In step

What’s This “Margin” Thing?

I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, but trouble comes—Job 3:26

Men are drawn toward extremes. We’re wired to want to explore the edges of things. Going to extremes can be good, of course. In most situations, though, it’s a hazardous practice. Prevailing culture tells us, “work longer hours;” “sleep less;” “spend more money and stretch to a better lifestyle.” Such messages are harmful and aren’t from God. He didn’t design us to live (for sustained periods, at least) with extreme calendars, extreme finances, extreme approaches to work or physical health, or extreme pastimes/interests. God designed us to have margin.

Margin is the amount of time, money, whatever, we hold back—in order to maintain productivity, stability, integrity. “Calendar margin” means reserving time for rest, for solitude, for other people. “Financial margin” means living within our means, even changing our lifestyles, if necessary. “Work margin” means focusing on what we’re made to do, and excluding the things we aren’t.

Margin is a gift. While we can convince ourselves that there are valuable things in extremes (more status, more comfort), there are things much more valuable in margin: relationships, restoration, joy, peace. These are vital inputs to healthy, productive lives, and things we must have in sufficient quantities if we’re going to overflow love and provide protection to others. We care for others by caring of ourselves. That’s true masculinity—not some put-on, fear-driven, self-centered counterfeit.



What’s the culture of your city or your workplace? What’s it calling you to? Hurry? Worry? Stress? God’s calling you to a life of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Can you admit you’re built for these, built for margin? Now, can you make the wrenching, practical decisions that’ll conform your life to God’s design, not the world’s? Commit today, brother, to one concrete, measurable change.

Praying for Leaders
Morning Encounter:
Read:
First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them. Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honour God. This kind of prayer is good, and it pleases God our Saviour.
1 Timothy 2:1-4

Reflect:
Leadership is not easy. A leader must make decisions on behalf of others; they must discern vision and direction; they must inspire, cajole and motivate; they must guard against an unhealthy love of power and a desire to control. It is not at all surprising that Paul puts them on the list of those we should pray for. There’s a pragmatic reason in there: if we have good leaders, it will make for a peaceful life!

Respond:
Take time now to pray for the leadership of our country. Pray for the Queen, for the Prime Minister and the cabinet, pray for your local Member of Parliament. Pray that they will have wisdom, integrity and humility. Pray for God’s blessing on them as they serve us.

Midday Meditation:
“The greatness of prayer is nothing but an extension of the greatness and glory of God in our lives. The Scripture is one long testimony to this truth…To fail to pray then, is not merely to break some religious rule- it is a failure to treat God as God. It is a sin against his glory. ‘Far be it from me,’ said the prophet Samuel to his people, ‘that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.’ (1 Samuel 12:23)”
(Timothy Keller, Prayer)

Evening Reflection:
Today I pray for our country. I ask that you would give our Prime Minister wisdom beyond her own understanding and the courage to choose the right path no matter how narrow the gate. I pray for all in authority over us that you would give them the grace and strength to stand against the temptation to use power as a weapon but rather to carry it reverently as one would a child. I pray for the spiritual leaders of our country that they would hear your voice and know your heart. I pray that they would lead from their knees and by that simple grace bring each one of us to our knees before your throne. Have mercy on our nation Lord, In Jesus name, Amen

CAN'T BUY ME LOVE -- BECOMING A FRIEND WORTH HAVING


John 13:14
"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash
one another's feet."

Start

Money can't buy happiness, but it can borrow a few friends. Outside your house you
could toss up a swimming pool with multilevel waterslides--and inside, carve out a
not-so-mini arcade and an eye-popping, ear-bursting home theater with multiple
game systems. With playthings like that, you'd be a real friend magnet. Until
someone else throws a better party.

What's the best way to get friends?

Read John 13:4-5, 12-14
" got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash
his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to
his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that
I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet."

Think

You probably don't have the option of handing out cash or prizes to make friends,
but maybe you wish you did. Jesus unleashes a more dazzling, durable way to
win friends. As the clock ticks down the final hours before his crucifixion, he
shows his followers "the full extent of his love" (John 13:1 NIV). Then he
commands us to act the same way. If you want to be a friend worth having,
Jesus demonstrates how.

Jesus does a crazy thing to show love to his closest friends: He washes
their feet. Why do that?

