2nd-8th September 2024
"Our ordinary lives hold extra ordinary purpose when surrendered to God's will.” [Chris Cooke – Encounters with Jesus]
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
(He walked in our shoes)!
Walk a mile in their shoes
As we have prayed over what to focus on in this week's prayer diary, God has clearly given us a new appreciation and awe for the enormity of the journey Jesus made from the glory of heaven to the depravity of this earth so He could walk in our shoes.
It is no coincidence that we have ended up studying Jesus’ personal encounters with humanity this summer. In a world that is increasingly intolerant and withdrawn from anyone who is "different" we have been asked to love like Jesus, to walk in the shoes of others, to take time to understand each other's pain and carry each other's burdens.
Over the summer we have watched with broken hearts as people throughout the UK have launched all kinds of attacks on those of a different colour, race, nationality or culture. Recently we saw this happen on our own doorstep as the heartbreaking arson attack on Steam restaurant just outside Ballyrobert left a local Nepalese-British family devastated as they saw months of love, memories and hard work burn to the ground.
We are told numerous times in the Bible to protect the orphan, widow, foreigner in the land. It doesn't matter who the person is or where they have come from, whether we agree with them or not, whether we find them easy to get on with – or not. Ultimately, we are asked to love our neighbour – full stop!! That means our literal neighbours, our family, colleagues, church community, people we bump into at our local shops whether they own the store or clean the floors ... and even the person driving the car that cuts us up on the roundabout getting there ... 😳 (I’m not so good at that one!)
Jesus walked on this earth for 33 years so He can say He knows exactly what our struggles are, how we feel in different situations, what a desperate struggle life can be. Can you imagine the splendour of heaven ... and yet He chose to leave it for our sake. He modelled for us so beautifully how to walk alongside people in every walk of life, sacrificing self to put others first, understanding their context and needs, never judging harshly or rashly.
“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:14-16
Throughout this week let's look at the people who are placed into our lives – directly and indirectly, chosen or circumstantial, welcome ... or challenging. Let's take time to pray for them, put ourselves in their shoes, and walk – like Jesus did – alongside others, whether they are 'like us' or not. Let's take an extra second to consider how we react to each person who crosses our path each day so we can be Jesus’ hands and feet in their lives ... beginning at home (even if that only means the dog).
“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
Guest Contributors - Mark & Ally Bennett
MONDAY
Family
“God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.” Psalm 68:6
I love God’s design for community, living in relationship, our reliance on others for so many of our basic needs – and how much we learn and grow from how we serve others using our own gifts. Not everyone’s experience of biological family is a happy one. I am immensely grateful to have had a very happy family life and to have grown up loved, secure and provided for. But there are some wider family relationships that continue to provide deeply painful emotions and attitudes within me that I have to bring to God again and again. It is so important that we bring our families to God each day – for protection, wisdom and patience – as we navigate life together with the first support networks and communities we are given in this life.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for your design for life – that we should live in community with others, nurtured and cared for, encouraged and challenged. Your design is perfect, our world is not. We pray for those for whom family life is deeply flawed and painful, lonely or even unsafe. Help us to love those we share our homes and our lives with. Protect those relationships and help us to learn to show Jesus’ love and care at home first, where it’s often hardest! Help us to gladly sacrifice our own needs for those you have placed in our families, give us grace, patience and empathy to care for them and love them as you have modelled so perfectly for us. We thank you for the happy times and the memories we carry through our lives. For those within our families who don’t know you yet, give us opportunities to share our journey with them so they can one day know the joy and peace of life with you too. Protect our families throughout this day. Help us to care for those who are ill and struggling. Together may we learn to know and love you more. Amen.
TUESDAY
Church Community
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:14
The Bible is quite clear … Community matters for discipleship … we were created to connect, designed with unity in mind, with God and with others. It is central to our understanding of the gospel, to the way we follow Jesus and has profound implications for our physical, emotional and spiritual health. The love of Christ is discovered corporately, the church needs deep, authentic relationships so that we might thrive as Christians. I love the fact that around fifty times in the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles tell us to feel, say, or do something to “one another”. We are to care for one another and bear with one another, honour one another and sing to one another, do good to one another and forgive one another. And then there is the grand, overarching, most-repeated one-another, the command that “binds everything together in perfect harmony” as it says in the passage above – “Love one another”. As we walk in our daily journey, what better place to start with community and fellowship than in our own backyard – Glenabbey! We’re a church made up of people from many backgrounds, ages and stages, young and old … we see Christ’s love as we sing of that love together each week, as we encourage one another. So, remember this week and in coming weeks to walk with each other through whatever life’s storms throw at us. In a culture of individualism, sacrificial church community stands out and has opportunities to draw others in – a community of real people who are attentive to each other, responsive to each other and quick to extend mercy, grace and love.
