"Liksom en kropp utan livsande är död, så är tron utan gärningar död. (James 2.26)

"Like a body without the spirit is dead, so is faith without works dead."
- James 2.26

We had a spine-tingling, goose-pimple inducing word at church yesterday about REVIVAL. I've been reading James in the New Testament and wanted to do a quick recap on what I read last week. Reading it this morning I was struck by how much it corresponds with what we heard about revival yesterday.

The man speaking spoke about barriers to revival and qualities needed in order to make room for revival. Here are the two lists:

Barriers to revival:
Pride
Rationalism
Unbelief
Fear of rejection
Apathy

Qualities needed to make room for revival:
Purity in all parts of our faith
Prayer
Praise

Rereading James 1.22 I was particularly reminded on what he said about Apathy. James says here that we need to be 'doers' of the word not just 'hearers'. Often times I myself have been a person who turns up to church, sits, hears and observes but does nothing.

In order for revival to take place we actually need to DO SOMETHING.

It's all well and good having faith but faith should produce action. James 2.22 talks about Abraham's faith... and says it 'samverkade' (the Swedish word is SO much richer in meaning, it literally means 'same worked', in the NKJV it says 'worked together' which sounds a lot less exciting) with his 'works' (actions).

Faith and works go hand in hand. Without faith, works are empty, they are like trying to score righteousness points with God through doing 'good stuff' which God says clearly is not enough. Faith without works isn't real faith at all, real faith forces you to make decisions and choices; in short, ACTIONS.

James 2.26 talks about how a body without the spirit is dead and faith without works is the exact same thing; dead.

The reason this struck me even more poignantly today is because, if we are think about what the bible says about us the church... we are Christ's body (1 Corinthians 12.27, Romans 12.5, Ephesians 4.12). We are His hands and feet, here to show the world Him and His love through our lives.

Now if as His body, we try to operate without Him at the centre, i.e., without the spirit of life, we are lifeless, the impact we have on the world is minimal at best.

BUT. But if we the church, as His body, both together AND as individuals, have a real, faith and belief in Jesus, it will spur us into action. Pride and fear of rejection will fall away as we realise it is all about Him and not us. The restricting chains of rationalism will disappear as we allow God whose ways are higher than our own to do things in His perfect way, even if we don't get it, and apathy will vanish as we become helplessly devoted to sharing the love of Christ with the world. Purity, prayer and praise will become the default mechanisms of those who not only hear the word but do it too, and thus...revival, starting in the church and overflowing out, will come.

The Importance of Prayer

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving  of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reference. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

- 1 Timothy 2.1-4

It's only a small section but it's an awesome passage of scripture!

In a post I wrote a few weeks ago I mentioned what a privilege it is to be able to pray, and it is a HUGE privilege, but it is also a responsibility we have.

Your friends that you want to have a relationship with God, pray for them. The politicians that are in positions of importance and power in your country, pray for them. Pray for the protection and safety of the royalty, and give thanks to God for all He's doing and has done.

God wants ALL men to be saved, so pray to God on the behalf of all people, so that as many as possible can know what a full and awesome life they can live in knowing Christ Jesus.

God bless x

Psalm 22.24

For those of you struggling to read your bibles I would definitely encourage you to read Psalms amongst the easier books (the ones that tell the stories of people in detail - like Ruth, or Esther, or 1&2 Samuel - it's really easy to see God's hand in such books and see how He arranged the details of people's lives and answered them etc) because it is such a goldmine. There are so many verses in Psalms that show evidence of God's forward planning and setting of the stage for Jesus coming later in the New Testament, as well as whole chapters of poems written to God that will tug personally at your heart strings when you identify with how the authors are feeling. Anyway, it's an amazing book, and a good place to start when you are looking at the bible, but I just wanted to share one particular verse with you that I read recently and think can massively bless you.

"For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard."

- Psalm 22.24

The verse talks about the fact that God hears us when we cry out to Him. With God there is no hierarchy; He doesn't hear the prayers or cries of the rich before He hears the cries of the poor. He doesn't only hear us if we have an important job. He hears everyone.

Don't believe me?

