Thought

Join the invisible peacekeepers

February 14, 2022 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

FEB. 14, 2022 — BY IAN GREIG

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There are two current stories in the UK media which share a concern about injustice.

There the stand-off between Ukraine’s defence and Russia’s threatened invasion; and the UK public inquiry into the post office Horizon scandal which prosecuted people on false evidence for 15 years.

One threatens large numbers of casualties and a rise in political tensions all over Europe and beyond. The other is a major public historic injustice which has affected thousands of people, including imprisonment for some, for whom serving the public by operating a post office counter was their small business.

What are the attitudes which are playing out these events?

What stands out in both situations is what we might call hubris.

Hubris is a mixture of pride and arrogance, of the corporate over-confidence which refuses to consider rights and wrongs.

In Ancient Greece the word was used of violence used to humiliate or degrade someone.

Continuing to prosecute people for fraud for 15 years, when the Horizon IT accounting system was known to be flawed, carries a sense of arrogant violence. Russia’s action to annexe Crimea and continuing challenges to Ukraine’s sovereignty, including military incursion, comes out of a desire to make Russia great again by bullying its neighbours.

As individuals we may be very disturbed by what is being reported, but how should we respond? What can any one person do? The good news is that we can.

We can’t calculate whether the prayer and attitude of one person can stop a Russian tank or overturn a legal conviction, but we do know that nothing is impossible for God.

In this life we will never see the impact of taking a spiritual stand (and we should not try to share God’s glory) but in the continuing life it may surprise us!

The thrust of Jesus’ teaching in the gospels and the instruction of the letters to churches is about responding in the opposite spirit to selfish arrogance, judgement and violent injustice. Here’s what that looks like:

Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honour. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offence. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-7‬ ‭TPT

Those people who refuse to acknowledge God and act defiantly in opposing His ways, have taken on something far too big for them.

Humble Christians who know and worship God, expressing praise for His love, truth and justice, and simply seeking to reflect His light in Spirit-led lives, are more effective than any of us knows — especially when acting in the spiritual harmony of agreeing and praying together.

The good news is that, through God’s spirit working with my faith, I can make a difference.

And even greater good news is that together and worldwide as people of faith, we can bring about the difference that God wants — His kingdom order.

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Putting paid to the lie

February 5, 2021 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Why should we look to God, at a time like this? Because He is good, therefore He can be trusted, and He makes ways we didn’t know existed

THOSE OF US who have walked with God for a time in this unlikely relationship — Almighty holy God with accident-prone ordinary man — take the opportunity to remind ourselves again that the essential nature of the God we belong to, is that He is good and He is loving — and therefore He can be trusted. Utterly. These verses remind us that He is loving in a way that doesn’t keep a score when we are less than loving in return, and He is still there for us when our trust has proved to be shaky.

These become, not just words of truth but words of praise. Why would we turn to praise at a time like this, when hospitals are struggling and so many have lost loved ones prematurely?

It is because praise is not limited by what we experience or feel, because it is an expression, not of how we are, but of how God is. He is good. He is loving. His kind of love is not fickle or conditional, but something we can rely on as unchanging, no matter what.

If God is all-powerful and over the situations we are so concerned about, and He is good and loving in that supreme power, we want to recognise that He is always working for our good, always attentive to our cries for help, always doing what He does best — saving and delivering. How much of that do we see coming through? How much of a daffodil pushing up do we need to see before we praise His creation of a daffodil?

Praising God for His goodness is also our dismissal of the lie that God sends hardship. A lie that cannot stand up and which is not entertained, a lie that’s exposed and dismissed, has been disarmed. It no longer has any destructive power. It has been named for what it is. And our choice to believe and affirm who God is, and how He is — what He is like — is our best strategy in the warfare against the misinformation the enemy is attempting to spread.

This is a time for Christians to share the hope they have in God, the confident expectation that He will bring us through. Why would we hope that? Because we know Him, and we know He is good, merciful and forbearing of our many faults.

Why would He do this? Because of Jesus. He made a way for us, warts and all, to have a personal and intimate relationship with God who is pure and holy. And to know that He loves us, likes us and enjoys our company!

It is also a time for Christians to rise up with one voice to praise God for who He is, and to declare that we trust Him for the deliverance, and more, that we know He is bringing through the present difficulty. To praise Him, even, for the many who are turning to Him at this time and finding that He is exactly what His word says He is.

To praise God because He is good, and therefore we gladly put our full trust in Him.

Prayer

Lord God, I come to You in deep gratitude for Jesus, His self-sacrifice for me, the deepest possible expression of His love for me, taking my guilt and shame and enabling me to know You — and I praise You.
I exalt You above all and declare again that You are good and that Your kind of love endures forever and is steadfast without limitations. You are able to bring Your good out of our desperate situation and need. You are working Your good plans and purposes where we see signs of them — amazing advances of science giving us good remedies in a tenth of the usual time, and medical professionals finding strength beyond themselves. I praise the answers to our prayers for leaders and all in authority, and I recognise that every good call they make gives glory to You. I refute the lie that there is anything about You which is harsh or discriminatory.
You are Almighty, You are strong and also loving. Everything about You is good, and I declare my trust in You. To the glory of Jesus, Amen.

