Faith

Praying for Others

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And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.  He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ Luke 18:1-3 ESV

For the last 23 years in nursing home ministry God has helped me to learn a lot about prayer. Though you may have never set foot in a nursing home you will discover that prayer requests are remarkably the same everywhere. People in nursing homes battle with depression, fatigue and loneliness around the holidays like everyone else. As an outreach worker you often ask yourself; “What is my small faith in the face of such needs?” Jesus gives us some answers in the story that He told about a widow and a judge. P1040884

First, she built a relationship with the judge by going to see him every day. Every day as he sipped his morning cup of tea, he would hear a knock. When he went to open his door there the widow would be again asking; “Give me justice in my dispute with my enemy!”  Maybe he even began to anticipate her visit and prepare for it. In our case we pray, not to some uncaring local magistrate; but to our Father in heaven. He is loving, merciful and kind. Why not begin where the widow began? Why not come every morning with expectant faith; knowing that Jesus is eagerly waiting to hear our knock on His door. Learning to pray for others means persistently building our relationship with God and then trusting Him to meet their needs.

Joseph Chose Faith

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But as he considered these things behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 ESV

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.   Luke 2:4 ESV

Sometimes I lie awake the night before a trip, turning over in my mind whether we have enough food, clothing, and money for the days ahead. On those nights I remember the story of Joseph the carpenter and husband of Mary.

Imported from phone 1273

  1. In spite of the hardships he trusted instead of complained

Amazingly in spite of so many things Joseph might have worried about, we don’t hear one single complaint from him.  The Bible is quite clear that Mary and Joseph were not super-heroes. They just trusted God.

 

  1. No matter what anybody thought Joseph chose God’s plan over his own

But Joseph also had to choose to say yes.  He had to decide if he would accept the angel’s message and accept Mary as his wife.

 

  1. When change was difficult and painful he traveled in Faith instead of fear

Later as he and Mary prepared to go to Bethlehem, he also had to trust God to protect them along the road where thieves often lay in wait. Where would they stay? Should they return to Nazareth or make a new life in Bethlehem? But he traveled in complete trust that God would handle all the details.

As Christmas approaches and this year draws to a close do you some fears about your future? Do you wrestle with doubts about God’s plan for your life? If we want to travel on in confidence then we need to bring all our questions to God; just like Joseph and then trust Him for the answers. God knows the road ahead just as He understands our doubts and fears. God has not chosen us to become super-heroes out to save the day. He has chosen us because we are ordinary and God loves to save every plain ordinary person who will trust Him with all our hearts!

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Bread Upon Waters

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When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.  Exodus 2:3-6

Moses’ mother was a woman trapped between two agonizing decisions. If she kept Moses for herself any longer he would be discovered and killed. If she threw him into the Nile River according to the king’s command he would drown. In faith she chose to do all she could as she worked into the night forming a basket for her child.

woman sitting beside girl holding brown wicker basket

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She wove it together covered it with tar, and then placed the tiny basket into the river and prayed.  Continue reading →