Read the story of Hagar the servant girl in the Old Testament (Genesis 21.1-21). She was thrown out by Abraham's wife Sarah into the desert with her son Ishmael. God heard the cries of the son of a servant girl, and not only did He hear the boy's cries, but He blessed him too.

It doesn't matter who you are, if you cry out to God, He will hear you. And even if the answer you get is not what you would have wanted or chosen for yourself, trust and remember that God's ways are higher than ours, and He never lets anything happen without having a reason for it in His ultimate plan.

Let Him know what's up, and listen when He responds. He loves you.

The Privilege of Prayer

If we were still living in the OT and saw Jesus' birth, death and resurrection with our own eyes I think we would be a whole lot more appreciative of what He did for us.

When Jesus died, the curtain separating the most holy place (where only the High Priests could go) from the rest of the temple was torn in two. He took away the need for a middle man in order for us to communicate with God and made it possible for us to have direct dialogue with God. To be able to simply open our mouths and talk to God is such a massive privilege, and definitely not one to be taken for granted.

I was having a really difficult time a few days ago, feeling stressed and worried, and to be able in that moment to take all my anxiety and stress to God was incredibly freeing.

To know that He was listening and that He cared, was such a blessing.

I have to add though, prayer is not a one way street. When Jesus died and the curtain was torn in two, it didn't just clear the way for us to speak to God, it meant God could communicate directly with us.

It's so important when we pray that we incorporate listening prayer too, so that God can speak to us, encourage us, challenge us and bless us with what He has to say.

x

My Vision - "Your Kingdom come... on Earth as it is in Heaven"

Have you ever thought about what the last part of the prayer in Matthew 6 is all about?

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven."

-Matthew 6.10

It's about bringing heaven to Earth. It's about doing things on Earth, the way God does them in heaven. As I move abroad to start a church with others, here are some of the ways I would really love to see heaven come to Earth:

1. SELF SUFFICIENCY WITHIN THE CHURCH - Acts 4.32: "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common"; Acts 4.34-35: "Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need."
2. LOVE DEMONSTRATED, ALWAYS - John 13.34: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another"; John 15.12: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you"; John 15.17: "These things I command you, that you love one another."
3. GRACE OVERFLOWING - Colossians 4.6: " Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one"; Proverbs 16.24: "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."
4. MARRIAGE AS GOD INTENDED - Ephesians 5.25: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her"; Ephesians 5.28: "So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself"; Colossians 3.19: "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them"; Ephesians 5.22: " Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord"; 1 Peter 3.1: "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives"; Titus 2.4: "...admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children..."
5. MERCY AND FORGIVENESS - Matthew 6.14: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"; Luke 6.37: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
6. SELF-DISCIPLINE, RATHER THAN OVER-INDULGENCE - Proverbs 25.28: "Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls"; 1 Peter 1.13: "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world"; 2 Peter 1.5-6: "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;"
7. HONESTY - Ephesians 4.25: "Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,”for we are members of one another"; Proverbs 12.17: "He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit."
8. DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT - Deuteronomy 6.6: "And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today"; Deuteronomy 11.18: "So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders."
9. LIVES TRANSFORMED - Romans 12.2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what isthat good and acceptable and perfect will of God"; 2 Corinthians 3.18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Psalm 77 - A cry for God's mercy in times of anguish and anxiety

¹ I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.

^2-6 I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord;
my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal.
When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right,"
I didn't believe a word they said.
I remember God—and shake my head.
I bow my head—then wring my hands.
I'm awake all night—not a wink of sleep;
I can't even say what's bothering me.
I go over the days one by one,
I ponder the years gone by.
I strum my lute all through the night,
wondering how to get my life together.

^7-10 Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?
Will he never smile again?
Is his love worn threadbare?
Has his salvation promise burned out?
Has God forgotten his manners?
Has he angrily stalked off and left us?
"Just my luck," I said. "The High God goes out of business
just the moment I need him."

^11-12 Once again I'll go over what God has done,
lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished,
and give a long, loving look at your acts.

^13-15 O God! Your way is holy!
No god is great like God!
You're the God who makes things happen;
you showed everyone what you can do—
You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble,
rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.

