Happy New Year

Happy New Year. Only a few days away now.

For the ultra-competitive Kiwis they may brag that the first major city to see the beginning of the new year is the city of Auckland which is only is 496.3 kilometres west of the International Date Line.

For those who thought that New Year comes once in a year, think again. You will be surprised to learn that New Years are celebrated several times all through the 12 months of the year.

January 1 - New Year's Day – is the world's most widely celebrated holiday. Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, India and many other countries celebrate their New Year on this date. It is also the Japanese New Year's Day known as Gantan-sai or Oshogatsu.

January 7 is the Egyptian New Year's Day (Sekhmet) and the Mahayana Buddhist New Year is celebrated on the first full moon day in January.

January 11 is the Old Scottish New Year

January 14 is the Eastern Orthodox New Year's Day

January 21 is the Celtic New Year, and close to this is the Korean New Year (Sol-Nal). The Lunar New Year being celebrated at sunset on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice.

The Vietnamese New Year or Tet is celebrated between January 17th and February 19th at the time of the new moon.

The Tibetan New Year also called Losar is celebrated in late January or early February at the time of the new moon. Some Tibetans celebrate their New Year a month later than the Lunar New Year as Ugyen Thinley Dorje.

Muharram is the first month of the Muslim year and its first day is celebrated as Islamic New Year's Day sometime during February.

March 1 is the Roman New Year also called the Festival of Mars or Feriae Marti, honouring Mars, the Roman god of war.

March 14 is the Sikh New Year Day. It is the first day of Chet, the first month of the Sikh calendar.

The Baha'i New Year (Naw-Ruz) is always celebrated on the 21st March.

Also during March, The Hindu New Year known as Bikrami Samvat falls on the day following the new moon on or after the spring equinox.

The Persian or Iranian New Year (Noruz) is always held on the spring equinox on March 21st. On thsat same day, the Assyrian New Year, called Rish Nissanu, occurs on the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring.

The Zoroastrian New Year or Jamshedi is always on March 21st.

Telugu New Year's Day also known as Ugadi is celebrated on the day after the new moon following the vernal equinox (first day of spring).

Before the Calendar Adjustment Act of 1751, Great Britain and its U.S. colonies celebrated New Year's Day on March 25 because it is Lady Day as well as the Feast of the Annunciation. This is referred to in the literature as the Old British New Year.

The Tharavadin Buddhists of Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Lao celebrate the New Year on the first full moon day in April with three days of celebration.

April 14 is Solar New Year (Songkran) - This new year's day is celebrated in many southeast Asia countries as Baisakhi in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka (or Varushapirapu); Songkran in Thailand; Boum Pimay or Bun-Pi-Mai-Lao in Laos; Thingyan in Myanmar; and Bon Chol Chhnam in Cambodia. Like the Nepali New Year’s Day, the exact time on the 13th or 14th is determined by astrologers.

April 13 or April 14 is also the Sikh New Year’s Day (Vaisaki or Baisakhi). On this day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh created the Brotherhood of the Pure.

Sri Lankans celebrate their national New Year's Day (Puththandu in Tamil and Aluth Avurudhu in Sinhala). The specific time of the New Year is set by astrologers on the 13th or 14th. The Tamil New Year and Vishu are celebrated on the same day respectively in the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They generally fall on 13 April or 14 April. The first month of the Tamil New Year is called Chithrai.

The Thai New Year is celebrated from 13 April to 15 April by throwing water.

Also during this time is the Cambodian New Year and Lao New Year, and the Bengali New Year called Pohela Baisakh is celebrated on 14 April or 15 April in both Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Parsi New Year Day also known as Pateti is celebrated on April 23 (April 22nd on leap years), this is one of the local new years celebrated in India.

The Babylonian New Year begins the Nabonassar Era Year 2752 on April 25th (24th on leap years).

The  Buddhist New Year also known as Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti is May 26. Some Buddhist sects celebrate Budhha's birthday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month as their New Year's Day, although some sects now celebrate Buddha's birthday on April 8th.

