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!!!
Monday, 22 January 2007
Thursday, 18 January 2007
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?
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?
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
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.
'Is it possible to follow Jesus and live for ourselves?'
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Friday, 5 January 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, 16 December 2006
Back in the motherland
I've returned home for Christmas. Home for me is Swansea and I was greeted last night by the sight and sound of heavy rain, which falls steadily in these parts for most of the year (keeps everything green and beautiful) as I travelled in on the train. Will be in Swansea this week, catching up with friends and family, before going to Scotland for the festive season with my family and then returning to Swansea for the New Year celebrations. Just looking forward to chilling out a bit and just stilling myself. Really want to go back to Guildford with a fresh purpose and passion.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Merry Christmas to you all!
Wednesday, 6 December 2006
What does it mean to be a priest?
During our training block in Belfast last Thursday, I was introduced (probably not for the first time) to a verse in Joel which has really impacted me and made me assess the way I live my life as a priest in the Kingdom of God. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 2:5, that we are God's Holy Priests who offer Spiritual sacrifices to God. In Romans 12, Paul pleads with us to give our bodies (or lives) as living sacrifices to God, supporting Jesus' teachings of dieing to self and carrying our cross, so that Christ may live in us. So this has been my understanding of what it means to be a priest, offering my life as a living sacrifice and entering into God's presence (Hebrews 10:19) and interceding for others. What this verse in Joel 2:17 has done is opened my eyes to both the intensity of the priestly prayer, and the position in which I carry out my duties. Let me explain;
"The priests, who minister in the Lord's presence, will stand between the people and the altar, weeping." NLT
Ok, so the priests (you and I) minister in the Lord's presence. Let's just stop there for a second. Did you just grasp what I just said? For centuries in the Old Testament, only a handful of people could enter in God's presence and then they risked their lives in the process. We read about God coming in fire at Sinai and Moses' face glowing, of people being afraid to go near or talk to God and of a God so Holy, that the Israelites couldn't even say His name (Yahweh) to each other. Yet we can enter into God's presence as Jesus has torn the curtain and not only that, but we are carriers of His presence! (Jeremiah 31) We carry God's presence! People died when they touched the Ark! Wow!
Right, gone slightly off track there, but do meditate on that. Anyway, this passage in Joel gives us an insight to our position as priests, between the people and the altar. What is this saying? Well, I believe it is reminding us that we have a duty to serve both the people in the practical and the spiritual and that there is a balance that we need to find between being hidden in the secret place (Matt 6:6) and being seen, showing our light to the world (Matt 5:15). I can imagine there being a movement as the priests spend time at the altar, interceding, spending time with God, getting His heart for the world around them and then being sent out to minister to the people before returning to God with more requests on their behalf with a greater love and passion.
I had an experience of this in action while part of a team helping my friend Kelly in a place called Boys Town in Mexico. We had a prayer room set up just outside the walls of this area of legalised prostitution, drug use etc, which we prayed in small teams for 3 hour shifts over a 15 hour period. This was our place of intercession and praise in God's presence and as we prayed for Boys Town, our hearts grew more and more in love for the place and the people as we engaged with God's heart. In the evening, we would then go into Boys Town, carrying God's presence, filled with love and compassion, letting our lights shine in a very dark place. We weren't motivated by guilt or duty, but out of a deep longing to see God's kingdom come, which had flowed out of our time with the Father. We would then return to the prayer room, with names and faces to pray for, with a deeper hunger to see God move as what we had heard and seen had broken our hearts. Our prayer requests had become personal. God would then give us a deeper love and compassion in the place of prayer, which would overflow into our time in Boys Town. Our hearts had been taken to a level above our fears and our own personal feelings and even found that God was healing our own hearts in the process! So there was this rhythmical movement, almost like breathing or a heartbeat. Needless to say, it was an amazing time as Jesus did His thing and we tried our best to follow. Unfortunately, I have not translated this principle to my life after. My balance is off. I often find myself going from one extreme to the other. Spending loads of time in prayer, but not acting in obedience when God speaks or getting burnt out as I try to minister to anyone and everyone, without spending much time with the source of life and love. If I spent my whole time inhaling, I would die, just as if I was constantly exhaling.