-Psalm 77.1-15 (The Message)

“Come to a land that I will show you…” – The Story of Genesis 12.1

Put yourself in Abraham’s position. You are happily married, comfortable, surrounded by much loved family and friends, in a land full of all that you could ever need. And then God tells you to take your wife, and your brother’s son, and move away. But He doesn't tell you where to.

Would you move?

So many times I’ve read that story in the Old Testament without batting an eyelid or giving a second’s thought to how Abraham must have felt.

I wonder how long he thought about it before he went. If it was me, I’d take a pretty long time to decide. How could I uproot my life and family without being one hundred percent sure that where God was taking me would be better than where I was already?

The simple answer is that there was no way I could be one hundred percent sure.

And Abraham couldn’t have been either.

Sure, God made him rich and took care of him, but all of that came after he had taken up the invitation.

Later on in the Old Testament, when Moses had the tiresome task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promise land, there was an interval of time when the Israelites were stuck in the wilderness, living off whatever God gave each day.

And only after that did they get into the promise land.

In both cases, the parties involved had no choice but to put their trust and faith in God, and it is this idea that incites the fear of God in me.

Why? Because I realise that what was required of the characters in those Old Testament stories is exactly what God requires of us.

When God took Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan, He wasn’t just moving him geographically; He was moving Him spiritually too. Abraham had to be taken away from the earthly way of life and into a spiritual one, and on the way He had to learn to trust God.

When God took the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promise land, He wasn’t just moving them geographically either, He was moving them spiritually too. He was taking them out of Egypt and the slave lifestyle they had become accustomed to, and into a new way of life: His way. And on the way, they too like Abraham had to learn to trust Him.

In my weaker moments; when I’m tired, lonely, hungry and irritated, and feeling tempted to do things the way that the world does them, I’m reminded of God and Abraham. God’s way is better. His way is truth and life (John 14.6). The way of the ungodly is darkness (Proverbs 4.19). And whilst the way of the world may seem easier when I’m in those weaker moments, I need to be like Abraham, who, though unsure of where he was going, knew that he was with God and as a result went willingly.

May God give me the strength and grace to be like Abraham.

From the very first day that we become Christians God begins to pull us further and further away from what we know, i.e. the worldly way of doing things. It can be a struggle, especially in those moments when falling back into the ‘natural’ way of doing things seems so much neater. What we really need to do is trust God that His way of doing things is better. As He takes us away from the earthly way of doing things into the Godly way of doing things it can feel a little bit confusing; after all, why leave what you know for what you don’t?

GOD. Whilst He is so far from anything ‘normal’ to us, we can rest in the knowledge that;

He is all powerful. He is Good. He is Love. (Genesis 17.1/Job 36.22, Luke 18.19/Mark 10.18, 1 John 4.8/1 John 4.16)

These three statements are enough to persuade me. I’d rather have my life in the hands of someone who can do something about it than my own. So maybe right now I can’t see all that God has lined up for the future, or certain areas of my life, but knowing that He is God, I know that whatever He has planned, it’s the best thing for me. So I’m not going to worry or fret, but I’m going to trust God and do things His way.

So now when I am unsure of what’s coming next or how to cope with situations, I pray like this;

Lord, I choose to trust in You. You are all powerful. You are Good. You are Love. Yours are the hands I put my life in. I trust that in all things You are sovereign. I trust that You have the best plan for my life. Help me not to fret or worry, but to believe that You have everything under control. Amen.

A Right Spirit; the prayer of Psalm 51.10

Reading another chapter in Matthew today, I was struck by the attention Jesus pays to talking about good trees yielding good fruit and bad trees only yielding bad fruit. One thing I love about Jesus, is that He talks in absolutes. Something is either light or dark. We are either with Him or against Him. We either tell the truth or lie. And we can only be good (in the sense that God alone is the standard of goodness), or bad, (in that if we aren't being like God we are being bad).

At least four times in the Gospels He is recorded as having spoken about how a good tree can only produce good fruit, and a bad tree can only produce bad fruit. He likens it to a good man only doing good things, and a bad man only doing bad things.

