Life and Faith

Tag: Prayer

  • Gospel Partnership Is Prayerful Partnership

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    Jon
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    Saying you are going to pray for someone is a common occurrence in the Christian faith. We hear the needs of others and strive to support them. Prayer is our go-to action when we cannot provide tangible help, and it’s far from being the ‘least’ we can do. This is not to diminish the reality…

  • Gospel Partnership Is Joyful Partnership

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    Jon
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    After Paul gives his initial greetings to the church in Philippi (Philippians 1:1-2), we immediately sense just how much joy and affection he has for them. In v3-8, we read of how their partnership in the gospel is a joyful partnership. Prayers For The People In v3, Paul gives thanks to God for this church.…

  • Psalm 103: Dwell On The Lord

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    Jon
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    In recent months there have been numerous articles suggesting more Australians have been thinking about aspects of faith and spirituality. COVID seems to have had an impact, not only in the way we think about health and operate as such, but also in matters of faith, priorities in life, and the dwelling on eternity. Something…

  • Deliver Us From The Evil One

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    Jon
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    What comes to mind most often when I think of deliverance are horror movies that depict the spiritual exorcism of a child or young person. For some reason the narrative always includes a wayward young person who requires a priest to come and exorcise their perceived demons, mostly at the instigation of their parents! The…

  • And Do Not Bring Us Into Temptation

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    Jon
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    I am often tempted to eat more than I should. I like food, and it is a temptation for me. I have been around far too many special church morning teas where there are so many good things on offer that my eyes are bigger than my stomach. The same occurs when there are big…

  • As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors

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    Jon
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    In her fascinating longform essay, ‘Letting Go’, Amy Westervelt writes about the study of forgiveness in academia. And much of it aligns with what Christians have known for many centuries – that it’s good for us but that it’s incredibly hard.  And in the continuation of our series on the Lord’s Prayer we come to…

  • And Forgive Us Our Debts

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    Jon
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    Forgiveness is an issue central to the Christian faith. After all, Jesus’ primary mission through his life, death, and resurrection, was to bring forgiveness; a forgiveness that would repair the relationship between humanity and God.  In the Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches us how to pray, and in doing so teaches us to…

  • Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread 2.0

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    Jon
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    Last week I did a little explaining about the verse in the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11). And while it was accurate enough, there are further implications worth noting. The Lord’s Prayer gives us a terrific model for communing with God, I suppose that goes without saying considering it…

  • Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread 1.0

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    Jon
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    Well, I wonder whether you’ve ever signed a petition?  I suspect you know what petitions are. A petition is where you put your name down in support of something. Perhaps it is asking for policy change in government, for better conditions in the workplace, or for support behind a particular injustice in the world. Whatever…

  • On Earth As It Is In Heaven

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    Jon
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    There comes a point when so much analysis, or in this case, exegesis, can mean you miss the bigger picture. And sure, there is often much to be learnt from studying the detail of a leaf, but it just might mean you miss the overall vision of the tree. This can happen when we study…