Picture those disciples: burly, sandal-wearing men who spend their days
clomping down dusty dirt roads. It's a recipe for filthy, stinking feet. By
untying his guys' sandals and scrubbing their feet, Jesus performed a
practical, necessary deed. But foot washing was the job for a household's
lowliest servant. Unlike Jesus, none of the disciples seized this obvious
opportunity to serve. In fact, the book of Luke shows them hotly debating
which one of them is the greatest (Luke 22:24).

What does Jesus expect his followers to learn from his act of servanthood?

Live

Suppose you were God. King of the universe. Ruler of all. Tell how you'd
expect to be treated.

What do you think of what Jesus did?

People today won't get the point if you just snatch their shoes and socks
and powerwash their toes. But Philippians 2:3-4 tells what genuine servanthood
looks like in any time and place: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your
own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Servanthood
doesn't mean you let others stomp on you. Instead, you make their needs as
important as your own.

True or false: Taking the role of a servant can help you make and maintain
friends. Explain your answer.

Wrap

Do you want a collection of friends who care about your needs as much as
they care about their own? That's the love God wants to grow among his
people, a kind of care that sticks people together forever. If you grow in
showing that Jesus-like mindset toward other people, you won't have to
buy friends. People will beg to be around you.

More thoughts to mull

- Do something today that honors another person, putting his or her interests
before yours.

- Who do you know--someone nearby or someone famous--who knows how
to serve like Jesus? How do people respond to that person's attitude and actions?

- What's the difference between being a chump and being a Jesus-like servant?

More scriptures to dig

- The mother of two of Jesus' closest followers once tried to score the best
seats in heaven for her boys by kneeling before Jesus and begging that
James and John be allowed to sit at the Lord's left and right. The guys
weren't embarrassed by their loud-mouthed mom, but the other disciples
roared. Jesus called them together and said the real path to greatness is
the low path, not the high road. He said, "Whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). Catch the whole story
in Matthew 20:20-28.

- While you're looking at Matthew 20, don't miss a couple more essential
truths from that event. In Matthew 20:25 Jesus points out that it's human
nature to rub your rank in other people's faces. But Jesus did just the
opposite. In Matthew 20:28 he outlines his one-of-a-kind approach to life:
"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many."

- Read Philippians 2:1-11 for a summary of Jesus' intense unselfishness.
It's woven together with details on how you can imitate him. You might be
surprised to learn this passage makes servanthood sound downright
beautiful, and the poetic words of verses 6-11 were probably lyrics sung
by early Christians.

- Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament told of a
"servant" who would arrive on the scene to take up our pain and bear our
sufferings. Check out Isaiah 53:1-12 for an amazing description of Jesus'
ultimate sacrifice--his death on the cross for humankind's sins.

The Key to Powerful Prayers
Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. —Luke 22:42 NLT
The efficacy of our prayers is not determined by our dexterity with whatever language we speak. It is not dependent on a prescribed, repetitious prayer. God knows our hearts before we ever bow a knee and utter a word.
Many have asked the question: Why pray if God is omniscient—all-knowing? Prayer is not about imparting knowledge to God; it is about having fellowship with Him. We desire to spend time in communion with our heavenly Father and to seek His will. “Not my will, but thine, be done” was Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Prayer is an act of surrender to the will of God, aligning ourselves with His plan and purpose for our lives. Surrender to Him today.

Praying for the Sick
Morning Encounter:
Read:
If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. If you are sick, ask the church leaders to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil on you in the name of the Lord. If you have faith when you pray for sick people, they will get well. The Lord will heal them, and if they have sinned, he will forgive them.
If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot. Elijah was just as human as we are, and for three and a half years his prayers kept the rain from falling. But when he did pray for rain, it fell from the skies and made the crops grow.
(James 5:13-18)

Reflect:
Taken in isolation, this passage seems to say quite clearly that if we pray for healing with faith, God will heal (5:15). It seems to imply two things- one, that there is a connection between the faith of the pray-er and the outcome of the prayer, and two, that conditions being right, healing can be expected. If we look at a whole biblical theology of healing, neither of these implications bear out. God can heal, and sometimes does. But he does not always, and this is not down to a lack of faith.
Having said all that, we have a loving and powerful God, and in the face of suffering, what else can we do but come to him in prayer, trusting in his goodness and putting our hope in his promise of a whole, joyful and pain-free eternal life in his presence (Revelation 21:1-4)?

