Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

In Psalm 122 David instructs us to:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."

Christians over the years have held differing views on the nation of Israel. Some believe that the returning of the Jews back to the Middle East and the nation of Israel reforming is part of God's plans for the end times. Others say that the Church has replaced Israel in fulfilling God's purposes.

Whichever of the two views one may hold it is important to pray for the people who live in this troubled land. But how do we pray? What is God's will for the Middle East?

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul says:

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority...."

So the first thing we can do is to pray for the leaders of Israel and its neighbouring countries. We may or may not like the various leaders in that part of the world, but God has allowed them to rise to these positions. In the Old Testament God used kings who did not know him to fulfill his purposes. Therefore, it is important to pray for them that they will govern wisely and make Godly and just decisions.

The second way that we can pray is to follow David's plea and "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Humanly speaking getting peace in Jerusalem is impossible. However, we are instructed to pray for this. One of the advantages of praying this pray is that we can put aside some of our political and religious bias and pray for the inhabitants of that great city. I have found it helpful to pray for the different religious and nationality groupings in Jerusalem: Israelites, Arabs, Palestinians, Armenians, Christians, Jews and Muslims. And we need to keep in mind that God loves all those in Jerusalem and his Son died for all of them. That includes the ones whose views and policies we do not support!

Heartbreak and Triumph

One of the books I received for Christmas was "Heartbreak & Triumph - The Shawn Michaels Story." For those who do not know who Shawn Michael is he's a American wrestler who works for the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

For two or three years in the mid to late 1990's Shawn was regarded as the most entertaining wrestler in the business. However, although he was at the top of his profession Shawn's personal life was not in a good way. He battled against drugs and severe back problems which he got from wrestling. In addition to this he was not always the the best employee. Eventually in the late 1990's he had to retire due to his back problems.

In retirement he still struggled with his personal demons. However, change was on the horizon. His wife Rebecca recommitted her life to Christ and then Shawn also met with Him too. God gave him the power to kick his habit and healed his back so that Shawn was able to return to wrestling. The Shawn that returned to wrestling was a different one to the one who retired injured. God was and is changing him.

Although this book is mainly written for wrestling fans it's great to see the way that God has intervened and dramatically changed Shawn Michaels life. Read it and see what you think!

Prayer for the New Year

Happy New Year!

Psalm 119:37 "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; renew my life according to your word."

As we start this new year it's important for us to fix our eyes on "things above" and get our priorities right for 2006. It can be so easy to get distracted by worthless things. This can lead us to not making the best use of our time and wasting it. The Psalmist recognised this and asked that God would help him to turn from this. He asked that God would renew his life through his word. All of us need to experience God's renewal in our life and to have a freshness in our relationship with God. It's so easy to drift along as a Christian and to miss out on the joy of a close vibrant relationship with him. Like the Psalmist this can be a prayer that we can make use of as we seek to grow in God.

Getting ready for 2006

Now that we have celebrated Christmas 2005 we are in that period between one year finishing and the new one starting. The new year is the time when many people make resolutions on how they are going to: lose weight / do more exercise / move house / get a new job etc, etc. It represents a new start, when the failures of the previous year can be forgotten and the excitement of a new year anticipated.

However, for Christians we don't have to wait until a new year to make a new start. This can be done any and every day of the year. In Lamentations 3:22-23 the NIV says:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

So why wait until Sunday 1 January to make a new start with God...... do it now!!

The only God

I read the following verses in Isaiah 45 today:

verse 5 "I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God."

verse 6 ".... men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other."

verse 14 "Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god."

verse 18 ".... I am the Lord and there is no other."

verse 21 ".... And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me."

verse 22 "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."

Some people may think that Christians are arrogant as they proclaim that their faith is the only true one. However, as I read the above verses I am encouraged to know that there is only one God. And as we prepare to celebrate the birth of his Son Jesus on Sunday let us remember this and rejoice in Him and not be ashamed!

Fear not!

I understand from Bible teachers that we are told 365 times in the Bible that we should not fear. That's once for every single day of the year. So why is this? Maybe because fear is a problem for all of us. We can struggle with different fears, for example: fear of man, fear of the future, fear of the past, fear of failure, fear of death, fear of something we done being discovered. The list is endless.

Over 2000 years ago the angel Gabriel appeared to a young teenage girl, who was told that she had found favour with God and was going to give birth to a son. This son would be the Son of the Most High and he would reign over the house of Jacob for ever. How did the young girl respond to this. Was she scared? Did she show fear? Her response was simple:

"I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."

What a response! Let us also respond to God in the same manner and not give in to fear which can hinder us from following and obeying God.

Good advice from 1 Peter 3

In the first part of this section of the chapter, Peter gives some good advice to both wives and husbands. In particular looking at this from the male perspective verse 7 is a challenge to all husbands. Peter instructs his male readers to "be considerate as you live with your wives" and to "treat them with respect." He then goes onto say "so that nothing will hinder your prayers." Could it be that one of the reasons that our prayers are not as effective as we wish is that we do not obey this instruction from Peter?

Whenever I read this chapter, I'm always aware how Peter instructs his readers to always be prepared and ready to tell others about their hope in Christ and to do this with gentleness and respect. Something that is not always easy to do. Sharing your faith is not always easy, but to do it with gentleness and respect takes some doing.

Perhaps the key and biggest challenge in the whole chapter is found in verse 15 where Peter instructs his readers to set apart Christ as Lord in their hearts. When we do this it will effect all aspects of our life.