Don't think you know it all

"Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!" - Romans 12:16

These words of Paul remind us to be humble and to acknowledge our own shortcomings. There are always opportunities to take the negative view on things, but likewise, there are many chances to build up others. Here is a timely prayer from William Barclay to help us begin this journey.

"O Father, give us the humility which
Realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes,
Recognizes its need, welcomes advice,
Accepts rebuke.

Help us always...
To praise rather than to criticize,
To sympathize rather than to condemn,
To encourage rather than to discourage,
To build rather than to destroy,
and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst." - William Barclay

Living in Grace

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Self-sufficiency. Is it a good or bad thing?

We live in a world we where have been taught to, 'fend for ourselves', 'don't trust anyone', 'no one can do this as good as you can', and 'look after number one!' 

While these may be helpful at certain times in our lives, they are not a good recipe for following Jesus. As William Barclay points out: “The one thing that shuts a person off from God is self-sufficiency.” 

When we tell God that we are 'okay' and that we don't need Him, then I feel that God obliges and lets us get on with things on our own steam. In my experience, this usually ends up with me crawling back to God, embarrassed at my own ego.

Psalm 70:5 - But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay.

2 Corinthians 9:8 - And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Living in Grace

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A big misunderstanding?

When Jesus had set his mind and heart towards Jerusalem, he pronounced:

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified" - John 12:23 (NIV)

It is believed that in saying this, Jesus was referring back to the words of Daniel and thus fulfilling them: 

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." - Daniel 7:13-14

The trouble came when the crowds understood the phrase, 'be glorified', to mean something very different from what Jesus was thinking. William Barclay helps us to understand this on a deeper level:

“By glorified the people meant that the subjected kingdoms of the earth would grovel before the conqueror’s feet; by glorified He meant crucified!” 

Throughout Jesus' ministry and especially in his final weeks, people superimposed their own ideas of salvation, victory and glory, unto Jesus' true meaning. 

Thought: In what ways, could I misunderstand the message of the Cross?

Living in Grace

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Set a watch on my tongue

"Set a watch upon our tongue O Lord, that we may never speak the cruel word, which is untrue; or being true is not the whole truth; or being wholly true, is merciless; for the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." - William Barclay

We all know the hurt of harsh words spoken by others, especially when there is little understanding of the 'whole' story. Just as we are acutely aware of this pain, so may we then ask God to set a watch on our words, so that we don't inflict pain on others. 

James 1:26 - If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

Living in grace

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Save us from ...

I have been loving reading through an old prayer book by William Barclay. Many of his prayers are inspirational and insightful, despite the language being a little dated. Here is another prayer, which I feel may be helpful for many of us:

"Save us from,
The unteachable spirit which will not learn;
The ungrateful spirit which never says thanks;
The unhappy spirit which is filled with complaints and discontent.

Save us from,
The disobliging spirit which grudges any help it has to give;
The discourteous spirit which never thinks of the feelings of anyone else;
The disobedient spirit which will take nothing but its own way..."

I suppose we could add a few others to this list too. What would you add if you were writing this prayer?

Save us from .........

Ephesians 4:23 - Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

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To walk, act, think, speak and live

Gracious God, help us,

To walk in your light;
To act in your strength;
To think in your wisdom;
To speak in your truth;
To live in your love;
Amen.

It is no secret that I love reading and am inspired by Christians who have left behind amazing legacies for us to witness. This prayer (above) is another beautiful prayer from William Barclay, and it really speaks to me today. I think the simplicity of the words help us to digest the power in their meaning. 

I invite you pray this prayer again slowly. Take it one sentence at a time. May it add blessing and grace to your day.

Living in Grace

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The Christian is ...

If we had to ask a group of people the following question, we would get a huge array of varying answers:

"Define who a Christian is?" 

I found the following insight from William Barclay to be quite helpful. He suggests:

“The Christian is the person who has ceased to do what they want to do and who has now begun to do what Christ wants them to do.” – William Barclay

Jesus would tend to agree with this. Jesus said:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me." - Matthew 16:24

Thought: 

What would your answer to today's question be? 

A Christian is ...

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True Inspiration

"God's inspiration does not come to those who sit with folded hands and lazy minds and only wait, but to those who think and seek and search. True inspiration comes when the searching mind joins with the revealing Spirit of God." - William Barclay

I think these words teach us a lot about the value of Advent. Of course, Jesus is not only revealed to those who reflect on his birth, but I do believe that the more we 'seek' Christ, the more we discover him. 

So, this is my prayer for you this week:

May we find Jesus in the words of Scripture.
May we discover Christ in the chaos of our world.
May we encounter the Spirit of God in the songs of Christmas.
May we comprehend his grace in the touch of a friend.
May we be reminded of his love in the smell of the scented candle.
May we appreciate his incarnation in the silence of the night.

As you search for Christ this season, may you discover how close he truly is.

