I’m still thinking about today’s study -  especially, if I reflect upon on my own journey, then, I’m not too sure – about the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.’  The way I have  ‘helped myself’, in the past, may not have been totally aligned to God’s perfect will.  I think that perhaps, if  ’helping oneself”,  comes about after much prayer and reflection – then we are following (to the best of our abilities) God’s guidance; and in seeking to follow Him, He helps us.  What’s your view?

Now, after thinking about the verses, set for reading and meditation, John 9:1-12 (NIV), the first seven verses, I think covers the main theme: ”As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam”. So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”

The evidence of Jesus working in this world is seen by others through our actions, (as directed by the Holy Spirit). While we are alive, there is no rest from work, for us – unless, of course, Jesus returns - then, all work ceases – and judgement begins!

Not sure, how Selwyn meant to tie these verses to today’s study; but they are a good reminder that we must never stop ‘trying’ …

In the account of Paul’s passage to Rome and the shipwreck on the island of Malta (Acts 27, 28), we read early in Chapter 27, of Paul warning the ship’s officers not to proceed with their journey but to spend the winter in Fair Havens. Yet, the men wanted to continue to Phoenix, a more sheltered harbour, farther up the coast of Crete,  to spend the winter there.  (The officers, at this point, were not listening to God’s advice.)

The following, are a number of verses taken from the text set for reading and meditation Act 27:27-35 (NLT): “About midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, as we were being driven across the Sea of Adria, the sailors sensed land was near. They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep. At this rate they were afraid we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore, so they threw out four anchors from the back of the ship and prayed for daylight.

Then the sailors tried to abandon the ship; they lowered the lifeboat as though they were going to put out anchors from the front of the ship. (verse 31) But Paul said to the commanding officer and the soldiers, “You will all die unless the sailors stay aboard.” the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away.

Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven’t touched food for two weeks,” he said. “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat –  all 276 of us who were on board. After eating, the crew lightened the ship further by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard.”

The main message, I think is that action which is not aligned to God’s will, is virtually useless (for example. the dropping of the four anchors). Therefore, I don’t agree with Selwyn’s use of this particular action of the sailors to demonstrate action with trust. However, from verse 31, we notice that NOW, the officers listen to Paul, and follow his advice -  the soldiers cut the ropes to prevent the sailors from abandoning the ship. Subsequent to this action, he then encourages everyone to eat, and they follow his example; and everyone begins to eat. In summary, these latter actions are aligned to God’s advice and they are beneficial for the survival of everyone. Can you see the comparison?

Action, that is aligned to God’s will and combined with trust – enables us to lead productive Christian lives.

I really liked, the concluding sentence to today’s study: “St Bernard of Clairvaux, when preaching on this passage, ended his sermon with these words: ‘He who labours as he trusts lifts his heart to God with his hands.’ He does.”

***

[Still suffering from a cold - probably take a few more days to get back to 'normal'.    ]

Selwyn uses the verses – Matthew 6:29-34, for todays’ reading and meditation. These verses occur in Matthew’s Gospel, shortly after Jesus demonstrated to the apostles, with the Lord’s Prayer, the essential characteristics of prayer.

Jesus then continues His discussion, with the above mentioned verses (NLT): “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. … “

A few verses further on, Jesus returns to the theme of effective prayer (Matthew 7:7-11, NLT):  “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. … “

I think, some people get confused about these verses and interpret these words as meaning that any material thing –  they ask for, will be given to them.  First, when we are in a realtionship with God, we ask God only for those gifts which are aligned to His will – they are generally spiritual in nature. The verses from Chapter 6, tell us, that God knows about our needs for the essential things of life, and He will provide them – unless there is a good spiritual reason for even these ‘essentials’, at times, to be in short supply.

In summary, don’t worry about stuff you can’t change – and trust God that He knows your needs – as, a loving father knows the needs of his children and tries his best to provide for them. Our heavenly Father – is perfect in the way  He provides for us; but often we can’t see or know what His plans are – this is where trust starts, in His love.

The following excerpt covers the main theme of today’s study: “We come to God believing that ‘ He rewards those who earnestly seek Him’ (Hebrews 11:6), but then we insist on being rewarded in the way we think we deserve. Where is the trust in this? If trust means anything, it means coming to God and saying, ‘Whatever You think is best is fine with me.’