Some versions of the ancient Greek calendar celebrated the new year on the summer solstice. June 21

Armenian New Year - The Armenian Era, an old way of measuring time, began on July 9, 552.

On the new moon in late August or early September (the first day of the Hindu month of Bhadon), the southern Indian state of Kerala celebrates the Malayalam New Year.

The Zoroastrian New Year (Shenshai) is always on August 23rd, for those Zoroastrians who follow the Shenshai calendar.

September the first marks the New Year for some Russian Orthodox Christians.

September 10 is the African New Year

Ethiopian New Years Day is September 11 (or 12th in leap years). This is a national holiday in Ethiopia.

Rosh Hashanah or Jewish New Year begins on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri (Tishrei), is also called the Day of Judgment and Remembrance. This is September 16th.

October 3rd. is the Moroccan New Year's Day

The Hindu New Year (Diwali) is celebrated on the new moon in late October or early November. It is considered by some as one of the Hindu New Years (sometimes celebrated the day after Diwali as Vikram New Year). The Marwari New Year is also celebrated on the day of the festival of Diwali

The Jain New Year is celebrated on the day after Diwali. This is the New Year's day for the Jain religion. It is the day after of the attainment of Moksha by Mahavir Swami and the day when his chief disciple Gautam Swami attained Kevalgnan.

The Gujarati New Year is also usually celebrated the day after the festival of Diwali (which occurs in mid-fall - either October or November, depending on the Lunar calendar.

The Sikkimese New Year or Losoong is celebrated from the first to fifth day of the Lunar 11th month. It is also called Sonam Losar or the Farmer's New Year and occurs in December.

So whenever you celebrate the New Year, if you do, May God grant you a new beginning.

A prayer: Precious Lord, You are the specialist when it comes to new things. You give us new mornings, new life, new joy, new peace, new hearts and new beginnings. As this tumultuous year draws to a close, once again you give us the gift of a new year. We praise you for your leading throughout this past year a time of joy with babies born and precious souls born again. A time of sorrow with natural disasters, war and the loss of loved ones. A time to reflect and a time to look forward. We rejoice to know that, by placing the future in your hands we can be secure whatever this groaning world throws at us; safe in the Everlasting Arms. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

A Christmas Prayer

The following prayer was written in rhyming couplets. It is not intended to be good poetry, It is just as it came from my head to the paper, unedited. (Lionel.)


Lord, this is our prayer, we know you are near
We know that You care; that you sense our tears,
You feel our pain and as we come to you again
You feel our joy as we praise your holy name.

Our hands and feet are committed for your use here on earth
For the building of your kingdom in honour of Your Birth.
The day you changed all history to show us the father’s love
By leaving all the glory, leaving Heaven above.

A stable rude was where you came to begin your sacred duty
Animals for company, a manger for a bed, no comforts, no beauty
In the comfort of our decorated homes, we need reminding once again
That Christmas is not about tinsel, but remembering why you came.

And as the angel chorus welcomed you that day
We too welcome you into our lives to stay.
And as humble shepherds were privileged that night
We too consider it an honour to be for you a light.

As the Eastern wise men came in homage to their king
We likewise pay you tribute as we join in offering __
Ourselves into your service, whatever way we can
Acknowledging that every gift comes from your generous hand.

We confess our sins and selfish ways,
You take confessed sin and blow it away.
You give us new life and new paths to tread,
Free from anxiety, worry and dread.

Filled with Your peace, you give us new hope,
New vision, new hearts and all we need to cope.
We offer our thanks, our gratitude clear
Lord, this is our prayer, we know you are near

We come to You for learning, our hearts are open wide,
Inviting Your Holy Spirit to come and dwell inside.
Teaching us all things that we need to know
As we heed your commission for us to boldly ‘Go’.

For all that you’ve done and are doing today
And what you have planned for eternity
We praise you, precious Lord again.
This is our prayer, in Jesus’ name.
Amen

Victory!

Victory!

Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a crucial battle occurred between the Greeks and the Persians upon the plains of Marathon. The battle raged for hours. In many respects it was a fight to the finish. Finally the numerically inferior Greeks, the underdogs, managed a tremendous tactical win, but there was a problem. Soon the Senate, many miles away in Athens, was to vote and would most certainly ratify a treaty of appeasement. In desperation they sent a runner in full battle gear to go the twenty-seven miles to tell of the news. By the time the young boy got to Athens he had run a Marathon. It is said he was totally spent, that he literally ran himself to death. In his exhaustion he was able to utter only one word to the Athenians: "Victory."

Easter is all about that one word: victory.

A while back, I asked my son David what Easter means to him and he said, “An empty tomb”.

I applaud his answer, however there is much more to it than that, because THE empty tomb is not just any tomb. There is an empty tomb in Egypt that dates back to the fourteenth century B.C. It is an elaborate tomb that was prepared for King Tutenkhamen's military leader Horemheb, but he was never buried there. Four years after King Tutenkhamen died, Horemheb became the pharaoh and was later buried in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes.

The Etruscans were the first known inhabitants of Italy. They were there before the Romans and had a highly developed civilization. They left no written record, no history, no poetry, and no literature. All that we know of them we have learned from their tombs.  Grave robbers have stripped these tombs bare. There are many empty Etruscan tombs.

One April, a certain Sunday school teacher asked all eight children in her class to hide within an empty film container a small object that represented life in the spring.

Not wanting to embarrass eight-year-old Stephen, whose mental retardation was becoming more manifest, the teacher suggested that the children all place their unlabeled containers on her desk. Since she feared that Stephen might not have caught on, she decided that she should open them.

The first had a tiny flower. "What a lovely sign of new life!" "I brought that one!" the donor exclaimed. Next came a rock. "That must be Stephen's," the teacher thought, since rocks do not symbolize new life. But Billy shouted that his rock had moss on it, and moss was new life. The teacher agreed.

A butterfly flew from the third container, and another child bragged that her choice was best of all.

The fourth container was empty. "That has to be Stephen's," thought the teacher, quickly reaching for the fifth.

"Please, don't skip mine!' Stephen interjected. "But it's empty." "That's right," said Stephen. "The tomb was empty, and that is new life for everyone."

Later that summer, Stephen's condition grew worse, and he died. On his casket at the funeral, mourners found eight little containers. They were all empty.

For me the victory of Easter is not an empty tomb but a risen Saviour.

Musical duo William and Gloria Gaither wrote, “Because he lives I can face tomorrow; because he lives all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living just because he lives.”

On Saturday 17th August, 2002, suspected Basque terrorist Ismael Berasategui Escudero escaped from the high security La Sante prison in Paris.

He swapped places with his brother and it took embarrassed staff five days to discover the escape.

On Friday on the first Easter, Barabbas was on death row, condemned to die. Your Elder Brother and mine swapped places with him and was crucified instead. It took three days for the disciples to discover his death sentence had really been revoked. It has taken two thousand years since then and still many have not discovered Him.

In 1874, hymnist Robert Lowry wrote a certain hymn. I have at home a scratchy 1921 recording of it by Henry Burr and the Peerless Quartet.

When I first heard it, I laughed. I confess that at first I did not listen to the words, but was intrigued by the metrical pattern in the melody. The verses are sung very solemnly in five-part harmony and the refrain in unison is in contrast, both upbeat and joyous. As they sang on, I began to listen to the words and it was strangely moving. Here is what they sang:

“Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Saviour, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Saviour; vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Saviour; He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

And the refrain: Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes, He arose a Victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!”

Easter is all about that one word: victory.

Lionel Hartley, Easter 2014

Healing and the Prayer of Faith

Healing and the Prayer of Faith Part 1

The General Epistle of James, Chapter 5:13-18

13) Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14) Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17) Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18) And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Seven aspects to prayer in this passage

1. Individual prayer (Let him pray.) Vs 13 – Begin with your own petition / Psalm 30:2; 147:3

2. United prayer (let them pray) Vs 14 – Invite others to pray / II Chronicles 7:14,15

3. Believing prayer (the prayer of faith shall save the sick) Vs 16 – The disciples were unable to heal a lunatic because of their unbelief according to Jesus (Matthew 17:14-21)

4. Intercessory prayer (pray for one another) Vs 16 / Job 42:10

5. Effectual prayer (effectual fervent prayer) Vs 16 / “effectual” a legal term for “...with power”

6. Definite, specific prayer (Elias... prayed earnestly that it might not rain) Vs 17

7. Repeated prayer (And he prayed again) Vs 18.

Healing and the Prayer of Faith Part 2

The General Epistle of James, Chapter 5:14,15

14) Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick...