Respond:
Pray for those you know who need physical healing.

Midday Meditation:
“We cannot remove Gethsemene and Golgotha from the reality of life in Christ. Preachers who say that it is always God’s will to heal simply have no theology of suffering. They are in grave danger of becoming what Paul calls ‘enemies of the cross…[whose] mind is on earthly things’ (Phil. 3:18-19)…The book of Revelation anticipates a time when the dwelling place of God will be with men so that ‘there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain’ (21:4). But until that day, we live in the gap between the Fall and the coming redemption of all things.”
(Pete Greig, God on Mute)

Evening Reflection:
O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in
time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and
relieve thy sick servant N. for whom our prayers are desired.


Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with
a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations
of the enemy; and give him patience under his affliction. In
thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead
the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant
that finally he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Build on the Rock
Matthew 7:15-29
"'... everyone who ... does not put [Jesus' words] into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.'" (v. 26)

"The biggest problem we face in the Christian life," said Dr. Cynddylan Jones, a famous Welsh preacher, "is distance." He continued: "The only way that distance can be overcome is by having the perspective of Job who said: 'Though He slay me yet will I trust Him.'" When I talk to counselors in training I tell them that what they should be listening for as a counselee tells his or her story is distance. That's what underlies most problems that bring people into counseling. This does not mean we should ignore or make light of the surface problems with which people may be struggling.

But the plain fact is this -- when we are close to God and have a deep and intimate relationship with Him, we may feel downcast but not destroyed. Therefore, every Christian counselor's ultimate goal should be to close any distance there may be between the person and God, and to develop spiritual oneness. Counseling is not effective or complete until this is accomplished. How does distance come between ourselves and God? There are many causes -- bitterness and resentment against another, persistent sin, failure to establish a devotional life -- but largely it arises through a lack of trust. If you cut your way through the maze of human problems that's what you find -- an inability to trust. That's what happened in the Garden of Eden, and that's what happens in our personal Garden of Eden also. To try to develop a close relationship with God and fail to deal with this most basic issue is about as effective as building a skyscraper on an acre of sand.

Prayer:
O God, I see so clearly that although there are many things that bring about distance between You and me, the most basic is lack of trust. Help me settle this issue once and for all over the next few days. In Christ's Name I pray. Amen.

The Importance of Humility
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
—Matthew 18:1–4 KJV

The disciples had asked Jesus a question, and in response, Jesus turns around and sees a little boy walking by, or perhaps simply running down the street, playing with some friends. Jesus says, “Child, come here.” The boy stops and walks over to Jesus in obedience. Jesus takes the boy lovingly by the shoulders, turns him to face the disciples and says, “Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
There have been times in my life when I knew I could do nothing in my own strength. I had no idea then that my desperate heart’s cry was the fertile soil in which the glory of God could be manifested.
This is receiving the Kingdom of God like a child. You can receive Him today.

Prayer for the Persecuted Church
Morning Encounter:
Read:
God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.
Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful…
Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible.
(Colossians 3: 12-15, 4:2-4)

Reflect:
Sometimes our prayers can become focussed exclusively on those we know, or whose lives intersect with us directly. But all around the world are people who are part of ‘God’s special people’ (3:12) undergoing incredible suffering for their faith. And they need our prayers.
Paul writes this letter from prison, but he doesn’t ask the Colossians to pray for his release. He asks them to pray that he will be effective in communicating his message about Christ. There are many things our persecuted brothers and sisters need, but let’s pray first and foremost that their faith would remain strong, that their courage would be unshakable and that God would be glorified through their lives.

Respond:
Visit www.opendoorsuk/pray/ for resources to inform and inspire your prayers for the persecuted church. Perhaps consider committing to pray regularly for a specific person.

Midday Meditation:
“The Christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated. The burden of men was so heavy for God Himself that He had to endure the Cross. God verily bore the burden of men in the body of Jesus Christ. But He bore them as a mother carries her child, as a shepherd enfolds the lost lamb that has been found. God took men upon Himself and they weighted Him to the ground, but God remained with them and they with God. In bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them. It was the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the Cross. And Christians must share in this law.”
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer Life Together)

Evening Reflection:
“So when Jesus directs us to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” he does not mean we should pray for it to come into existence. Rather, we pray for it to take over at all points in the personal, social, and political order where it is now excluded: “On earth as it is in heaven.” With this prayer we are invoking it, as in faith we are acting it, into the real world of our daily existence.”

