Life + Faith

Tag: Prayer

  • Gospel Partnership Is Joyful Partnership

    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. Even while in prison, he is reminded of them, thankful for them, and feels a great sense of joy for them because of the partnership he has in the gospel with them. I imagine Paul chained up in a Roman prison, a smile on his face as he lifts up prayers every time he thinks of his friends in Philippi.

    In this, there is a small challenge for us. How often would we think of people in our lives or throughout the day and lift up prayers for them? I’m sure, like me, you think of numerous people throughout the day as you write an email to them, consider what they’re doing, or see them pop up on our social media feeds. What if we lifted up prayers for people we think of or hear about throughout our day? What a great challenge for us to do.

    Partnership With The People

    In v5, we are given insight into why this church is so precious to Paul. It is the partnership they have in the gospel.

    What ties or binds Paul with the Philippians is the gospel. Together, they follow Jesus and have had their hearts and lives turned upside down because of the message of Jesus. And so, they are bound together as sisters and brothers in Christ as they know him and share his message with others.

    In Acts 16, which is where we read of Paul’s first interactions with the people of Philippi, we learn of how the church began. Now, 10-12 years later, as he pens this letter to them, Paul continues to recognise the connection they have with one another, not only because of the support he has received from them but also because they serve and share the message of Christ together.

    I began my ministry journey in a small village called Ain Zhalta, in the mountains of Lebanon. Over 15 years ago, my wife and I spent two years serving as teachers and mission workers among an ethnic group called the ‘Druze’. And each Sunday, we would meet in a terribly cold stone and tiled church that had very limited heating, with a handful of other foreigners and a handful of Lebanese people to worship together. But what I remember rather vividly in those services, while listening to Arabic worship songs and a sermon I couldn’t understand, was the connection I had with those in the church there and the connection I had with those in our home church back in Melbourne.

    There was a partnership in the gospel. In the gospel, we met together. In the gospel, we prayed together. In the gospel, we had fellowship with one another. In the gospel, we served and shared the message of Christ together.

    I’m not sure whether you’ve visited a church overseas, or across our city, or in another part of the country. But when you do, you have an immediate partnership—a partnership in the gospel.

    A little while ago, we had visitors from the USA join our church for a month. In my brief conversation with them, they highlighted how great it was to come along and know the connection we have together because of the gospel.

    The unity, the partnership in the gospel, is a key concept for us being the church, being the people of God.

    There are lots of groups in our communities that meet, do activities, and build relationships and friendships. Many do them very well, whether it’s a kindergarten or a school, a sporting club, an art class, or a library. Whatever it might be, little sub-cultures and communities are formed and centred around something.

    Partnership Centred On A Person

    As the church, we are centred around the gospel – the person and work of Jesus Christ – the message of Jesus. This is who brings us together, this is who forms the nature of our community, the nature of our church, the nature of our partnership.

    No Jesus. No church. No partnership.

    Pretty simple, really.

    However, when we recognise and embrace the foundation of our faith – Jesus Christ – we begin to see the beauty and richness of gospel-centred partnership. It is in Jesus that we find a common ground, a shared purpose, and a bond that transcends our differences and unites us in love and service.

    As we come together in Christ, we experience the joy of true fellowship. Our shared faith, hope, and love in Jesus enable us to support, encourage, and strengthen one another in our journey of faith. We celebrate our victories, weep with one another in times of sorrow, and walk hand in hand as we strive to live out the gospel in our daily lives.

    What a blessing, what a joy, that is.

    Gospel partnership is therefore a joyful partnership.

    No wonder Paul continues to use effusive language about the church and affirm the role God will continue to work in them until the day Christ returns.

    Through the gospel, there is joy.

    Through gospel partnership, there is a joyful partnership.

    This post is part of an ongoing series where we will dive into the themes, messages, and lessons found throughout the book of Philippians. For earlier posts please see:

  • Psalm 103: Dwell On The Lord

    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 about this past year has driven people to think about these things!

    On one hand this is great. This should be the case due to what the world has experienced this year–coming to terms with our lack of control, the limits on our own capacity, and the realities of living in a broken world. Further, the personal reactions we’ve had due to the circumstances we’ve been through have led many to question and reflect on life. This year has been a reminder that there are greater things going on in the world than you or me.