Seven critiques for modern so-called “faith healing”

1. Selective healings – in which the applicants are screened before they are allowed into the service

2. Chicanery – simple trickery on the part of the faith healers

3. Undocumented, doubtful or demonstrably false claims

4. Spontaneous remission of the disease – due to natural processes and not the power of the faith healer

5. Remission due to medical or surgical intervention

6. Miracles by Satan – Revelation 16:4

7. Healing which comes as a result of faith in God and not in the faith healer. (And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up) vs 15 (Give God the credit... Psalm 115:1 says, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”)

(Reprinted from: Lionel Hartley, Dayspring Health Guide, Dayspring Health Services, 1991, p137)

Eldritch Happenstance

Eldritch Happenstance

Back in the 1970s and 1980s in Christchurch, New Zealand, I owned several vehicles, one of which was a Morris Minor Convertible sports car affectionately named ‘Ferdinand’.

One day when I went to start Ferdinand before leaving home, the starter cable broke. Now, the starter on this model was a switch concealed under the dashboard with a short cable leading to a round knob on the centre section of the instrument panel. Pulling on the knob would start the car, however on this day the knob came out in my hand when the cable broke. So the car just could not start.

I knew that I wouldn’t have a replacement cable in my “man-shed” so I looked for something that would provide a temporary substitute. I found a short length of fine chain that looked as though it might do the job, at least to get me started for the day.

Conveniently, on the end of the chain was a cylindrical-shaped knob. It was a white and blue porcelain handle from a toilet cistern of the Victorian era. It had the word “Pull” in elaborate calligraphy emblazoned on it.

As the chain was too thick to traverse through the hole in the instrument panel where the original knob had been, I left it hanging below the dashboard and started the car by pulling down on the porcelain handle. It worked surprisingly well.

Now, being a lazy sort of fellow, as often has happened when I effect a temporary repair on something, the chain-pull starter became a permanent fixture.

Sometime later, when I took the car to have an annual inspection for registration, the inspector noticed that the starter knob was missing, and asked how to start the car. I responded by saying, “Just pull the chain!”

The inspector burst out laughing and called a colleague to share in the humour of the situation. For several long minutes they sat together in the car laughing and repeatedly starting and stopping the engine, each pull of the starter followed by peals of laughter.

Eventually, inspection forgotten, they sent me on my way with an un-inspected vehicle, but with the ticket for a fully approved annual inspection.

A few years later I sold the car with the toilet-flush starter still in use.

Now I would like to bring you forward in time to the year 2009. At this time I was living in Australia. It was while driving a Holden Commodore that, once again, I had a problem with a starter switch. I managed to start the car by running a wire from the battery to the starter solenoid (the little device that controls the starter motor). Obviously having to open the car bonnet to start the car meant that this could never be more than a very impermanent resolution to the problem.

I took the car to an auto-electrician in the town of Murwillumbah to effect a more permanent solution. While discussing the dilemma with the mechanic, I lightened the moment by relating to him the true story that I have just shared with you.

As I told him, instead of chuckling along as I expected, his eyes opened wide and he shook his head in disbelief.

“So this was in Christchurch about thirty years ago?” he asked in confirmation.

I replied in the affirmative.

“Then let me tell you a story,” he ventured.

“My wife is a New Zealander,” he began. “In Christchurch, about thirty years ago, she bought a Morris Minor Convertible. The starter was, as you have described, the porcelain handle from a Victorian toilet cistern. She was too embarrassed to tell the seller of the vehicle that she felt uncomfortable driving a car with a toilet-flush starter, so as soon as possible she had it replaced by a conventional starter. She kept the porcelain handle as a souvenir and we still have it hanging in our toilet cubicle at home as a decoration.”