Where Is God?
Psalms 74
"Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long." (v. 22)

How do we develop trust in the goodness of God when so much that is happening in the world seems to contradict it? If God is good, how can He allow disasters? Dr. M. Scott Peck opens his book The Road Less Travelled with these words: "Life is difficult. This is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it." I have great difficulty with some of Dr. Scott Peck's statements, but I fully endorse these remarks. Once we accept the fact that life is difficult -- that the mystery of why calamities and suffering occur will never be fully solved while we are here on earth -- then we will stop demanding that a satisfactory answer be found and begin to get on with life. Christians go down different routes regarding this matter of calamities and suffering.

One is to close their eyes and pretend the tremendous problems are not there. But integrity requires that we face whatever is true. Reality is grim -- innocent children are abused, starved, massacred -- and countless other forms of atrocity are carried out around the world daily. We must not blind our eyes to these facts and pretend they are untrue because they appear to contradict the concept of God?s goodness. Pretense must never be our refuge. We must be willing to look at these things, unpleasant and horrible though they be, and allow ourselves to be jarred by them. When we face life honestly and allow ourselves to be jolted by what we see, then, and only then, are we ready for God to speak.

Prayer:
Gracious and loving heavenly Father, give me the courage not to bury my head in the sand and pretend there are no problems. Help me stand even when I cannot understand. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

Staying United
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. —Ephesians 4:3 NIV

Unity and harmony were non-existent in my childhood home. Neither my parents nor my siblings enjoyed “unity of the Spirit.” Not until I later began to study the Word of God did I realize just how important these words are.

Unity is the glue that holds a family, a Church, a nation together. The result of such harmony is a place where God’s people are refreshed and strengthened by His Spirit. It is the place where His anointing flows! And it is the place where zoe—Hebrew for life, the eternal, God-kind of life—flows freely!
The Hebrew word for unity denotes a people drawn together for one purpose—to follow Jehovah, fulfill His plan and purpose, and to dwell together under the umbrella of His blessings.
Live under that umbrella today and enjoy God’s best for you.

Praying with Perseverance
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Jesus told his disciples a story about how they should keep on praying and never give up:
In a town there was once a judge who didn’t fear God or care about people. In that same town there was a widow who kept going to the judge and saying, “Make sure that I get fair treatment in court.”
For a while the judge refused to do anything. Finally, he said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care about people, I will help this widow because she keeps on bothering me. If I don’t help her, she will wear me out.”

The Lord said:
Think about what that crooked judge said. Won’t God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night? Won’t he be concerned for them? He will surely hurry and help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find on this earth anyone with faith?
(Luke 18: 1-8)

Reflect:
Jesus told this story to encourage his followers to pray faithfully. The point is made through contrasts rather than parallels. The first contrast is between the widow and the disciples. In Jesus’ historical context, a widow was one of the most vulnerable and poor members of society. A disciple of Jesus has the love and protection of God himself. The second contrast is between the crooked judge and the Father. The judge will only help because he becomes wearied by all the nagging. Our Father is attentive, generous, always concerned for us (18:7,8).

The third contrast is between the court and the throne of grace. An ancient middle Eastern court was a tent where the judge sat surrounded by assistants. It was often the case that a person would need to pay a bribe to even get their case heard. Our prayers go direct to God.
As we all know, prayer is not a matter of putting in an order and waiting for delivery. God may well not give us what we are asking for, according to our specified timescales. But here Jesus gives us all the reason we need to keep praying anyway: we persevere in prayer because we are coming to an all-powerful and eternally loving father who hears the cries of our hearts and ultimately has it all in hand.

Respond:
Are there things you have been praying about for a very long time? Are you beginning to think of God as the crooked judge? Spend some time asking the Holy Spirit to fill you with renewed faith, hope and trust.

