Month: July 2013

Morning Reading: Acts 14.8-20 NLT – just men

Reading: Acts 14:8-20 NLT

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While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting and listening as Paul preached.

Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.

Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings — just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.  In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”

But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town.

The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – I am just an ordinary person with my own follies and foibles… nevertheless I love you Lord. Help me to recognize people of faith when I meet then… and give me your heart – a heart of compassion and mercy. To you be the glory. Amen.

Hymn: “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy” – Frederick W. Faber (1862)

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in his justice, which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than in God’s heaven: there is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment given.

For the love of God is broader than the measure of the mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more faithful, we should take him at his word; and our life be filled with glory from the glory of the Lord

Morning Reading: Acts 14:1-7 NLT – divided opinion

Reading: Acts 14:1-7 NLT

Iconium, Lystra, Derbe
Iconium, Lystra, Derbe

The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them. When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia — to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area. And there they preached the Good News.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Give us the courage of Paul and Barnabas… and all who have faithfully fought the good fight down through the ages. May we lift high the cross… honoring those who have gone before us. And may we be united in faith, hope and love… giving you the glory. Amen

Hymn: “Onward Christian Soldiers” – S. Baring-Gould
Note: The hymn begins at 2:30 min
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Onward, Christian solders, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before! Christ, the royal Master, leads again the foe; Forward into battle, see his banner go! Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before!

At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory! Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise! Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before!

Like a mighty army moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod; We are not divided; all one body we, One in hope and doctrine, one in charity. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before!

Onward, then, ye people, join our happy throng, Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song; Glory, laud, and honor, unto Christ the King; This thro’ countless ages men and angels sing. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Colossians 1:15-22 NLT – visible image

Reading: Colossians 1:15-22 NLT

Christ Pantokrator
Christ Pantokrator

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body.

He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Prayer: “Give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace… [and] about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” Amen. (Colossians 1:3-14 NLT)

Hymn: “I Stand in Awe of You” – Keith Landcaster & The Acappella Company / Album: Awesome God: The Acappella Company
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Morning Reading: Acts 13:44-52 NLT – light to the gentiles

Reading: Acts 13:44-52

The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said.

"Simeon's Moment" Lithograph by Ron Dicianni
“Simeon’s Moment”
Lithograph by Ron Dicianni

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us this command when he said,

‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”

When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Make us bearers of your Light and Life to the farthest corners of the earth. Fill us with joy and the Holy Spirit… that hearing we might receive… that receiving we might be saved… and spread the Good News in our homes… and neighborhoods and workplaces. Strengthen believers throughout the world to be your faithful witnesses. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Shine on us” – Michael W. Smith / Debbie Smith

West Belfast: 24/7 Prayer Team

20130708_183159Peanut Gallery: I’m off to Northern Ireland today to meet up with a small mission team from 24/7 Prayer International.

A prayer community in West Belfast issued the call through 24/7 Prayer International (which I have been following online) and I heard it as the Holy Spirit’s word to me to reconnect with what God is doing in Belfast… and to offer “words of encouragement” as in today’s morning reading.

Four of us, from Scotland, England, Slovakia and USA, responded to the world-wide invitation. We’ll meet each other, and the West Belfast community, for the first time on Sunday in Belfast. Our team’s different backgrounds, experiences and wide age span (23, 33, 43, 73) will provide the West Belfast community with a rich variety of perspectives… and will be a learning experience for us all.

I’ve been to Belfast four times before. The first time was in 1992, on an official Presbyterian (PCUSA) Reconciliation Mission to assess NGO funding possibilities in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland was in the thick of “The Troubles,” and under the direct rule from London… it was an armed camp. We were given access to high level people on all sides of the divide – political, religious and social. It was was truly a once-in-a-lifetime insight into the conflict.

Following up, I participated in two month-long, summer pulpit exchanges with a Presbyterian Pastor in Belfast.  My family accompanied me and we were welcomed and received most warmly by the church community. It was a wonderful opportunity to personally connect with good, decent, Christian people who were trying to make a positive Christian witness during difficult times. My last visit to Belfast was on a quick layover from other travel.

But all of that was before 1998, when the Belfast “Good Friday” Agreement was signed. A lot has changed since then, but deep wounds remain and mutual trust is low. And, Northern Ireland is currently going through difficult economic times.

An Eleventh Night bonfire in the loyalist Highfield Estate in west Belfast. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.
An Eleventh Night bonfire in the loyalist Highfield Estate in west Belfast. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

The Belfast Telegraph is a good read to catch up on what’s going on… particularly during this holiday weekend of “The Twelfth” with its bonfires and parades.

It’s a curious time to be traveling to West Belfast on a mission of encouragement and prayer. But the Holy Spirit has his own way in these things, and that’s good enough for me.

I’ll keep you posted.