Now it was my turn to sport wide-open eyes and to shake my head in wonderment. A subsequent email with a photograph confirmed the validity of the amazing co-incidence linked by 1500 miles and 3 decades. Was this eldritch happenstance (coincidence through supernatural intervention)? Are coincidences are God's teachers? Is there a lesson to be learned?

Now what sort of prayer is it that gets you (personally) started in the mornings? Is it some relic from the past that is more decorative than utilitarian? Or is it something relevant for today. It is no coincidence that the psalmists used the morning time specifically to both praise God and to bring petitions to His throne. “…It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night” (Psalms 92:1, 2). “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up” (Psalms 5:3). “Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee” (Psalms 143:8). “I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Psalms 59:16).

-- Lionel Hartley

The Lord’s Prayer (Dramatic reading)

The Lord’s Prayer (Dramatic reading)

Cast: Christian (on stage), God (off stage)

Christian (seated centre of rostrum with table and Bible): I was in a hurry this morning so I didn’t get an opportunity to fulfil my mandatory getting-out-of-bed prayer. So as I’ve got a couple of moments, I’ll just fire up a quick one now. I know what I’ll do, I’ll say the Lord’s Prayer. That’ll stop me loosing any Brownie points in Heaven. I’m sure that I got a brownie point for not cussing when I stubbed my toe this morning when I was in a hurry. I’d hate to lose points just because I’m still in a hurry. “Our Father, who...

God (off stage): Yes?

Christian: Hey! Don't interrupt me! I'm praying.

God: But you called me.

Christian: Called you? I didn't call you. I was praying. Our Father who art in heaven...

God: There, you did it again.

Christian: Did what?

God: Called me. You said, "Our Father who art in heaven." Here I am. What's on your mind?

Christian: Oh! So You’re God? But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayer for today. You know, just to fulfil my Christian duty and all. I mean, the pastor keeps emphasising the importance of prayer or Bible study or something like that. Well I never seem to have time for Bible study, so I’m praying.

God: All right. Go on.

Christian: Hallowed be thy name...

God: Hold it! What do you mean by that?

Christian: By what?

God: By "hallowed be thy name"?

Christian: It means...it means.... Goodness me! How should I know what it means? It's just part of the prayer. Someone in the Bible wrote it, I think. (pause) By the way, what does it mean?

God: It means honoured, holy, sacred, wonderful.

Christian: Ah, that makes sense. I never thought about what hallowed meant before. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

God: Do you really mean that?

Christian: Mean what?

God: Thy kingdom come

Christian: Sure. I mean, I want to go to Heaven, don’t I.

God: But you asked for my kingdom to come to you, not for you to go to it.

Christian: Aren’t they the same thing?

God: No. My kingdom on earth is not Heaven. It is found in two places. In the hearts of those who believe, and where two or three are gathered in my Son’s name. My Son Jesus is the gateway, the door of the kingdom. We are the source of our forgiveness and wholeness. As people come to honour us, so they become members of our kingdom – so try again.

Christian: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in haven.

God: Do you really mean that part about my will being done on earth as it is in Heaven?

Christian: Of course! Why not?

God: In heaven your heavenly Father's will is done gladly, willingly, completely and joyfully. What are you going to do about it?

Christian: Me? Do? Nothing, I suppose. I just think it would be rather snazzy if you took control of things down here the way you have up there.

God: Have I got control of you?

Christian: Well, I come to church and Sabbath School, don’t I?

God: That isn't what I asked you. What about that bad temper? You've really got a problem there you know!

Christian: Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as everybody else in church!

God: Excuse me, but I thought you were praying for my will to be done? If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example.

Christian: Oh, all right! I guess I do have a few hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I probably could name some others.

God: So could I.

Christian: I haven't thought about it much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I really would like to know how to be free.

God: Good! Now we're getting somewhere! We'll work together, you and I. Some real victories can be won. I'm proud of you!

Christian: Look, Lord, I need to finish this up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does! Give us this day our daily bread.