    But on the other hand this has been such an exhausting year for many that the capacity to contemplate and dwell on aspects of faith, and dwell on the Lord and his goodness specifically, has diminished. The impetus, the motivation, the inclination to sit with God is hard at the best of times, but add in the fear, stress, worry of 2020 and we find ourselves hindered in doing so.

    Here in Psalm 103 we find, I believe, a passage of scripture to dwell on as we enter somewhat of a new year. In the earlier verses of this psalm we are encouraged to remember the Lord, and we are given plenty of examples. But to take it a step further, we are also given scriptures here to dwell on.

    You see, the writer David continues in v5-12 by dwelling on who God is and what he has done. In turn he helps us to dwell upon God, naming the character of God alongside the benefits of God.

    There is the reminder of God’s work in bringing his people out of Egypt through Moses, which leads to statements of truth about God’s character. David speaks of God’s compassion and grace, his slowness in becoming angry, and his abounding love in v8. This verse, v8, is such a significant refrain in the whole of the OT.

    It is referred to in Exodus 34:6; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15; 145:8; Joel 2:13; and Jonah 4:2. If you ever want or need a short and succinct answer to the question of who God is, this is the answer, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

    This is God’s covenantal love; his marriage promise to his people encapsulated in one verse.

    God’s commitment to his people of the Old Testament and his continued commitment to his people in the New Testament through Christ.

    We are reminded here of the incarnation, God coming in the form of a man for the rescue of the world. God has such compassionate love for humanity that he came to be part of our lives. In physical terms this occurred through Jesus of the first century, in spiritual terms this comes to us today through his Spirit. And so when we place our faith in him, recognising our need for God and having that need met through faith in Christ, then we are receiving his compassionate love, his covenantal love, his promised love.

    As we walk through 2021 may we dwell on this compassionate love of God knowing the truth of v9-12. Knowing he does not accuse us, he does not hold his anger toward us, he does not treat us as we deserve, he does not repay us for the sins we commit, and nor is he vengeful toward us.

    9 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
    10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
    11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
    12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

    Instead, the Lord’s love is as far as the east is from the west, displayed through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    This is the second of a three part series on Psalm 103. The first post, ‘Remember The Lord’, can be found here.

  • Deliver Us From The Evil One

    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 priest comes along with their wooden cross, their garlic, and their special oil seeking to deliver this young person from their wrongful behaviour. And while it might be a good movie, and sadly a reflection on what happens in real life in some places, the truth is this isn’t what Jesus is teaching his disciples in the final line of the Lord’s Prayer.

    However, there is something apt in concluding this prayer by asking God for deliverance, for deliverance from the evil one is something we all need. The only way we are delivered from evil is through the Lord. For he has not only provided a way out of the clutches of the evil one, but a person who has compassion and cares deeply for us. Through the power of his Son Jesus the Lord shows his heart for his people. Like a father toward his children he seeks their good. And one aspect of this good is deliverance from the evil one.

    As mentioned in my previous post this phrase ‘Deliver us from the evil one’ is strongly linked with the prayer of help in temptation. Temptation and the evil one go hand in hand and we are in need of God’s help for us to remain apart from both.

    Deliverance is often associated with something ultra-spiritual or cult like. The movie example is one aspect to that. But the reality is there is a spiritual battle going on that we are often quite unaware of. In our comfortable Western cities and societies we choose to ignore anything that isn’t tangible, that isn’t something we can smell, taste, touch, or feel; physically or emotionally. Even though it isn’t something we think about This, however, doesn’t excuse the reality of the spiritual battle taking place.

    Paul the Apostle wrote about this reality in Ephesians 6:12. He writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” And so the reality we live in involves the reality of the spiritual realm, a world unseen to our human eyes and only known through the reality of our soul. It is a reality that requires deliverance from the evil one.

    When Jesus encourages us to pray this prayer, and remember he is the one who is teaching us to pray here, he highlights the need for us to pray for deliverance. When we are tempted, when we are fearful, when we are in need of comfort, when we sin, then we are able to pray for deliverance. In regard to temptation, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4 by the evil one he relied on the Word of God to rebuff such approaches. So too, when we are tempted one helpful way for us to find deliverance from such temptation is to remember and rely on the Word of God. This is also the case when we are fearful, need comfort, or require the reminder of Jesus as our great Saviour from sin. While we may follow the evils of the world this prayer shows our need for God is great, and especially in the battle against the spiritual forces of the evil one.