When we demonstrate this attitude, of ‘my rewards, in my time’; we highlight the fact that we have not surrendered ourselves fully to God.

***

[Woke up this morning with a bad cold - the brevity of this post reflects the status of my current, mental capacity.]

I think it’s part of our human nature – to take matters into our own hands – it gives us a sense of independence and control. 

Today, Selwyn reflects ‘on the tendency found in many Christians to veer more towards striving than trusting’. He concludes with the following: “Can a child of God be tired of trusting? I’m afraid so. When God says ‘Wait’ but the situation appears to be getting out of control, it is tempting to take matters into our own hands. But that way always spells doom. Perhaps you are in that position at this very moment. Stop striving and trust. He will bring His purposes to pass in His own time.”

We need to keep uppermost in our hearts and minds that God deeply and truly loves us. Everything He does in our lives is part of His purposes, to mould us to become more like Jesus. The barrier, we often put in the way of His plans for us to grow in spiritual maturity, is our prevailing desire to be independent, and to be ‘in control’. Consequently, I think a lot of our worries are caused by our expectation for prayer requests to be satisfied within time-frames, which we have set. Perhaps, God uses these times to remind us that He is in control and events will occur – as He has planned them to happen – He is the creator – we, are the created.

Just look at the cross, if ever think that God is distant and not listening to you. He has suffered a lot to save you – and you can totally trust in His suffering; that having suffered He will now, not abandon you.

Selwyn, now looks at another pair of opposites: trusting and trying. He summarises the issue well when he writes: “Some people’s approach to the Christian life is all trust, and they do nothing to help themselves. Others are so taken up with ‘working their passage to heaven’ that there is little room for trust.”

Sometimes you hear people complaining that God has not answered their prayers as they sit and wait for God to deliver what they have been asking for.  There is an old saying which I think highlights the point (below), which Selwyn is making, “a ship can’t be steered until it starts to move; likewise, God may not guide you, until you start to move in trust.

“Recently I met a man who asked me to pray for him because he was unemployed. I offered to do so gladly but before praying I asked, ‘What have you been doing about looking for a job?’ ‘Nothing,’ he replied, ‘I am trusting God to bring the right job to my attention.’ In his case, ‘trust’ needed to be married to ‘trying’.

The way I operate is to pray about what God has in mind for me; and then I start pushing on a number of doors – that is, researching different opportunities (or applying for different jobs), while continuing to pray –  asking God, to open the right door for me.  Looking back over the years, I can clearly see that God’s hand has been instrumental in opening the ‘right’ doors.

The verses set for reading and meditation are great, Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 15:1-11 (NLT): “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.”

Selwyn’s comment on the last, highlighted verse (above), encapsulates how we can balance these two opposites: “Paul tried harder than anyone, yet his trust was not in his own strength but in the strength given him by God. That’s the secret – working hard, but working in God’s strength and not our own.”

Today’s study is kind of reflective, as Selwyn summarises what he has been talking about over the past few days.

The key point, which Selwyn made, I think, was: “It may not be easy to balance conservatism and radicalism, but with God’s help it is possible. We are to be conservative in the sense we cherish what has been handed down from the past, but radical in the sense that we question whether what we cling to comes more from culture than Scripture.”

While in a reflective mood; the most important point is that Jesus’ loves us so much, that He will not leave us in a confused state about what to cling to, and what to change. The Holy Spirit still, even today, guides and direct us, along this narrow path as we follow God. Jesus did not leave us as orphans nearly, two thousand years ago; and, He did not leave the teaching of His way to the frailty of men to be influenced by the vague twists and turns of human culture.

Our faith has not be handed down from the past, but given to us – now, as we live our lives – in service, for His glory. We, from the oldest to the youngest, can trust 100% in His love for us.

***

I was reading Chapter 5 of Luke’s Gospel (re the text set for reading and meditation, Luke 5:33-39), when I paused on these three verses, 5:33-35 (NIV): “They (Pharisees and the teachers of the law) said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

Jesus answered, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

I must admit that it has been awhile since I fasted – it’s not often talked about these days. Some denominations have a greater tendency to teach on this subject but many are fairly ‘casual’ (if that’s the right word) about this issue. Any views as to why fasting, with prayer, is not so common in some areas?