Midday Meditation:
“One of the old cardinal virtues was fortitude, but where today do we find such courageous staying power?...Jesus, however, makes it foundational to real effectiveness in Intercessory Prayer.
Do you, do I exhibit this patient determination in our prayers for others? How easily we fall short! In the levitical legal code the fire on the altar was to be kept burning perpetually; it was never to go out (Lev 6:13). As God builds stamina and grit into our spirituality, we today must learn to build the eternal flame of prayer on the altar of devotion.”
(Richard Foster, Prayer)

Evening Reflection:
Always be joyful and never stop praying. Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.
Don’t turn away God’s Spirit or ignore prophecies. Put everything to the test. Accept what is good and don’t have anything to do with evil.
I pray that God, who gives peace, will make you completely holy. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept healthy and faultless until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. The one who chose you can be trusted, and he will do this.
(I Thessalonians 5:16-24)

A critical position
For reading & meditation: 1 Peter 1:1-7
"These have come so that your faith ' may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour '" (v.7)


Today we examine the fact that although the psalmist's feet are no longer slipping and sliding, he continues to struggle inwardly with his problem. Listen to what he says: "But when I considered how to understand this, it was too great an effort for me and too painful" (Psa. 73:16, Amplified Bible). It is clear that although he has stopped himself from falling, he is still in great anguish of heart and mind; he is still perplexed over the issue of why the ungodly are prospering while he, a child of God, has to face all kinds of difficulties. He cannot bear the thought of scandalising the family of God, and yet his confusion continues. Have you ever been in this position in your spiritual life - saved from slipping and sliding but still harassed by a giant-sized spiritual problem?

You know enough to stop you falling, but not enough to start you climbing. It is a strange position to be in but one, I must confess, in which I have found myself on many occasions. Perhaps you are there right now - your feet have stopped slipping, but strong emotions continue to rage inside you. This is a very critical position to be in - critical because the temptation at this point is to quieten the raging emotions within by settling for answers that are less than the real ones. I know many Christians who have been in this position, and because their goal has been to alleviate the pain in their heart rather than find the real solutions to their problem, they have grasped at superficial answers that do nothing more than provide temporary relief.

Prayer:
O Father, save me from settling for less than the best, even though it means struggling a little longer with some difficult and turbulent emotions. Help me be concerned with maturity, not just temporary relief. Amen.

The Beauty and Meaning of Life
"When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind."1

In speaking about the meaning and purpose of life, one insightful writer said, "It is not about writing great books, amassing great wealth, achieving great power. It is about loving and being loved. It is about savoring the beauty of moments that don't last, the sunsets, the leaves turning color, the rare moments of true human communication."

King Solomon, one of the wisest and richest men of antiquity said about his life: "I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks … reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves …. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces….In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."2

When we realize that the essence of life is not in power, performance, or possessions but in loving relationships—both with our fellow man and with God—and in appreciating the beauty of his creation, and fulfilling his purpose for our lives, we will have discovered what Solomon took a lifetime to learn.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, give me the wisdom to understand that the beauty and true meaning of life is not found in power, performance, or possessions, but in loving relationships the human heart yearns for, and in loving and serving you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Ecclesiastes 2:11 (NIV).
2. Ecclesiastes 2:4-8, 10-11 (NIV).

Praying with Others
Morning Encounter:
Introduction
Most, if not all, Christians would affirm the importance of private prayer. It is the primary way we engage in relationship with our Father God; a central part of the spiritual life. But does praying with others get the same priority? How many of us pray regularly with a friend, faithfully attend all our Church prayer meetings, show up at public prayer vigils?
The Christian life is not intended to be lived individually, and there are many places in the Bible where we see God take special pleasure in his people coming before him together. This week we will be looking at how and why we should pray with others.

Read:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
(Genesis 1.26- 27/NIV)

Reflect:
Although the term ‘Trinity’ is never used explicitly in the Bible, we gain a clear picture of the nature of God as three persons- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even in our passage here in Genesis, a plural pronoun is used: us (1.26). God, in whose image we are made, is a community. We are designed to be in relationship with God and with each other (and with the created world). As we engage with God then, it makes sense for us to engage with God alongside other people.

Respond:
Take some time to assess your prayer habits. How often and in what settings do you pray with others? How could you build more communal prayer into your regular schedule?

Midday Meditation:
‘The Trinitarian persons are precisely not self-enclosed subjects who define themselves in separation from and opposition to others. Rather, in God “persons” are relational realities and are defined by inter-subjectivity, shared consciousness, faithful relationships, and the mutual giving and receiving of love.’
(Daniel Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding)

Evening Reflection:
“Because Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, it is a spiritual and not a psychic [merely human] reality. In this it differs absolutely from all other communities…Christian brotherhood is not an ideal that we must realise; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it.”

The God Who is There
Job 42
"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." (v. 5)

The Book of Job records the story of a godly man who underwent some of the most bitter experiences it is possible to meet with in this life. At first Job says very little about his difficulties, but later in the book he begins to face the reality of what has happened to him and declares that if he could have an interview with God he would tell Him exactly what he thought of Him (Job 23:1--17).

It was when he faced his hardships, recognized how he really felt and admitted it that God came to him and answered him (Job 38:1--41:34). We must never be afraid of admitting that what we see around us doesn?t match up with what we know about the character of God. To blind our eyes to the realities of life for fear that what we observe might turn us against God is utterly foolish. We must face difficult issues, for it is only when we do so that we are ready to hear God speak. If we refuse to face reality, then our souls are not alert to hear His voice.

We fear that we might hear something to make us even more uncertain of God, and thus prefer to take refuge in illusion. When Job faced the reality of his situation and how he really felt, then he was ready for God to speak. But notice God didn't give any answers to Job's questions. He gave Himself. Job had an encounter with God that more than satisfied him. He could live without answers when he knew that God was there.

Prayer:
Loving Father, the more I learn about You the more wonderful I see You are. Help me never to take refuge in illusion but to bring all my doubts and fears directly to You. Do for me what You did for Job -- enrich me with Your presence. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Laughter Is Good Medicine ... Science Agrees
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."1

Science has finally caught up with these words in the Bible that King Solomon wrote some 3,000 years ago.

The following report is from The Week magazine: "Laughter is good for your health—and now scientists know why. Researchers at the University of Maryland found that when 20 healthy volunteers smiled and guffawed while watching the comedy,Kingpin, their blood flow increased by 22 percent, about the same increase caused by aerobic exercise. But when volunteers watched tension-filled scenes fromSaving Private Ryan, their blood flow decreased 35 percent.

"The researchers say that laughing apparently causes the endothelium, the tissue that lines blood vessels, to expand, which increases blood flow. Laughter may also improve arterial health by reducing mental stress, which constricts vessels and cuts blood flow. A healthy lifestyle—researcher Michael Miller tells New Scientist—would include 30 minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of hearty laughter each day."2

It's a pity that so many totally ignore God's directives for healthier, happier living. If we would live by the principles as found in his Word, the Bible, we would not only live healthier and happier lives, but our relationships would improve out of sight. We can't improve on God's plan. The wisest thing is to get in on it.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the principles given in your Word so that I can know how to live a healthier and happier life, and in so living greatly enhance my relationships. Please help me God to so live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Many People, One Body
Morning Encounter:
Read:
The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God’s Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit.
Our bodies don’t have just one part. They have many parts. Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, and so I’m not part of the body.” Wouldn’t the foot still belong to the body? Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, and so I’m not part of the body.” Wouldn’t the ear still belong to the body? If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn’t hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn’t smell a thing. But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.
A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body. That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands.

That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet. In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, but we don’t have to be modest about other parts.
God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honoured, the whole body will be happy.
Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body.
(1 Corinthians 12.12-27)

Reflect:
The body as a metaphor for the church works on several levels. On one level, it illustrates how closely bound together we are. Our fellow Christians need us, and we need them. It also demonstrates that diversity and difference are to be expected and embraced. And Paul uses the image to make the point that together we are the physical presence of Christ on earth.
When we gather together in our local church settings, prayer must be at the heart of what we do. We only belong to each other because we belong to Christ. As we pray together, our unity and love cannot help but be strengthened.

Respond:
What do you most enjoy about what you do together as a church? Is it the singing, the sermon, the chatting at the end? Think about the place prayer has in what you do. Are there changes you need to make in your own attitude or in what happens during the service?

Midday Meditation:
“Drawing upon the prophet Isaiah, Jesus declares, “My house shall be a house of prayer” (Is 56:7, Luke 19:46). I would love to see our churches become houses of prayer. I know you would too. All too often, however, they are places for everything and anything except prayer. I say this with sorrow, for I believe it saddens the heart of God. True, we need to have our business meetings and our committee meetings and our Bible studies and our self-help groups and our worship services, but if the fire is not hot at the centre, these things are only ashes in our hands.”
(Richard Foster, Prayer)

Evening Reflection:
“What various hindrances we meet
In coming to a mercy-seat!
Yet who that knows the worth of pray’r
But wishes to be often there?

Pray’r makes the dark’ned cloud withdraw,
Pray’r climbs the ladder Jacob saw;
Gives exercise to faith and love,
Brings ev’ry blessing from above.

Accepting the Inevitable
Job 36
"But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction." (v. 15)

Oswald Chambers said: "Life is more tragic than orderly." Chambers knew that unless Christians are willing to grapple with this truth and accept it, they will be plagued by inner oughts and shoulds that lead them down the road of illusion. They will find themselves saying, "It ought not to be like this" or "Things should be different" -- and the only thing this kind of demandingness produces is frustration and anger. The Fall has turned this fair universe of God's into a shambles, and though much about the world is still beautiful, accidents, calamities, and suffering prevail. And these will continue until the time when God brings all things to a conclusion.

There is nothing wrong with wishing that things were not so, but when we demand that they be different, when we say the effects of the Fall must be reversed and reversed now, we will end up feeling terribly frustrated. Life is difficult, as Scott Peck stated, and though prayer does move God to work supernaturally in some situations, life will go on being more "tragic than orderly" until Christ returns and finalizes His plans for this fallen planet. This is reality -- and the sooner we face it the better. True faith is not built upon illusion but upon reality. We may not like things the way they are in this world, but to avoid facing them because they don't match up with what we know about God is foolish. As I have been emphasizing, it is only when we face honestly the harsh realities of life that we become ready for God to speak to us.

Prayer
O God, I see that facing the hard things of life honestly drives me to a place where I become desperate for an answer. Then You step in -- and give me not an answer but Yourself. I can live without answers, but I cannot live without You. Stay close to me, my Father. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

The Prerequisite to Harmony
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. —John 17:21 KJV

Only when self is subjugated to Christ can we be one with God—and each other—to have this, His unity in our lives. We will never be one by trying to agree with each other and putting aside differences of belief for the sake of unity alone.

You and I are to be one as Jesus and His Father are one. Only when Jesus is on the throne in each of our lives can we be in tune with His purpose and be one Body on earth able to work corporately, to bring true and lasting revival.
Only when Self is subjugated to Jesus will His “greater works” flourish as the body of Christ grows into His fullness and carries forth His kingdom on the earth.
Surrender to His will today.

The Glue Holding Us Together
Morning Encounter:
Read:
Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is evil and hold tight to everything that is good. Love each other as brothers and sisters and honour others more than you do yourself. Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord. Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying. Take care of God’s needy people and welcome strangers into your home.

Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. Be friendly with everyone. Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others. Make friends with ordinary people. Don’t mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others, and do your best to live at peace with everyone.

Dear friends, don’t try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
“I am the one to take revenge
and pay them back.”
The Scriptures also say,
“If your enemies are hungry,
give them something to eat.
And if they are thirsty,
give them something
to drink.
This will be the same
as piling burning coals
on their heads.”
Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.
(Romans 12: 9-21)

Reflect:
Getting on with other Christians can be tricky, but we are asked to aim even higher- we are asked to love each other. Paul’s exhortations here are woven in with very practical ways of grounding what might seem an abstract concept, and prayer is at the heart of making it work.
If we are to serve each other practically, honour each other more than we honour ourselves, feel the joy and pain of fellow believers, we must ‘eagerly follow the Holy Spirit’ (12:1) and ‘never stop praying’ (12:12). Prayer is integral to our life together as God’s family. Without it, we are just a jumble of mismatched and awkward people trying to be friends.

Respond:
Re-read today’s passage, with your Christian community in mind. Ask God to show you how to be a more loving and prayerful member of the family.

Midday Meditation:
“I am increasingly convinced that if the Church is to live, and actually be alive, one of the reasons, maybe the most important and maybe the only reason, will be because we have taken up our place in the line of the generations of the faithful who came before us. It will be because we pray the prayer that Christ himself prayed when he walked among us and now longs to pray through us. It will be because we choose to no longer be among the ones who silence the prayer that Christ, through his body, prays to the Father. It will be because we make sure that the wave of prayer that sustained the Church for all time does not stop when it is our turn to say it each day. It will be because we answer the ancient call to pray without ceasing.”
(Robert Benson, In Constant Prayer)

Evening Reflection:
“Church is the textured context in which we grow up in Christ to maturity. But church is difficult. Sooner or later, though, if we are serious about growing up in Christ, we have to deal with church. I say sooner.”