Thought for the Week - 7/11/2021

 

Dear Friends,

As we celebrate another year in the life of Beckenham Baptist Church on this Anniversary Sunday and begin to look forward to the future seeking God’s direction and leading, I’m reminded of a quote from the former American President Dwight D. Eisenhower who said, ‘Plans are nothing, planning is everything’. We all like to make plans and know what the future, at least the short to medium term future, is going to look like for us. In his book Soul Fuel, the adventurer and TV personality, Bear Grylls, says, ‘When life is busy and our workload is full, we naturally have to make a lot of plans. But when we make plans for our lives, it matters that we try to do so with humility. You know the old expression: if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. Wisdom says to focus on our hearts before we focus on our plans’. In other words we need to be right with God before we step out in faith seeking his will and purpose for our lives. The prophet Jeremiah, in his letter to the exiles in Babylon, says that God says to them, ‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future.’ And then it continues, ‘Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:11-13). It is good to be reminded that in whatever circumstance we may find ourselves in – be it individually or as a church community – at the root of discovering God’s plan is a willingness to seek the Lord with all our heart, to have that sense of hungering for God in our lives and deepening our relationship with him through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Christian author, Joni Eareckson Tada, writes, ‘To hunger is to be human, but to hunger for God is to feed on Him. Hunger and thirst after His righteousness and feed on Him in your heart. Taste and see that the Lord is good; it is He who will fill you to satisfaction’. So whatever decisions, challenges or situations you may be facing in your life at present, the truth is that God has a plan for your life. So take the opportunity to be quiet before God, asking him to help you discover his will and plan for you, and once you have discovered it, ask God to help you fulfil your calling and to follow him day by day.            

Grace and peace,

Neil

A Prayer for the Persecuted Christians

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, a day to remember all who are suffering for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ around the world.

Sovereign God, we worship you and we acknowledge that you know all those who suffer in your name. We remember all who are imprisoned for their faith and ask that they would join with the apostle Paul in seeing that even though they remain captive, their chains have furthered the gospel, not frustrated it. May they inspire and embolden others to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. God of all comfort, for all who are tortured both in body and mind, give them the grace to endure and for those asked to pay the ultimate price; who are martyred because of their love for you, may they truly know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Lord, we ask that you make us ever mindful of our sisters and brothers around the world who need us to stand with them as they suffer in your name. Amen.                                                          

(Adapted from a prayer from Release International)


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