God: Sometimes when you come to me, you come for the gifts in my hand.  More important than the gifts in my hand is my hand itself. And it’s not the bread I’m worried about; it’s what you're putting on it. Should I give you bread when you are so unwilling to share what you already have? If I fulfil your request and give you physical and spiritual bread will you willingly share it?

Christian: Hey! Wait a minute! What is this? Here I am doing my religious duty and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my faults!

God: Praying is a dangerous thing. You could end up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to bring across to you. You called me, and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep on praying. I'm interested in the next part of your prayer. (Pause) Well. go on!

Christian: I'm scared to...

God: Scared of what?

Christian: I know what you'll say!

God: Try me and see.

Christian: Forgive us our sins as we also have forgiven those that sin against us.

God: What about John?

Christian: See! I knew you would bring him up! Why, Lord he told lies about me, and he cheated me out of some money. I swear that I'll get even with him.

God: But your prayer. What about your prayer?

Christian: I didn't mean that little bit.

God: Well, at least you're being honest! But it's not much fun carrying around that load of bitterness inside, is it?

Christian: No, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even! Boy have I got some plans for John!

God: You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. When a person seeks revenge he digs two graves. When you seek revenge, you don't get even, you get odder. Think of how unhappy you really are. But I'll change all that.

Christian: You will? How?

God: Forgive John. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be John's problem and not yours. You may lose the money, but you will have settled your heart.

Christian: Oh, you're right. You always are. And, more than I want to get revenge against John, I want to be right with you. But ... (Pause) ... (Sigh) ... All right. I forgive him. Help him to find the right road in life, Lord. He's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things he does to others has to be hurting. Someway, somehow, show him the right way.

God: There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Christian: "Hmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. I feel pretty great. You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."

God: You're not through with your prayers. Go on.

Christian: And lead us not into temptation …

God: You mean that too? You actually want me to help you not to go to places you’ve planned to go to, to actually prevent you from visiting that particular website (you know the one I mean); you mean you want me to lead you on a new path? Do you want my Holy Spirit to sound a buzzer? True, it is better to shun the bait than struggle in the snare, but temptation is my character development curriculum. Temptation is not meant to make you fail; it is meant to confront you with a situation out of which you emerge stronger than you were. Temptation is to provoke you to look upward to me. Temptation is not the penalty for being human; it is the glory of humanity because you cannot say ‘no’ to temptation without saying ‘yes’ to something far better. You need to make some choices for yourself where you will go or not go because you can’t really keep your eye on temptation while praying not to be led into it.

Christian: Can I just finish now?

God: Go ahead.

Christian:  But deliver us from evil.

God: Is that the same as “Lead us not into temptation”?

Christian: I don’t know.

God: Temptation is not sin. My Son was tempted but never sinned. To deliver from evil is to receive my help for you not to sin again once I have forgiven you. If you ask for forgiveness and then deliberately go out and sin that same sin again, then you have been delivered into evil, not from it. It is much easier to repent of sins that you have committed than to repent of those you intend to commit. I will do as you have asked. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.

Christian: "What do you mean by that?"

God: Don't turn the TV on when you know there are chores to be done or others need your time. Also about the time you spend with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbours and friends shouldn't be your standard for the accumulation of things. And please don't use me as an escape hatch.

Christian: I don't understand that last part.

God: Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get in trouble and then you come running to me: ‘Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise I'll never do it again.’ You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?

Christian: Yes, and I'm ashamed, Lord, I really am.

God: Which bargain are you remembering?

Christian: Well, there was the night that the driver of the bus I was in had a heart attack while driving and I remember saying, 'Oh God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again.’

God: I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?

Christian: I'm sorry, Lord I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen like this.

God: Both rivers and people become crooked by following the line of least resistance. Go ahead and finish your prayer.

Christian: For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory…

God: Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?

Christian: "No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers."

God: You just answered the question.

Christian: I did?"

God: Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, there is no telling what we can do together. Now finish your prayer.

Christian: Prayer: For ever and ever. AMEN.  Thank goodness that’s over.

God: Is it?

Christian: Now what?