• For an alternative reflection and prayer, see this post on www.glowweobley.com

What is God teaching us?

January 15, 2021 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

It takes a problem with no clear solution to force us to look at our priorities

Jesus said: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34-35 NLT ‬

Is God listening?

When life throws up a problem and there seems to be no way through, what do we do? Pray, obviously. Perhaps we were already seeking God and we’re just not hearing an answer. And it’s getting more difficult, not less.

One conclusion might be that God isn’t listening — but that lie of the enemy is exposed by Scripture’s overwhelming witness of how attentive the Father is to us, His children.

Or we might, in despondency, conclude that God is just not talking to us.

But if God appears silent, it is for a reason, and love is behind that reason. And so, perhaps reluctantly, we ask the Good Question. I call it that because it is never wrong, never misplaced, never irrelevant. But it’s the uncomfortable one — and so it’s the question we’re reluctant to consider.

Waiting for us to ask

It gives new meaning to the old catchphrase, “I thought you’d never ask”.

What is God teaching us here?

I’m writing this in what may be the grimmest week in the worst pandemic in recent history. We’re all watching the graphs and charts and comparing our region with others, hoping for an improvement.

I like to be in church, in praise and worship and fellowship, coming away with some good teaching to encourage and challenge me, and the good feeling of belonging and being among friends. And some churches are doggedly maintaining a semblance of their weekly routine, with spaced out chairs, taking your temperature at the door and no singing, perhaps humming behind your mask. And the message? That’s been cut down to a brief ‘do-this-and-don’t-do-that’ homily “in the interests of time”.

Change of priorities

What is God teaching us here? Perhaps, at a time when our priorities are up-ended, He is prompting us to take a good look at what those priorities are. Is keeping the routine going really important to anyone other than the one leading it? What about the pastoral need to be keeping contact with, supporting (and praying with!) those who are anxious, at home — especially those in a higher age range or with health conditions and therefore feeling more vulnerable.

Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

Our relationship with Jesus is personal and individual. It doesn’t rely on a building, a minister, a praise band, an order of service or a sacrament. Salvation is not found in any of these things. Salvation is found in knowing a person we can relate to, who made a way for us to know God: Jesus. So to love people as He loved, is personal and relational. People who are isolated and anxious need personal reassurance and hope from God’s love expressed in the Bible, not the reciting of liturgy.

The drive to keep things going is attempting to find security in routine, as if nothing has changed. But security in anything other than God will always prove insubstantial.

The one thing that never changes, is God’s nature and the confident hope He gives to anyone who takes hold of Jesus and what He has done. This reveals God’s nature as the One who IS love, the compassionate, faithful, forgiving kind.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.

People see how we are before they hear what we say. The witness that reveals what God is like to others, is in how we relate, how we reach out without condition, us sharing God’s love by being there for others.

Prayer

Here’s a suggested prayer to use as the basis for your own:

Lord, what are you teaching me through this terrible time? I want to be close to You, to hear what You say and to be doing what You are doing.

Thank You for Your love for me, shown in the awful reality of Jesus dying on the Cross out of love for me. May Your love so fill my heart that it cannot do other than to overflow it to others You show me or put across my path.

I hear and take hold of Your commandment to love others. Show me who needs a telephone call or a note through the door or some act of kindness I can safely do — that others will know Your love, too. In Jesus’ name, Amen

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Prayer doesn’t drive everything, but it does drive what is good

December 16, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

What is the point of prayer?

Verse

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.
1 Timothy 2:8 NIV

Good News

As believers, our prayer carries authority, especially as we align ourselves with Jesus and with each other. In the world, agreement is difficult, but the Holy Spirit leads us into agreement with Him — and with others who are praying.

Reflection

The context of this verse is about believers praying for those in civil authority or leadership. The section starts: “I urge, then… that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for… kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives…”

This is regardless of our perceptions of their beliefs or faith! Hardly any rulers in Timothy’s world had believed in Jesus.

This draws a picture of a partnership. They hold the responsibility for action on the ground. But we are given the responsibility for spiritual intervention in the heavenlies, so we — I hesitate to use this word but will say it — have a duty to bless them with guidance and wellbeing.

The Church of England, the established church in My part of the UK, has its set prayers for the Queen and royal family.

Parliament in Westminster begins every sitting with Speaker’s Prayers in which MPs of Christian faith, divided politically, intercede in agreement for God’s guidance in the day’s business.

