- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 17,520
8 March 2008
A week of Lent Reflections taken from "Hope in Word, Hope in Action" - storiesofhope.org.uk
Word on the Web
Hope is... believing in the impossible
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:26
My challenge in ministry
At the end of a Christianity Explored course, I invited people to share prayer concerns. Janice, a hospital worker, who had been tentatively dipping her toes into the Christian faith, asked for prayer for a young patient diagnosed with CJD. So we prayed. Next Sunday, Janice was in church. The patient no longer had CJD and the doctors admitted that it was a miracle, or they had all been wrong. Janice has since prayed for her mother, who suffers from agoraphobia, and seen her take a half-hour walk for the first time in years.
A reflection for Lent
When I prayed for the patient, I thought more about God comforting the family than of her healing. After all, CJD is fatal. Do you remember when Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi fails to use 'the Force' to lift his starship from the swamp, and accuses Yoda of wanting the impossible? Yoda then lifts the starship. When, Luke declares: "I don't believe it!" Yoda replies: "That is why you fail." Isn't it wonderful that our hope lies in a God who doesn't measure the frailty of our faith, but just listens to our stumbling words?
Loving Father, thank you that you constantly amaze me. Forgive me for my lack of faith and help me to trust you more. And by the way, thanks for what you've done for Janice's mum and that patient. You're great! Amen.
A week of Lent Reflections taken from "Hope in Word, Hope in Action" - storiesofhope.org.uk
Word on the Web
Hope is... believing in the impossible
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:26
My challenge in ministry
At the end of a Christianity Explored course, I invited people to share prayer concerns. Janice, a hospital worker, who had been tentatively dipping her toes into the Christian faith, asked for prayer for a young patient diagnosed with CJD. So we prayed. Next Sunday, Janice was in church. The patient no longer had CJD and the doctors admitted that it was a miracle, or they had all been wrong. Janice has since prayed for her mother, who suffers from agoraphobia, and seen her take a half-hour walk for the first time in years.
A reflection for Lent
When I prayed for the patient, I thought more about God comforting the family than of her healing. After all, CJD is fatal. Do you remember when Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi fails to use 'the Force' to lift his starship from the swamp, and accuses Yoda of wanting the impossible? Yoda then lifts the starship. When, Luke declares: "I don't believe it!" Yoda replies: "That is why you fail." Isn't it wonderful that our hope lies in a God who doesn't measure the frailty of our faith, but just listens to our stumbling words?
Loving Father, thank you that you constantly amaze me. Forgive me for my lack of faith and help me to trust you more. And by the way, thanks for what you've done for Janice's mum and that patient. You're great! Amen.
