use it.

It is there to help you discern what is right and what is wrong. The Commandments are there to guide you through life. Not to be used by you and interpreted in such a way so that you can twist their meaning for your own selfish needs.