Encouragement for Praying Christians

From Rolling Roads Baptist Church Reminder,  March 2015

“Encouragement for a Praying Church”

Our church is a busy place, full of busy Christians. We involve ourselves in many aspects of ministry and Kingdom of God work. In all our activity, we can't forget that one of the top priorities we have from God is praying. It is an honor for Christians to share one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2, 9-10). However, the “labor of prayer” is not for the faint of heart! If we take this work seriously, we will find how difficult it can be. Often prayers are not answered in the way we expect, and so we may become confused or discouraged. Sometimes we don't ever hear of an answer; we've just prayed in faith and left the answer to God. We are in danger sometimes of getting so engrossed in the details of situations people share, so that we almost forget to pray!

I believe strongly that the foundation for prayer is the promise of God. God is not unpredictable or capricious, as some would tell us. Rather, God's people are in a secure, unchangeable covenant relationship with Him through Christ. God has made manifold promises to His people. Among these are that He will not leave us hopeless in any circumstance. In Luke 11:13 Jesus says, “...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” In Romans 15:13 Paul prays, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” So our labor of prayer is always an expression of hope-filled dependence on the God of promise, who loves us and gives His life to us. So no matter the challenges of prayer, may we always fulfill the commands of I Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Happy because of Jesus,

Pastor James

Now That's Why We Have a Monarch!

It is easy to make the mistake of assuming that there are monarchs in the UK so the rest of us can enjoy big weddings every 30 years or so.  Yesterday we saw another real good reason for the English to keep them around.

The English-Irish conflict goes back a while.  It is hard to imagine the depths of the visceral hard feelings that entire generations of Irish and English have felt for each other.  (By English, I use a common collective term, however inexact!)  Countless thousands have died fighting for various versions of self-determination and tribal honor.  Families on both sides of the Irish Sea have been disrupted throughout modern history because of this mighty struggle between neighbors.  It is hard for us to realize the complexities of this negative relationship, which continued even after Irish Independence began in the 1920's.

A cool war continued until more recent times, when the world became smaller and settling scores from the middle ages seemed thankfully less important.  So cooperation, management of those Northern Counties and their conflicts, economics and modernization brought the Isles closer together.  But no Queen had come to visit.

Well, she arrived yesterday.  In Emerald Green, her Royal Presence pierced the hearts, probably, even of the protesters.  Without precedent, she reverently visited the Garden of Remembrance, and today will visit the site of Bloody Sunday.  Twenty years ago I would have thought such a vision impossible, but it will become a reality today. 

What we are seeing is reconciliation bearing fruit.  Much work and sacrifice has created this opportunity for healing.  There is no way to erase the past, but there is a way to shape a positive future in spite of the bloody past.  We all have a great Queen, one of those rare persons who can carry her office and her duties in a way that is larger than life, and that makes life better- rewarding those who do the hard work with the final healing ointment of acknowledged final reconciliation. 

It is beautiful to see, wonderful to appreciate, soul-stirring to imagine what these acts of a monarch might mean for the children of those British Isles, and in other places in our world that seem beyond hope of reconciliation.

"How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long, how long?
Tonight, we can be as one,
Tonight..."       -U2: Sunday, Bloody Sunday