When we look at the life of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), He had this concept of breathing, or movement, in perfect balance. He would only do what He saw the Father doing (John 5:30), which ultimately led Him to the cross. This obedience came out of a disciplined prayer life, that would involve retreating or withdrawing (Matt 9:10), staying up all night (Luke 6:12) or getting up early in the morning (Mark 1:35). This time in prayer meant that everything Jesus did was out of a pure motive of love and compassion. Matt 9:35-38 is a great example of how even in great tiredness, Jesus' compassion compelled Him to pray with those in need. It was no longer about Him and how He felt, but the Father and His will. Something I want more of! It is out of this God given compassion that the priests mentioned in the verse from Joel find themselves in tears. When we feel God's heart for the poor and the broken and the hurting, then we will find ourselves in tears. Fact! This is the intensity of God's heart and should be reflected both in the intensity of our prayers and the way in which we conduct ourselves.
Well, I've written quite a lot (again), but these are my thoughts. My prayer for you is that you would discover what it means to minister inbertween the altar and the people and that as we withdraw to the secret place with God, He would initiate an outward movement to the people around us, which would lead back to the place of prayer as we breath in more of Him.
Blessings,
Dan
"The priests, who minister in the Lord's presence, will stand between the people and the altar, weeping." NLT
Ok, so the priests (you and I) minister in the Lord's presence. Let's just stop there for a second. Did you just grasp what I just said? For centuries in the Old Testament, only a handful of people could enter in God's presence and then they risked their lives in the process. We read about God coming in fire at Sinai and Moses' face glowing, of people being afraid to go near or talk to God and of a God so Holy, that the Israelites couldn't even say His name (Yahweh) to each other. Yet we can enter into God's presence as Jesus has torn the curtain and not only that, but we are carriers of His presence! (Jeremiah 31) We carry God's presence! People died when they touched the Ark! Wow!
Right, gone slightly off track there, but do meditate on that. Anyway, this passage in Joel gives us an insight to our position as priests, between the people and the altar. What is this saying? Well, I believe it is reminding us that we have a duty to serve both the people in the practical and the spiritual and that there is a balance that we need to find between being hidden in the secret place (Matt 6:6) and being seen, showing our light to the world (Matt 5:15). I can imagine there being a movement as the priests spend time at the altar, interceding, spending time with God, getting His heart for the world around them and then being sent out to minister to the people before returning to God with more requests on their behalf with a greater love and passion.
I had an experience of this in action while part of a team helping my friend Kelly in a place called Boys Town in Mexico. We had a prayer room set up just outside the walls of this area of legalised prostitution, drug use etc, which we prayed in small teams for 3 hour shifts over a 15 hour period. This was our place of intercession and praise in God's presence and as we prayed for Boys Town, our hearts grew more and more in love for the place and the people as we engaged with God's heart. In the evening, we would then go into Boys Town, carrying God's presence, filled with love and compassion, letting our lights shine in a very dark place. We weren't motivated by guilt or duty, but out of a deep longing to see God's kingdom come, which had flowed out of our time with the Father. We would then return to the prayer room, with names and faces to pray for, with a deeper hunger to see God move as what we had heard and seen had broken our hearts. Our prayer requests had become personal. God would then give us a deeper love and compassion in the place of prayer, which would overflow into our time in Boys Town. Our hearts had been taken to a level above our fears and our own personal feelings and even found that God was healing our own hearts in the process! So there was this rhythmical movement, almost like breathing or a heartbeat. Needless to say, it was an amazing time as Jesus did His thing and we tried our best to follow. Unfortunately, I have not translated this principle to my life after. My balance is off. I often find myself going from one extreme to the other. Spending loads of time in prayer, but not acting in obedience when God speaks or getting burnt out as I try to minister to anyone and everyone, without spending much time with the source of life and love. If I spent my whole time inhaling, I would die, just as if I was constantly exhaling.
When we look at the life of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), He had this concept of breathing, or movement, in perfect balance. He would only do what He saw the Father doing (John 5:30), which ultimately led Him to the cross. This obedience came out of a disciplined prayer life, that would involve retreating or withdrawing (Matt 9:10), staying up all night (Luke 6:12) or getting up early in the morning (Mark 1:35). This time in prayer meant that everything Jesus did was out of a pure motive of love and compassion. Matt 9:35-38 is a great example of how even in great tiredness, Jesus' compassion compelled Him to pray with those in need. It was no longer about Him and how He felt, but the Father and His will. Something I want more of! It is out of this God given compassion that the priests mentioned in the verse from Joel find themselves in tears. When we feel God's heart for the poor and the broken and the hurting, then we will find ourselves in tears. Fact! This is the intensity of God's heart and should be reflected both in the intensity of our prayers and the way in which we conduct ourselves.
Well, I've written quite a lot (again), but these are my thoughts. My prayer for you is that you would discover what it means to minister inbertween the altar and the people and that as we withdraw to the secret place with God, He would initiate an outward movement to the people around us, which would lead back to the place of prayer as we breath in more of Him.
Blessings,
Dan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)