"Search and you will find." - Matthew 7

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Purpose of prayer?

Have you ever considered this question? "What is the purpose of Prayer?"

There are many different answers to the question and I think a lot of them would be correct:

Communicating with God
Handing over our problems to God
Waiting on the Lord
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

Here is another response that I stumbled across in my sermon prep. It is from George Knight - "Prayer for Jesus was not an end in itself. Rather, it involved preparation for the task ahead. After he prayed Jesus arose to preach and heal throughout Galilee..."

William Barclay seems to agree - he says that "prayer will strengthen us for the tasks that must be done."

What do you think and feel? Please let me know if you have time.

Colossians 4:12 - "Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."

Living in Grace

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Anger continued

“The person who is a slave to anger; 
the person who speaks in the accent of contempt;
the person destroys another’s good name may never have committed murder in action, but he is a murderer at heart.” - William Barclay

These are the words that Barclay uses when he reflects on Jesus words in Matthew 5:21-24. It is easy to get all smug and say "I have never killed anyone and so look at how good I am", but what is really going on inside of us? Is there something that is potentially as dangerous and hurtful? Something that may not kill a person physically, but rather destroy their name and reputation?

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment." - Matthew 5:21-22

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Dangers that threaten us

"O God, I know that there are certain dangers which are always threatening me. 

Keep me from taking people and all that they do for me for granted, and help me to show them how much I value them, and how much I appreciate all that they do for me.

Keep me from allowing myself to become satisfied with less and less, from lowering my standards, from forgetting my ideals as the days go on.

Keep me from taking sin less and less seriously, from allowing myself things which once I would have refused, from accepting as inevitable things which once would have shocked me.

Help me to walk looking unto Jesus, that I may see all things in the light of his life and of his Cross, so that I may strive to be always on the upward way.

This I ask for your loves sake. Amen." - William Barclay

May this pray help us to avoid the quiet dangers that lurk out there and threaten to derail our relationship with others and with God.

"The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty." - Proverbs 22:3

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Prayer of a True leader

In the context of great political upheaval, as well as the greatest week in the Christian calendar, it seems appropriate to consider a prayer of true humility. I believe that leadership is a huge gift, responsibility and burden, but we should bear it with Christ-like humility. Jesus' attitude of obedience and humility won him billions of followers - so, surely we would do well to emulate his heart. This prayer is adapted from a prayer written by William Barclay.

 

"O Father, give us the humility which realises our ignorance,
Admits our mistakes, 

recognises our need, 

welcomes advice,
Accepts rebuke. 

Help us always to praise rather than to criticise,
To sympathise rather than to discourage, 

to build rather than to destroy,
And to think of people at their best rather than at their worst.
This we ask for thy name’s sake. Amen."
–  Prayer adapted from William Barclay

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Which one?

We can quite easily be a “Master of theology” and a “failure in living.” – William

Barclay

I came across this quote in preparing for today’s message and it has been

troubling me ever since. We can so often know a lot about God, but living out

what knowledge we have is the hard part. So, the challenge for us all is this:

“How much do we live out what we profess?”

If you would like a scripture to add to your thinking then please read the parable

of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10. It may help in your thinking.

Living in Grace

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Why do you pray?

Why do you pray?
If the answer to this deep question is "only to receive things from God", then we are missing the point in prayer. Yes, the Bible does invite us to bring our requests to God in prayer, but there is another reason why we should be praying. And this is it...

"We pray not in order to escape life, but in order to be better able to meet it." - William Barclay

For me, this means that when I pray for things, prayer
changes me in some way. My requests are ultimately left in the hands of God, but by spending the time and energy praying, I am bringing my will in line with the WILL of God. I am not sure if you agree with this or not, but it is worth reflecting on.

1 Kings 8:28 - Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.

Living in Grace
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Prayer for a new week

This is a fantastic prayer from William Barclay. I invite you to pray it with me during the course of this week. Please feel free to pass it onto anyone who may need the prayer.

"Give me this day, O God,
the energy I need to face my work;
the diligence I need to do it well;
the self-discipline which will make
me work just as hard,
even if there be none to see
and none to praise, and none to blame;

The self-respect which will not stoop
to produce anything which is less
than my best;
the courtesy and the considerateness,
which will make me easy to live with 
and easy to work with.

Help me so to live today that I
may make this world a happier place
wherever I may be;
Through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Amen."

Living in Grace
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Child of the King

It is a tragedy that we have become so blase to this fact: 
When we surrender to the love of Jesus, we become children of the King. 
This is huge - it is not to be scoffed at or simply noted! .... No ways, when you become a child of God, your whole life should feel the change.


“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” – Galatians 3:26

     

    William Barclay – “To bear the name of the family of God is something to keep a man’s feet on the right way, and to set him climbing.”

    

    Have you forgotten that you are child of God? Don't let today pass without basking in the knowledge that God calls us his children.

   Living in Grace

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