God: Praying is not a ticket to Heaven -- that ticket comes accepting and believing on me. That ticket has already been paid for by the sacrifice of my Son. In response, I desire of you sincerity in prayer.. Success in prayer is not based on locution – by the right choice of words; nor by arithmetic - how many they are; nor rhetoric - how eloquent they may be; nor magnitude - how long they are; nor is successful prayer based on logic - how argumentative your prayers are; nor the method of your prayers, how orderly they may be; nor is it based on chronology - how frequent they are; nor articulation – how clearly enunciated they are; nor solemnity – how ceremonial they may appear; nor by perfervidity – how passionate your emotions, nor by the use of archaic terms such as ‘thee’ and ‘thou’; nor by the person praying being the leader of a religious order; but success in prayer is based solely on sincerity. So next time, instead of just reciting the Lord’s Prayer, pray it, then live it.

Christian: Thank you, Father God. Amen.

[A note regarding this reading. I heard something similar to this presented in a programme a number of years ago and at the time lodged it into my memory for possible future use. A week ago I sat down and wrote it out to the best of my recall as I had no written copy. I sat back and considered what I had written and felt that it was more entertainment than educative. So I set about re-writing it to use it as a more direct teaching tool. I have since found that a certain Mathew Pole claims to have written it in 2005. However it was in the late 1990s that I heard it presented. So I cannot say what the original source was. I take responsibility for this expanded version. (Lionel Hartley)]

Easy Evangelism

Easy Evangelism
Personal Bible study with prayer is the evangelism of the internal mission field within ourselves. Readying us for Christ’s return and readying us to be able to reach out to the external mission field.
Where does our external mission field begin? It begins at the furtherest part of our nose.
Where does our external mission field end? It ends at the furtherest parts of the earth.
So this creates a challenge. How can we reach such a vast mission field that extends from the tip of my nose to the ends of the earth?
I would like to be able to tell you, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to”.
Well, like the comment made by the person who called me a wit, that’s only half right.
Yes, ‘don’t worry’; no, ‘we do have a responsibility to do our part in the mission field allotted to us’. So why did I title today’s blog entry ‘Easy Evangelism’?
Because there are some easy things that we can all do to fulfil our mission calling.

Think for a moment the extent of our mission territory. Picture, if you will, a pebble dropped into the centre of a lake, creating concentric ripples in an ever widening circle. Think of ourselves as placed by God in the centre of our mission field. Each of those circles around us represent a part of our ring of influence. Those ripples closest to us represent our immediate family. As we touch them for God and for good, their influence will multiply ours. Beyond that are our neighbours, acquaintances, friends, fellow students, work colleagues, and strangers, etc. These nearby rings can be touched by our hands and voices, and I’m sure that most of us do this already.

Between the first few rings and the outer-reaches of the pond are those we can touch by other means.

The most important, by far, is touching them through prayer. Of course we pray for those in the first and second circles, and we can not only pray for those in this wider circle, but also for those personally ministering for the Lord to them. Remember, that they are not only doing mission on the Lord’s behalf, they are doing mission on our behalf as well, because we cannot personally and physically go to every part of the globe. Space precludes the opportunity to share how prayer can instantly change a circumstance – who knows how different it may have been had we not prayed? And in another instance, who knows how much better a circumstance may have been if we had only prayed for someone when their name came into our thoughts?

We can touch those living and working in our wider circle though the power of the pen (or computer). Letters and emails can be used to touch hearts where feet cannot go. Receiving a personal letter sent with a postage stamp and a prayer can enable someone to see your smile without seeing your face. A thoughtfully chosen seasonal card or gift can make something special of those occasions. Emails, (not just forwarding gushy spam), written personally to encourage and inspire can do something that just thinking about them cannot do. It can reassure them that someone cares and that they are in your prayers. Isolated missionaries need that contact, and something as simple as an email can make all the difference. Remember too their children in your prayers and correspondence. Whenever you write to missionaries abroad, invite them to supply you with topics for special mention in prayer or specific needs that you can lobby for in your own community.

And finally we can touch the outer reaches of our wider circle though the power of giving. Weekly offerings to help prepare a people for mission and at the end of each quarter of the year we can give a special offering to focus our giving to missions.