by R. Herbert | Oct 27, 2013 | Prayer
This week’s new (for this site) article, on the Tactical Living page, is by an old friend, Philip Shields.
“Do We ‘Pray Without Ceasing’?” is condensed from the June 15, 2013, blog posting on his website at lightontherock.org. As for the title, when the apostle Paul spoke of praying “without ceasing” and “praying always”, he was talking about the elderly and sick and those with plenty of time on their hands, right? Surely he wasn’t talking about those who have to commute to work, mothers with young children, active duty service people, and all the rest of us? Philip’s article looks at what Paul meant by “praying always” and how that can apply to all of us.
by R. Herbert | Oct 20, 2013 | Forgiveness, Strategic Articles
There are so many special “days” now, it’s impossible to remember many of them. I’m not talking about national holidays such as Thanksgiving and other significant days which apply to many of us, but the burgeoning number of days which seem as though they were mainly the idea of greeting card companies. A glance at an online calendar site shows there are now literally hundreds of “special days” to supposedly celebrate (and send a card) each year. In fact, every day of the year now has some significance, and many days honor multiple things. Some of these days may be perfectly appropriate to show appreciation or concern for others, but a lot of them seem silly at best. October 4 was apparently “National Frappe Day” and I fully expect to see “Second Cousin’s Day” cards soon.
But there is one day this month to which I do subscribe as being totally worthwhile: National Forgiveness Day. There are actually several “Forgiveness Days” which originated in different areas. Global Forgiveness Day and International Forgiveness Day are both celebrated in the summer months. In the US, “National Forgiveness Day” is on the last Saturday in October: this year, Saturday, October 26.
Forgiveness Day is a day that all people of faith can honor, if we choose to do so, and one to which even many people without religious beliefs can relate. For those of us who take seriously the words “Forgive us our sins as we forgive them that sin against us” (Matthew 6:12), the day is an opportunity to reflect on the need for forgiveness and how to make it a part of our everyday lives. This week’s article,
“A Day For Forgiveness”, gives some thoughts to start you on your own reflection on what it means to forgive.
by R. Herbert | Oct 13, 2013 | Discipleship, Warriors of the Way
We all know that in football, if we want to move the ball, we have to think offense.
Sometimes I wonder if we concentrate too much on defensive tactics and strategy in our Christian walk. Defensive thinking is necessary, of course, for any campaign or goal. You don’t climb a mountain (at least I don’t want to!) without anchors and ropes. But my point is that too often our tactical stress is only on defense. Consider just a couple of examples.
Generally speaking, how much more time and energy do we put into praying for people (ourselves and others) to be healed than we spend in praying for work being done to wipe out severe and crippling illnesses. How much time do we spend thinking about proactive things we can do to help those who suffer get back aspects of their lives they might not otherwise have (see the October 2 article on
“Helping the Sick”).
The economy is bad, but do we respond only defensively, praying for friends who are out of work, or do we pray also for the national and local economic situation? (Read Jeremiah 29:7 if you don’t think that’s a topic for prayer). Focusing on the broader issues as well as the specifics of which we are aware is focusing on offense as well as defense, and the principle can be applied in dozens of areas of our lives if we think it through.
The main thing is to start to train ourselves to think offensively, or at least to constantly keep that half of the equation in mind. I was reminded of this as I read Psalm 144 recently. Look carefully at the duality of what the psalmist is saying: “Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me” (Psalm 144:1-2). God is likened to a Rock, Shield, Fortress and Stronghold of Refuge (all defensive). He is also said to be a God who figuratively trains us for war, for battle, to subdue enemies. The active aspect is just as present in these verses as the static aspect. The Offense is as real as the Defense. We need both, but to win we need to think offense.
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