    In his commentary on this particular verse (Matthew 6:13), D.A. Carson writes,

    “This petition is a hefty reminder that, just as we ought consciously to depend on God for physical sustenance, so also ought we to sense our dependence on him for moral triumph and spiritual victory. Indeed, to fail in this regard is already to have fallen, for it is part of that ugly effort at independence which refuses to recognise our position as creatures before God. As Christians grow in holy living, they sense their own inherent moral weakness and rejoice that whatever virtue they possess flourishes as the fruit of the Spirit. More and more they recognise the deceptive subtleties of their own hearts, and the malicious cunning of the evil one, and fervently request of the heavenly Father, ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’”

    And perhaps that is an apt ending to not only this clause within this verse, but of the whole prayer itself.

    This concludes our series in the Lord’s Prayer. All the posts in this series can be found at the following:

  • And Do Not Bring Us Into Temptation

    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 family gatherings, or Christmas celebrations. And there’s always the story of over-indulging in dumplings from a few years ago. But there are consequences when I over indulge, either in weight increases or general after-effects on the body. It is a delight to my eyes, to my tastebuds, and to my stomach, but I need to watch myself.

    Temptations arise within us and surround us all the time. Whether it is the use of our time, the things we have, the purchases we make, or the people we spend time with. We are tempted by the expert marketers who sell us products and services we apparently need. We are tempted by the lusts of our age. And I think it is fair to say that the greatest temptation for men and women today is pornography. The search for gratification through sex and sexuality is highly publicised, talked about freely, and openly available to anyone who wishes to pursue this. There are real temptations which lead to real issues in our lives, which affect our relationships with others and our own wellbeing.

    In v13 of the Lord’s Prayer, which we have been exploring for a number of weeks now (see below for a list of posts), Jesus guides us to pray against being led into temptation.

    It is important to realise this is the first half of a sentence which ends, ‘but deliver us from the evil one’. The entire idea in this verse is that we need God’s help in overcoming our own sinfulness and fallenness, we need his help in staying righteous and on the path of godliness. The evil one is seeking to lead us down the wrong path, a path of destruction and temptation. Therefore, to pray that we may not be led into temptation is highlighting how we need help in order to avoid falling into the evil one’s snares.

    To avoid temptation is an act of wisdom and godliness. To place boundaries or rails in our life to make sure we are adhering to the ways of God is something that falls under the category of wisdom. Sure, there are plenty of situations that will be different for different people, and there are plenty of temptations that are different for different people. And many a time this has been used to a negative or legalistic effect (one can think of the so-called ‘Billy Graham Rule’ here). But recognising and being self-aware enough of these things in our lives is helpful for us. With this in mind, here are three ways we might go about helping ourselves with respect to temptation.

    1. Understand what you are tempted by and when.
    Take time to reflect on what temptations to sin you are more prone to fall to. I believe all of us have different propensities for this. If we know that when we’re tired and up late with no one around that we’ll end up being tempted to flick onto porn then that’s a start. If we know that after a couple of drinks we will be more flirtatious with others then that’s good to know. If we know that when we’re bored we just pick up the phone and are tempted to start secretly putting money on the horses then recognise it. If we are going to a big party and know we might over-indulge in the food then recognise that. If we’re with certain people and we know we’re going to end up gossiping, then remember this when entering conversations with them.

    Be reflective, be self-aware, and then be intentional.

    2. Formulate a strategy on what you will do when temptation hits.
    To be plan-less against temptation will more than likely lead to you falling into temptation. It’s been my experience, I’m sure it’s yours too. It is frequently recommended that having a close friend you can talk with, call, or text about your temptation/s will help. They can pray for you not only in the moment, but also on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, they can be someone who asks you some hard questions about your lifestyle, decisions, and general discipleship. And that speaks to the larger issue, it’s an issue of discipleship.

    A difficulty here is often the call or text to a friend to pray is often left too late or not at all. There does need to be a commitment to this. But by telling someone about our temptation, and what we’re walking into in the coming days or weeks, we can lessen the power of the temptation. Of course, pray about the situation you face. Avoid the situation if it is possible. Staying up late, tired, and bored never really leaves one in a good frame of mind. Even the excuse, ‘I need to wind down a bit’, is helpful only if the actions are helpful. Sometimes just going to bed is the best thing, even if our mind is racing.