Prayer
Lord, as we reflect on your command to love one another, help us to die to our own sensitivities and suspicions – to assume the best of people, to give people the benefit of the doubt, to lay down our own ambition and pride, and to commit ourselves to helping others grow into the people God wants them to be. Lord, help us to patiently keep going and to keep to the gospel message, guarding it, not caving in to today’s culture and its demands. We think especially of the younger generation as another school and academic term has gotten underway. From our youngest kids, right up through to senior youth and young adults, may they be encouraged in their faith, and may your word take root in their hearts regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in and how changeable things currently are. Bless the leaders and volunteers who give their time to share God’s word with our younger generations. As they oversee those ministries, I pray you will provide for their needs as they faithfully, week by week, open the Bible, teach our young people and see them grow as your disciples. We pray together with them that they will glorify you in all that they do. Amen.
WEDNESDAY
Church Leaders
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13
Ephesians shows us that Christ gives leaders and teachers to His church for that amazing purpose you have just read. Our leaders are so devoted to building up the church! Devotion is not a laid-back, feet-up-on-the-sofa kind of word though. Think about it – it means spending ourselves, using our time, using our giftings, investing lots … and doing all this gladly for a family of God’s people. The apostle John’s first letter to the churches under his care was crammed full of affectionate language – he loved them. Let’s love our leaders dearly as they shoulder the burden of leadership. After all, they are ordinary people with struggles, hopes and fears, wrestling with personal and family issues … they are breakable! They need prayer. They need us! So, remember to make their hard work glad work – as Hebrews 13:17 puts it: Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
Prayer
Thank you for the promise of eternal life and for the privilege of being able to study your word together. May we be open to what our teachers have to say to us each week. Help us to hear your voice, to learn from it, to reflect on it and to apply it to our lives so that the centrality of your gospel will fill our hearts. We give thanks for the leadership of our elders and pray they may know God’s wisdom and guidance with the many situations and decisions they deal with. Thank you for the prayerful care they show to us as they shepherd their flock. Thank you for giving us leaders and teachers across many ministries in Glenabbey. Help us as a church to know how better to support and care for all our leaders and that in doing so, you are glorified. Help us, Lord, to encourage our leaders here and to build one another up. Amen.
THURSDAY
Government & World Leaders
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:22-23
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:3
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.” Romans 13:1-7
“We don’t do God,” Alastair Campbell famously interjected when Tony Blair, as prime minister, was once asked about his faith. What a relief to remind ourselves from Ephesians and Hebrews that Jesus is governing and upholding the universe and that all human authority comes directly from God. In His power, the Father has “put all things under his feet and given him as head over all things”. It’s interesting that theologians call this the session of Christ – from the Latin verb meaning “to sit”. We of course nowadays get the phrase “the court is now in session” from this origin as judges in courts across the province exercise the law. I love this image of Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father not to rest, but to rule.
As we look around us there is no certainty in our governments, cultures, lives, freedom – heaven and earth will fall but His word will not. We realise we need to look to the Lord in everything. But this is not a new thing, nor a surprise to God. In these times of real and growing uncertainty let’s pray for Christian world leaders, let’s acknowledge that government is God’s idea, and it is there for our good, and let’s rejoice that God is on the throne! The Bible makes clear that God, in His providential rule over the world and nations, raises up leaders and brings them down. This reality is huge and should compel us all to cover our leaders and governments in prayer.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you that we can be strong and courageous, and not because WE are in control but because you the Lord our God are with us and are strong and mighty to save. You carry our sickness, brokenness and weakness on your shoulders and you hold us safe by your side. We know that politics and diplomacy have an important part to play in peace and stability around the world, we pray for wisdom for international leaders today. Lord, engaging with politics and social issues isn’t easy, but help us to remember our leaders locally and pray protection over their hearts and minds when they make decisions and rulings. Please withhold evil and cultivate good; banish darkness and bring forth light. There are many Christians in power Lord, we pray for them that they will be able to continue modelling grace and mercy as they serve you in their calling. Amen.