We have plenty of opinions about the ministers, advisers and health service leaders in the present crisis. But how ready are we to talk to God with words that harmonise with other believers’ prayers, and bring the help those figurehead people would ask for, if they knew how?

Christians praying for scientists and medical profession leaders this year, have sought God for a way of stopping coronavirus spreading, and treating those with severe symptoms. And successful, tested vaccines are now being distributed. What couldn’t be done in less than ten years, has been achieved in ten months. Effective treatments have been developed, mortality rates have dropped and hospitals have withstood the strain.

We have more influence than we might think — greater than those we see on television, answering questions and proposing protective measures. We can talk to the ultimate government in heaven and know that our voice is heard there.

“Politics”, when we say we “don’t like all the politics”, is our word for disputing attitudes. They are so destructive of church and community. Anger rises up when people disagree, and especially when they are fearful.

However, praying, spiritually-agreeing Christians are the antidote to what the devil feeds on.

Jesus said: “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them.
Matthew 18:19-20 NIV

The context is politics! Or disputes, anyway. The principle is wider. This is what we do because it just works. It pleases our Father. Our Jesus-centred agreement is like an invitation to the Holy Spirit.

Those who are elected, or appointed, are given the power of decision-making. And we nod and agree with others who say, “Good luck to them with that!”

But we don’t believe in luck, we believe in divine authority and heavenly wisdom.

And we are the ones who know how to ask for that. We are the ones who can get it for them.

Take away

Keep on praying for wisdom and blessing those in authority — perhaps especially if you don’t like them very much! Blessing those we may perceive as enemies is a particularly powerful spiritual strategy, and we have God’s grace to do this.

LINK

For a suggested prayer and also a video based on this verse, head over to this page on http://glowweobley.com

Praise is long-sighted

December 6, 2020 by Ian Greig Leave a Comment

Sunset over the Welsh hills. Image credit: Ian Greig

What is the best way to approach God?

Verse

Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and His faithfulness continues to each generation.
— Psalm 100:4-5 NLT

Good News

Life has its challenges but God is constant, entirely good, loving and ate naive to us, His children. In faith we can honour God with our praise — and put ourselves spiritually and powerfully in agreement with His solution.

Reflection

The news recently has been all about the worst economic downturn for 300 years, with the shared burden meaning lower income and higher tax for all. And we are told that there’s a long way to go before the pandemic restrictions can be lifted.
What we are experiencing is not good. However, God IS good through and t through, and on the basis of that goodness we approach Him with thanks and praise.

Emotionally, that is confrontational. What we see in front of us is one picture. What we join with in heaven seems like a different reality, detached from our struggles. It doesn’t seem honouring to the ones who have lost their jobs, who have lost in come and also the sense of belonging that comes from being part of a workforce. Part of us would rather agree with the problem.

But praise IS honouring to God. His character has not changed. His goodness is not diminished. His love, which unlike ours doesn’t come and go with circumstances, is still as strong as ever. And in praising Him in the words of this verse, that “His faithfulness continues”, is placing ourselves in spiritual agreement with the solution. Faith tells us there is a solution. Faith tells us that God is already at work with His remedy, even though we may not have seen it yet.

Where we are, in our world, doesn’t feel like a solution. Even when we are queuing up in the winter cold for the jab that brings us relative immunity, it is a global disaster that put us there.

But let’s not forget that just a few months ago, we were praying for a breakthrough. We were doing our best to bless the work and insight of researchers. And in a fraction of the usual development time, effective vaccine have been developed and are being released for public use.

The traditional experience of church has been impacted. We have to keep at a distance and we can’t sing. But people unfamiliar with technology have overcome their anxiety and become amazingly proficient at video conversations. Many churches have discovered new creativity in their live-streaming. They have found the small screen to be a more intimate and less formal way to connect with people, than standing in front of a lectern looking over a crowd. Preachers have discovered short, sharp messages. There’s no dress code, social barrier or cultural expectation in joining in via a link.

Many people are asking faith questions and having spiritual conversations that weren’t part of their lives before.

God in His goodness, faithfulness and merciful love has His answer to our many combined prayers for His help. Praise, through the exercise of faith, makes a connection with that answer before we see what it is. Some of that answer will look different from what we have been used to. The time is well overdue for churches to change, and become relevant to those who don’t belong to their particular club. The climate is such that people who have not known God are realising their need of Him. Where there is seeking, there is also finding.

A revival of personal, life-giving faith in God through turning to His Son Jesus might turn out to be the real healing that God wants to bring. An answer to the presenting problems around lockdowns. But also a healing from the greater pandemic of spiritual apathy and humanism.

Take away

Praise is powerful. There is real spiritual power in expressing praise to God for His goodness, in the face of an experience of pain and difficulty. Find opportunities to praise God for who He is and seek how it changes.

Link

For a suggested prayer based on this verse, head over to this page on http://glowweobley.com