    The point is, what strategy are you putting into place? What actions are you committing yourself to? What habits are you trying to build?

    3. Remember that it is what you do in the lead up to situations that will form the way you operate when temptation hits.
    You can’t rely on your own self-will when temptation hits. Saying, “She’ll be right mate” may be very Aussie of you but it’s a terrible plan for when temptation presents itself. However, in the days and weeks and months prior we are building up our own godliness, self-control, and patience by the actions we put in place.

    Proverbs 7 warns against falling into temptations. In this case the point is centred on lust and sexual desire. In v25 the writer of Proverbs says, ‘Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.’ And this is the case with temptation, we are not to let our hearts turn toward whatever the temptations are. Instead, we build up our capacity in being able to deal with this, not simply by putting in wise and understanding strategies and habits, but ultimately recognising that we need God’s help in doing so.

    I’m currently reading through Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly, and chapter 4 talks about Christ’s ability to sympathise with us in our temptation. When we do fall into temptation we have a Saviour who knows what it is like to be tempted and who is still accessible even when we feel the shame of wrongdoing. Ortlund writes:

    “The real scandal of Hebrews 4:15, though, is what we are told about why Jesus is so close and with his people in their pain. He has been “tempted” (or “tested,” as the word can also denote) “as we are”—not only that, but “in every respect” as we are. The reason that Jesus is in such close solidarity with us is that the difficult path we are on is not unique to us. He has journeyed on it himself. It is not only that Jesus can relieve us from our troubles, like a doctor prescribing medicine; it is also that, before any relief comes, he is with us in our troubles, like a doctor who has endured the same disease.”

    This continues our series in the Lord’s Prayer. More posts in this series can be found at the following:

  • As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors

    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 one of the more challenging phrases in the prayer itself. After asking for forgiveness from God for our own individual debts, or sins, we now find ourselves stating to God that we are forgiving the debts of others. 

    There are no two ways around this. The gospel calls on us to trust in our own forgiveness through Christ on the cross. Colossians 1:13-14 remind us, “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” But in turn, the gospel calls us to action; the forgiveness of others for their wrongdoing against us. 

    And so “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” has to be the hardest phrase of this prayer, the hardest action to put into practice. 

    Who can so easily forgive those who have wronged us? 

    Degrees of Forgiveness

    In our world, like the justice system we operate by, we recognise there are degrees of wrongdoing and therefore find justification to argue for degrees of forgiveness to give. The person who calls us names in high school does not require the ‘same level’ of forgiveness as the spouse who commits adultery, or the sexual abuser of children, or the murderer? We would say, our humanity would say, that forgiveness for one over the other is dependent on the wrongdoing against us. Forgiveness may be easy or hard to give, but we often find ourselves doing so as long as justice has been metered out correctly. 

    This is not to conflate justice into forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer doesn’t make allowance for various levels of wrongdoing, nor does it speak of justice here either. Rather, it is a direct call to forgive others and encapsulates all types of wrongdoing in the process. We are to extend forgiveness to everyone. And of course, this is always a process. For some the giving of forgiveness will take longer than others, it isn’t easy reaching a place in your heart to forgive someone who has wronged us. Certain things are quick to forgive, other things seem to linger. 

    Forgiving From The Heart

    A particularly salient point this phrase brings up is the challenge of how quickly and how good we are at forgiveness. It sets forgiveness in the context of a spiritual practice, a spiritual discipline. Forgiveness is not something that means the person who wronged us gets away with everything they have done. No, there are still consequences for any wrongdoing. But whatever the case may be, forgiveness is an act of the heart.

    And this is why following Jesus is often harder than first appears. For who forgives everybody who has wrong us from the heart? As Westervelt’s article affirms, forgiveness is a ‘change of heart’, a very apt definition in light of this prayer and what God has done for us. Yet so often the hurt and the pain has a long tail. Part of our nature is to hold onto hurts and wrongs and slights in a way that often leads to bitterness. And not only bitterness, but actual power. For when we hold onto the wrongdoing of others against us we give them power over us. They shape our thoughts and may even guide our actions. In the act of forgiveness we actually release the power others have over us because of their wrongdoing toward us.

    Forgiveness is not easy, particularly if the wrong is significant or life altering. Yet, the good news is that we are able to be forgiven by God through Christ and as a result are shown the way of forgiveness.

    This continues our series in the Lord’s Prayer. More posts can be found at the following: