Belief

“People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those who believe less. I doubt if you would have believed it all yourself if you hadn't seen some of it.” 
― George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin

Looking ahead

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
Rather look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are,
will lead you safely through all things;
And when you cannot stand it,
God will carry you in His arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
The same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you today and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering or will give you
unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts
and imaginations.
- St. Francis de Sales

 Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Another Celtic morning prayer

May I arise this morning

feeling your warmth

embracing me,

conscious of your love

forgiving me,

knowing your peace

within me,

feeling your Spirit

strengthen me,

hearing your whisper

encouraging me.

In all I do

and in all I say

may my life 

this day

and all days

reflect

the beauty of my Lord.

- Celtic morning prayer from Faith and Worship

This is one of my favourite prayers so I post it again...

Image courtesy of dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wisdom from Niebuhr

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime;
therefore, we are saved by hope.

Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we are saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore, we are saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.

Reinhold Niebuhr in 'The Irony of American History'

 

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Fire in us...

 

"Give us courage to release the fire you have shut up in our bones, and strength to withstand the burning."

Janet Morley. "All Desires Known."

 

Image courtesy of twobee/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Seen on facebook

A friend put this as their facebook status today and I liked it....

Our faith may waiver. Our hope may stumble. But love, the DNA of God himself, will never fail us. It's God's love that renews our faith and our hope in our weakness and times of need. "Come - all who are weary - come into God's love and you will find rest for your soul."

  Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tools for love

When we want to fix a screw we should not use a hammer. When we change a light bulb we do not want a spanner. When I cut the grass on a lawn I do not want to use kitchen scissors! These are all tools and good, useful tools they are too, but they are only good when they do what they were designed to do. Try to use the wrong tool and it will take you twice as long and may even hinder your progress if it is any use at all.

I was reading of a development agency that collected money from Christians in wealthy countries and used it to but tools and seeds for villages in Africa. They used an African Church to be the means of getting the tools to the people who could make best use of them.  These tools were accompanied by instructions and training to empower the local people to be able to take control of their own local environment and make a difference in their community.

The tools were inexpensive but by putting the right tools in the hands of the right people huge changes could be achieved as people took responsibility for their own development and saw the potential of what they could now do.

As Christians in the rich world the tool we have to help our brothers and sisters in the poor world are the development agencies that can take the small sums of money which we give and work with local trusted partners to make our love come alive. Christan love in the abstract is a meaningless concept. It needs to be concrete and real to be worth anything and to change the world. Through these agencies we can put our love into action and we can make a real difference.

Grace of God

“Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.” - Karl Barth (May 10, 1886 - December 10, 1968)

 

"Just as the power of the sun is the only force in the natural universe that causes a plant to grow against gravity, so the grace of God is the only force in the spiritual universe that causes a person to grow against the gravity of their own ego." - Simone Weil

Compassion

"The principal of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions and it calls us always to treat all others as we would wish to be treated ourselves."

With these words, Karen Armstrong unveiled the Charter for Compassionon November 9th 2009.  This charter is for people of every faith and those with no faith from around the world. The charter contains the public confession that “we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion."

The Charter for Compassion was devised by Karen Armstrong who has written several books on religion and faith in the contemporary world. She was at one time a Roman Catholic nun before studying at Oxford University and ending up as a teacher. In recent years she has become widely known as a writer and speaker. Her study of the world’s religions revealed very clearly their differences but she identified a common thread that ran through them all. The common thread is compassion.

This dream is not simple or naieve but sums up the aspirations of all thinking and caring people irrespective of their faith. The Charter “impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.”

By early 2012 more than 85,000 people had affirmed the charter online. It has been implemented in various settings. One of the most notable is in a jail in Washington State (USA) where the goal was to decrease violence by 2.5 percent. The project was much more successful than hoped and violence decreased by 100 percent. The creators are evaluating the advantages for the federal government of implementing this program across the country.

Review : Wholeness and the Fruits of the Spirit

Micki reviewed Wholeness and the Fruits of the Spirit
on Amazon.com 

Excellent! April 21, 2012

I've always felt that I seriously fall short in exhibiting the Fruits of the Spirit. Pastor John explains this meaty section of the Bible in a way in which I'd never considered it before. This book lends encouragement and a healthy outlook to those of us who strive to become more like Jesus. 

 

******************

Thank you for your review

John

Christian short stories for all ages

I have just published a new book for the Kindle on Amazon. This is different to my other books. It is a book of Christian children's stories that I wrote to tell in schools, churches and Sunday schools. The stories bring in religious and moral truth in a gentle and natural way. They should not need explaining - the meaning is in the story.

There are twenty stories in this book and the first nine are about my dog called Goldie. (The dog got his picture on the cover)

The other stories are about various characters and situations. They have all been trialled with a live audience!

This book is now available for the Amazon kindle -  click here if you live in the UK or here if you live in the USA.

A prayer for today from history

A Prayer of St Jerome (347-420)

O Lord, you have given us your word for a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to meditate on that word, and follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day.

Faith seeking Understanding

This is my third and latest book available for the Amazon Kindle.

Confident Christians are not only those who are theologically conservative. This book explores how progressive and liberal Christians can develop a faith that is robust and confident. Faith is a lively and exciting journey of discovery and in this context confidence comes from living out that faith in our complex modern world. The chapters deal with faith, spirituality, the prophetic voice, intellectual exploration and inclusion. The title comes from the words of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury over 1000 years ago. Pastor John from Scotland has written several books, available on Amazon Kindle, to help people explore and develop their faith and spirituality.
This short book is just over 19,000 words. 

You can find this book for sale here in the USA and here in the UK.