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This Easter, 24-7 Prayer are running some mission teams to various parts of the globe. The trip to Ibiza caught my eye (mainly as I have friends who have just moved there and it will be sunny), but I didn't feel particularly drawn to it in as much as I wouldn't have minded if I didn't go. So anyway, on Saturday, my friend Graham and I were chatting in the kitchen about the trip and I said something like 'Well, I think I'll only go if someone gives me the money (as I don't have it)' to which Graham replied, 'and it's only £100 now (it was quoted as £200)' to which Maria (who was also in the kitchen) interrupted to say 'Aki (her husband) has a cheque for £100 in his wallet which he feels God has said to give to you'.

Silence.

'Are you joking?' At the time I thought Maria (who is Finnish) was trying to join in with the British sarcasm and was pulling my leg, so thought nothing of it. But to my amazement, Aki handed me a cheque for £100 today (dated 19/1/07, day before kitchen conversation) and it looks like I'm going to Ibiza at the start of April for 5 days!!! Pretty crazy really!!!

What is your response?

Picture the scene:

You have just been told that your actions will cause the death and disposition of the generations ahead of you as well as the destruction of the land in which you live.

What would your response be?

Remorse? Shock? Would you try and set about making a change? Try and stop this from happening? This was the situation that King Hezekiah of Judah faced in 2 Kings 20:12-19 after showing the Babylonians around his Kingdom. He had just put his country in jeopardy, and the prophet Isaiah had come with the news from God that this would have catastrophic implications for the future of his Kingdom. So what is Hezekiah's response to this?

"The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!" For he said "Will there not be peace and truth at least my days?" (2 Kings 20:19 NKJ)

I'm sorry! Did I read that correctly? It sounds as if Hezekiah is pleased with this news!?! Did he not understand what the prophet had said? Well, it seems that he did, but the reason for his joy was that ultimately this news did not affect him. He would be dead before any of the predicted calamity began. So selfish, so narrow minded, yet not too dissimilar to our attitude toward the future ahead of us.

Unless you have been stuck in a nuclear bunker with just re-runs of Fawlty Towers to watch, you will probably be aware that we, the human race, are destroying the planet that we currently live on. Raw materials are being exhausted at a rapid rate, rain forests are being cut down creating deserts, the ice caps are melting as a result of the warming of the Globe, animals are dieing out, we are using more water than can be replaced and so on.

What is our response to this?

Does this disturb you or is it just something you don't think about because it doesn't really affect you? Does it concern you that the way we are living now will have serious affects on our children and their children and (if they make it) their children? We clearly can't go on living in the way that we are at this present time. A lot of the responsibility for change does fall on the shoulders of the big corporations and governments who are exploiting the planet for their own benefit, but we also have a vital part to play in this. Recycle, walk instead of using your car to go to the corner shop, turn off the tap while you are brushing your teeth, turn off the light when you leave a room, turn your heating down 1 degree, write to your local MP and ask them what they plan to do, lobby parliament, raise awareness in your community. If your not aware of any of this, do some research. Ignorance is no longer an excuse!

How does God feel about this? Have we even asked Him? Let us start to take care of the planet that God has given us, not necessarily for ourselves, but for those who will come after us. Don't leave it to someone else. Don't be like Hezekiah.

What is your response going to be?

Is it possible to follow Jesus and live for yourself?

As I read through Isaiah 58 today, I was struck by God's response to the people as to why He wasn't noticing their fasting and sacrifice. "I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting." (Isaiah 58:3 NLT) This sentence sent my mind into a whirl of thought about my own life and my own motives. So often I get frustrated with God for not noticing my good works and often point to the way that I've sacrificed my time and energy to serve Him, and yet when I take a step back I begin to realise that many of my motives and indeed this prayer comes from a selfish place. Why do I do the things that I do? What are my motives? Do I serve God and others to make myself feel good? To get noticed? To get a blessing from God? How often do I not do things that God has asked me to do because I'm tired or have something better in mind? The longer I thought about this, the more I began to see how selfish I can be at times and how much time I think and pray about me and my needs. This then raised the question in my head of,

'Is it possible to follow Jesus and live for ourselves?'

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Prayer For Peace (Mother Teresa and The Sisters of Charity)

Lord, make me a channel of your peace,

That where there is hatred,
I may bring love:
Where there is wrong,
I may bring the spirit of forgiveness:
Where there is discord,
I may bring harmony:
Where there is error,
I may bring truth:
Where there is doubt,
I may bring faith:
Where there is despair,
I may bring hope:
Where there are shadows,
I may bring light:
Where there is sadness,
I may bring joy.

Lord, grant I may seek rather
To comfort than to be comforted;
To understand than to be understood;
To love than to be loved;
For it is by forgetting self;
That one finds,
It is forgiving
That one is forgiven,
It is by dying
That one awakens to eternal life.

Amen.