""... For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ""

- Matthew 12.34

The mouth-heart/ tree-fruit thread is one that runs throughout the bible. What we are constantly reminded of is the fact that what is in our hearts is what is going to come out of our mouths.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life"

- Proverbs 4.23

"...If any man does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body."

- James 3.2

What is being said then, is that, until our hearts are in the right place, we won't be able to control what comes out of our mouths. This isn't something that is only relevant to a few of us, it's relevant to all of us, because all of us are human, with human hearts which host thoughts that God says are 'continually evil' (Genesis 6.5).

And so we get to the prayer of Psalm 51.10, where David, pleading with God, asks for a 'clean heart' and 'right spirit'. And that's where Jesus comes in. With Him came the Holy Spirit, the only spirit that is of God, and therefore wholly good. When we embrace God in all His fullness and allow the Holy Spirit to take root in our lives, how we live our lives becomes a result of being in and of God's Spirit; Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; all these being things that can be seen in all our daily actions, including our speech, so that instead of our behaviour dishonouring God, we praise Him with our whole heart (Psalm 9.1).

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me"

- Psalm 51.10

Prayer

Hey :) Ummm just listened to a talk by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church, on prayer (you can listen to it here) and I just thought I'd share my notes with you guys, as I was really blessed by it. For a lot of people; Christians and non-Christians alike, prayer can seem like such a weird concept - talking to someone you can't see or hear etc. but I think the talk breaks it down really well. Here are my notes:

Prayer is... the act of conversing or communicating with God.

As Christians, we pray to God as our father. We pray with respect, but not with formality as if we were addressing the Queen. Prayer to God should be a lot more familiar, just like we would ask our earthly father, not necessarily laid down on our hands and knees with eyes up facing heaven.

Because God is our father, we can go and talk to him, boldly, and needn't be afraid to talk to Him about anything;

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

- Hebrews 4.16

There are examples within the bible where prayer with God has resulted in a move in His hand; for example, when Abraham spoke to Him about having mercy in His judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18), but the real purpose of prayer is to change our hearts as we learn to trust Him, obey Him and build a relationship with Him.

Prayer is TO THE FATHER through the Son;

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

-1 Timothy 2.5

This means that apart from Jesus, prayers are ineffective. And we pray by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11.1, 13 and Galatians 4.6)

Pray…

1. In faith – “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21.22) God has three answers, Yes, No, and Later.
2. Succinctly, with clarity – “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6.7)
3. In God’s will – “…if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” (John 16.23-24)
4. Humbly (Luke 18)
5. Fervently – “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,” (Luke 18.1) It keeps us hoping, it maintains a willingness to learn and be teachable

Pray for…

1. Those who sin against you and help to forgive them – “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” (Mark 11.25)
2. Your needs – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7.7-8)
3. Against temptation – “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26.41)
4. Evangelists, church planters and campus pastors – “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9.37-38)

When did Jesus pray?

• Early in the morning (Mark 1.35)
• Daily (Deuteronomy 6.4)
• Over his meals (Matthew 14.19)

Where did Jesus pray?

• Sometimes publicly in front of crowds (John 11.41-42)
• In smaller groups (Luke 9.28)
• Alone (Luke 5.15-16) Take the moments in the day to withdraw into prayer with God

Who did Jesus pray for?

• His enemies (Matthew 5.44)
• His friends (Luke 22.31-32)
• Children (Matthew 19.13)

How did Jesus pray?

• With scripture (Matthew 27.46 – Psalm 22.1)
• Long, silent prayers (Luke 6.12)
• Short prayers (Mark 6.41)
• Painful prayers (John 12.27-28)
• Right up to the end (Luke 23.46)

* As a side note from me (this isn't part of my notes) I sometimes find it easier to write/type out prayers if I have a long list of stuff to pray for. I did find however that if it had been a couple of days/weeks since I'd typed a prayer I'd start feeling guilty and we shouldn't feel like we have to pray. It's easier to think like this; If Jesus was a close friend of yours, you'd want to talk Him regularly, meet up for lunch, spend some time just hanging out, telling Him what's going on in your life etc. It isn't that He doesn't already know, it's that you want to share it with Him because He's a friend.