The essence of prayer

Posted on January 22, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

The most universal expression of spirituality is prayer. Even in the secular western world most people say they pray – but probably for things to change for their benefit. However, real prayer is about getting our lives and actions in line with what God wants. It’s like being in a boat and reaching out with a boathook. I don’t pull the shore to me; I pull myself to the shore. Prayer is not about pulling God to my will, it’s aligning my will to God’s.
In Solzhenitsyn’s famous novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Ivan, a political prisoner, is praying silently with his eyes closed when a fellow prisoner notices him and says: ‘Prayers won’t help you get out of here any faster.’ Opening his eyes, Ivan answers, ‘I do not pray to get out of prison, I pray to do the will of God.’
That’s the essence of prayer.

Posted in Obedience, Prayer, Submission to God's will | Tagged , | Leave a comment

When we are in our deepest grief

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The famous singer/song writer Thomas Dorsey received a telegram during a performance telling him that his young wife had died. He was devastated with grief, all alone and far from home. But a little later he sat down at a piano and found himself playing a melody and singing words he’d never heard before: ‘Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand! I am tired, I am weak, I am worn, Through the storm, through the night lead me on to the light, Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.’
He later said: ‘The Lord gave me these words and melody. He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest… And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will … gently lead me home.’

Posted in Death, Facing the future, Faith, God with us, God's faithfulness, God's love, God's presence, Grief | Tagged , | Leave a comment

God and goodness will prevail

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

During the darkest days of apartheid in South Africa, when the government banned all public protest, Archbishop Desmond Tutu held a church service at St George’s Cathedral. Hundreds of police gathered outside, then entered the Cathedral as Tutu was preaching, taking out notebooks to record his words. But Tutu refused to be intimidated. He preached against the evils of apartheid, declaring that it could not endure. Then he addressed the police directly. ‘You are very powerful,’ he said. ‘But you are not gods and I serve a God who cannot be mocked. So, since you’ve already lost, I invite you today to come and join the winning side.’ With that the congregation erupted in dance and song and the police withdrew, overcome by Tutu’s confidence that God and goodness would eventually triumph.

Posted in Desmond Tutu, Faith, God, God's presence, Spiritual Insight, Spiritual Leaders, Trust in God | Tagged | Leave a comment

The mathematical odds required for life

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Astrophysicist Hugh Ross points out that for life of any kind to exist the number of electrons present has to be equivalent to the number of protons to a factor of one part in ten to the power of thirty seven. Now, if you don’t know what that means, he described it as covering the whole of North America in ten cent coins all the way up to the Moon, then doing the same thing on a billion other continents the same size as North America. Then, to imagine just one of those coins was painted red, and asking a blindman to reach down once and pick that coin. These are the same odds as the ratio of electrons to protons being at the precise level required for life.
It’s just one of the reasons why Hugh Ross and many like him believe in an intelligence behind our universe to which we are all accountable.

Posted in creation, Divine intelligence, God, Life, Universe | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Nothing is written’

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

One of the all-time great movies is Lawrence of Arabia, and one of its greatest scenes is where Lawrence, having led his men across the burning cauldron of the supposedly uncrossable Nefud desert, goes back into that furnace to rescue an Arab named Gasim, who during the night, and unbeknown to the others, had fallen from his camel. They told Lawrence not to go, Gasim was now a dead man, and his fate had ‘been written.’ But when Lawrence achieved the impossible and returned with Gasim still alive, Sherif Ali says to him: ‘Truly, for some men nothing is written unless they write it.’
Many people approach life with a sense of fatalism, thinking that they can’t change what’s been written. But people of faith know that nothing is written except what Jesus said: ‘If you can believe, all things are possible.’

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My Daddy’s the pilot

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

I know of a minister who once took a flight that unexpectedly passed through a violent storm. The turbulence was so great that the aircraft was tossed around like a cork. He said: ‘ I could see that nearly all the passengers were alarmed and some were praying. Then, I saw a little girl, her feet tucked beneath her as she sat reading a book. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; but worry and fear were not in her world.’
When the plane finally landed and its passengers thankfully disembarked, he asked her why she’d been so calm. Her answer was: ‘Because my Daddy’s the pilot and he’s taking me home.’
It reminds me of that old Sunday School hymn about Jesus piloting his disciples safely through the storm at sea; ‘With Christ in my vessel I can smile at the storm, and he will guide me home.’

Posted in Faith, Life, Life's journey, Trust in God | Tagged | Leave a comment

The benefit of sermons you can’t remember

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

A man once wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper saying: ‘I’ve gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I’ve heard three thousand sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the ministers are wasting theirs.’
This provoked a flurry of letters that went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: ‘I’ve been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked thirty two thousand meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one. But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. Without them, I’d be physically dead today. Likewise, if I hadn’t gone to church for nourishment, I’d be spiritually dead today!’ I think I agree with him.

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One good turn deserves…

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Bryan Anderson once stopped to change a flat tyre for an old lady who’d been stranded by the side of the road for more than an hour. After he’d changed the wheel she offered to pay him, but he refused, saying she could pay him by doing a good turn to the next person she saw in need. She drove on and then stopped at a small café to get something to eat. The waitress was a care-worn but friendly girl in the latter stages of pregnancy. When the old lady left she remembered Bryan Anderson’s words and paid the girl with a hundred dollar bill telling her to keep the change. Well, that girl went home after her shift and climbed into bed next to her sleeping husband. She kissed him and whispered: ‘I know you’re worried about the money, but it’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.’

Posted in Faith, God's faithfulness, Good deeds, Kindness, Reward | Tagged | Leave a comment

Better to be slow-tempered than famous.’

Posted on December 24, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

A few years ago an armed intruder held up a bank in California, deliberately targeting a quietly spoken, middle-aged female teller. He handed her a note demanding money or her life. She reached for the cash drawer, then, looking at the note again, her eyes flashed. She pulled the entire cash drawer out, but instead of giving him money, she beat him over the head with it. With that, the robber turned and ran. Police later caught him in a nearby shrubbery. When they asked her why she risked her life like that, having been about to give him money and then suddenly flying into a rage, she said, ‘In his note there was a very bad word.’
Well, even if it does only takes one word to turn a pussy cat into a tiger, it’s probably wise to remember that wisdom from the Bible that says: ‘It’s better to be slow-tempered than to be famous.’

Posted in Anger, fame, Good temper | Tagged | Leave a comment

There’s nothing like a good cry

Posted on December 23, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

One of the most popular bars in the Chinese city of Nanjing contains only a sofa, a few tables, and lots of tissues. An international news service reported that it’s the city’s first ‘cry bar’, where customers can sit and cry for six dollars per hour, and is growing in popularity. The owner says he opened the bar because many of his previous clients said they often wanted to cry but didn’t know where it would be appropriate to do so.
It may sound like a way of capitalizing on people’s misfortune; but most of us know how much relief can come from a good cry, and there’s a strong Biblical tradition that encourages God’s people to help others do just that. ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice,’ it says, ‘And weep with those who weep.’ Until that day comes when ‘God will wipe every tear from our eyes.’

Posted in Sorrow, Sympathy and Support, Weeping | Tagged | Leave a comment