FRIDAY
Marriage
“Give honour to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage.” Hebrews 13:4
In a world that increasingly rejects the sanctity and purity of God’s design for marriage it is our responsibility to pray over Christian marriages as they continue to sustain attacks from an enemy that is all too aware of the powerhouse a God centred marriage can be. Recently I have been humbled and moved to tears as I have had my marriage invested in, encouraged and prayed over by friends who would give anything to have that ‘someone’ to love and share their lives with. Recognising what the symbolism of marriage represents, I pray we continue as a church family to support, encourage and pray protection over the married couples we are in community with, those couples planning their futures together – and to walk with those for whom this journey has been painful or disappointing.
Prayer
Father God, you exist in relationship as you have created us to be. Thank you for your design for marriage and how it shows us a beautiful picture of Christ’s love for His church. We pray first for those who are in relationships and considering a future together. We pray they will learn early on to put you first and central to that relationship so their marriage will be based on a solid foundation of love, sacrifice and unity. For all our friends in marriages around us, help us to pray for them regularly and not just wait until there is a crisis in the relationship. We pray for your sustaining love through the wonderful times and the hard times. We pray for a more open attitude to discussing our own marriage relationships routinely so we can advise and encourage through the whole journey. Help those of us in later stages of life to model and mentor our younger generations. We pray your protection from Satan’s attacks on Christian marriages – help us never to give him a foothold and to be wise and discerning in the choices we make, open, honest and accountable with the trusted people you have placed in our lives to walk with us. Finally, we pray for the many friends we know who are struggling in marriage, or who have had a painful experience already in their lives. We ask that you bring comfort and healing through your love, your word and your family around them. Sustain them on the dark days when they can find no hope or joy. Provide them with the right people to carry them, cry with them and listen to them. We pray they will be sustained through their relationship with you and find joy in your promises. Thank you for the hope that we have for eternity, that our pain here is temporary and that you walked this earth as a human and understand our needs and our struggles. We cling to this when times are tough. Amen.
SATURDAY
Colleagues/Neighbours
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
It’s not often you want to think about feet, is it?! Jackie Pullinger, a missionary in Hong Kong, once said, “God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet. The trouble with many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet.” I guess having hard feet means being prepared to go to those who need to hear His word, reaching out to those outside of the church, responding to needs around us, serving, loving and leading in the workplace with our colleagues and in our streets with our neighbours. These aren’t necessarily always – or often – people that we would naturally gravitate to or even befriend. However, God calls us to respond to the need around us in our communities and in the circumstances we find ourselves in and to model the love, grace and goodness of our Lord and Saviour to the people He places in our path. As you have just read in Mark 12, from the greatest commandment flows the second, so step out into the coming weeks and be prayerful, intentional, encouraging and helpful to your neighbours and colleagues!
Prayer
You have done so much for us Lord – thank you! Teach us how to respond as we place our hope in you and connect with others each day of our lives. Help us to have soft hearts filled with compassion for those around us and a desire to tell them what you can do in their lives, to be witnesses of truth and transformation in our lives. I pray that you will open our eyes to opportunities to serve, to see our neighbours and colleagues and their needs and to be attentive to how we can love them. Amen.
SUNDAY
Refugees/Different Cultures
“Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.” Zechariah 7:10
I have experienced so many emotions over the last few years as we have watched scenes of war around the world, seen families displaced and lives changed forever and people fleeing their homes, right to our doorstep here in NI. And more recently the shameful scenes of racist attacks across the UK, even here in Ballyclare. Some of the most vulnerable people living in our society, needing our protection, love and care but are met instead with hostility and rejection … and worse. As we routinely encounter people around us from a different culture, we now have opportunities to show them Jesus’ love. I am so encouraged to hear of the groups around us, in our own church and other local church families, who take time with those who are refugees or new to this country and our culture, temporarily or longer term, giving them a sense of belonging, value and community.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the variety of cultures and communities represented within our small country. Thank you that your people have been able to provide homes and refuge to many who have been separated from their own homes and families. We pray for them as they learn to live somewhere that is foreign and unfamiliar to them and deal with the heartbreaking loss of all they have known and loved. Give us a heart and a desire to spend time with others who are from a different context to us, to understand their needs and to provide them with a safe, non-judgmental and welcoming environment in our homes and churches. Lord, I pray for those who are grieving the loss of their homes, families and jobs – who live in constant fear of what the next phone call or news flash will bring. Very few of us can fully understand how that feels. Give us the courage to put ourselves out there and approach someone who may be culturally different, who may not speak much English, who may respond from a place of fear or mistrust because not everyone in our country has treated them with kindness. Lord, help us to take the opportunities given to us every day to show your love to others – the foreigner, widowed, lonely – and anyone you place in our path! Help us to lose our fear of rejection and any judgements we hold. Break our hearts for what breaks yours and help us to genuinely love and care for those around us. Amen.