Tag: faith

Anything

This passage from the Gospel of Matthew has been on my heart of late. Well, particularly verse 22.

In the morning he went back to the city. On the way he was hungry.

19 Along the road he saw a fig tree. He went to the tree. There was no fruit on it, only leaves. He said to the tree, `No fruit will ever grow on you again!’ Right away the tree died.

20 The disciples saw it and were surprised. They said, `So soon the fig tree has died!’

21 Jesus said to them, `I tell you the truth. Believe God. Do not doubt him. Then you can do what I did to this fig tree. But that is not all. You can even say to this hill, “Go and jump into the sea” and it will be done.

22 When you ask God for anything, believe that you will have it. Then you will have it.’

Matthew 21:18-22 WEB

The “He” in verse 18 refers to Jesus, in case it wasn’t clear. As Jesus passes by this fig tree, which apparently offers the promise of fruit, He finds only leaves on it. He then curses it, causing it to wither. Many feel sorry for this poor little fig tree, but in context, we realise it is an allusion to the Pharisees and teachers of the Laws aka the religious leaders of the day. They, like the fig tree, promised fruit but instead delivered nothing.

But the fig tree really did wither. It was not just a clever analogy for the religious leaders. There was a real tree, and Jesus spoke to it, and it died. We ought not to miss that simple truth.

Like Moses when he struck the rock twice, and God punished him for it. This was a serious problem because the rock symbolised Christ who would only be struck the once. Yet, irrespective of the symbol, there was a real piece of stone and Moses, in his anger, actually hit it twice with his staff (see Numbers 20). Symbolic or not, it was a real event.

Verse 20 of Matthew 21 shows us that the disciples were surprised at the withering of the tree. They perhaps did not fully understand the power of Christ’s words.

Jesus answers their astonishment with verses 21 and 22, and I restate them here because they are so utterly amazing.

21 Jesus said to them, `I tell you the truth. Believe God. Do not doubt him. Then you can do what I did to this fig tree. But that is not all. You can even say to this hill, “Go and jump into the sea” and it will be done.

22 When you ask God for anything, believe that you will have it. Then you will have it.’

Matthew 21:21-22 WEB

Believe God. Do not doubt. Then you can do what I did to the fig tree, and not just that, but tell the hill to go jump into the sea, and it will be done. Let that sink in!

And likewise, the next verse, the Lord says, when you ask God for anything, believe that you have it and you will have it. It sounds so matter of fact, and yet is seemingly beyond the realms of our prayers.

Ask God for anything – anything! No limits, no boundaries! Although I hasten to add that there are those who would take this Scripture on its own, ignoring all others, and claim whatever their flesh desires. Within the confines of the Bible and the will of God, we can ask for absolutely anything! Yet, I so often pray like I’m bothering God or that He is a miserly, stingy Father unwilling to part with anything. Not so! God knows how to give good gifts to His children.

I want to start praying Matthew 21:22 prayers. I want to ask God for what is on my heart. I don’t wish to be greedy, but I do want to recognise who He is and the kind of Father I worship. He is generous, and kind, and more powerful than anything we can imagine. I want my prayers to reflect that.

More than just asking though, I also need to believe. There is little point asking God for something, and then saying to my family, “That’ll never work!” Nothing pours cold water on the fire of faith than words of doubt.

Nothing pours cold water on the fire of #faith than words of #doubt – Andy #Believe #Jesus

Nothing is too big for our God to handle. There is no request we can make which will dim the lights in heaven because it uses so much power. God is more than able to respond to our needs and our prayers. Let each of us step more boldly into prayer, being specific, recording what we ask for and praising Him when the answer comes.

Those points are important. If we cannot be specific, then we cannot know for sure if God answered or not. If we do not record what we pray (in a journal or note of some kind), then there is a good chance we will forget what we have asked for and so, when it comes to pass, may not give proper thanks.

My prayer life can be sporadic at times, but I want to press into it more and more. Not every prayer I utter may be answered the way I expect, but if I do not pray at all, it certainly won’t! I want to partner with God, praying His will and seeing the answer come. The point of my post today is to do no more than encourage you to pray; pray more and pray bolder.

What will you ask for today? Whose life will change for the better because you prayed for them? For what will you give thanks to God for when you see Him moving?

Thanks be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – to whom we can ask anything in His Name!

Replenish

The word “replenish “ has really struck me from this post, as does the verse from Jeremiah. Do give it a read.

Replenish…what a satisfying word just in itself. When you say that word “Replenish” it automatically has a positive influence. It’s a word with good …

Replenish

UK Christian Bloggers

Hi! My name is Andy Brown, you may remember me from such blogs as andy-brown.org…!

It has indeed been some time since my last proper post, although I have tried to share some older material and some great posts from friends and fellow bloggers. Life has gotten rather busy and my writing has suffered. I would like to tell you that I’ve been working on book projects or other writing, but alas no! Some days I feel guilty for neglecting the blog, and other days I reflect on my full-time job, wife and four children, church leadership and Christian study course – and realise that I do have a lot on my plate! I’m sure you understand!

Thursday evening I enjoyed a time of fellowship with a group of UK-based Christian bloggers. We have been (trying) to get together every couple of weeks to swap stories, encourage one another and pray for each other. It is a wonderful time and I regret not being able to make all of the sessions so far!

The photo lists some of the members and their sites, so do check out their blogs if you are not already familiar. There are doubtless many more Christian bloggers out there hailing from the UK, so this is by no means an exhaustive list!

I came away from our recent call feeling very much encouraged, and I value the prayers of the group. Having a fellowship of believers is so important, and in our largely disconnected modern world, it is even more so. We often feel alone or isolated, despite the noise of life, and so it is critical we connect with fellow believers in Christ and strengthen one another.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

It is an instruction from the Bible that we do indeed encourage one another. There are times when life is a struggle, and in those days or seasons, we need the comfort of others to help us through. We absolutely rely on the Lord, but a little encouragement from fellow believers is most welcome too!

Encouraging someone costs little more than a small amount of time or effort. A kind word or timely phone call can really make a difference in someone’s life. You have that power today, and don’t let being busy be an excuse not to (talking to myself here…) My guess is that you won’t have to look very hard or travel very far to find someone in need of a boost.

While the gift of encouragement may be a specific spiritual gift (see Romans 12:8), it does not excuse the rest of us from doing it. Some have a special gift for evangelism, yet the call to share our faith is one we all enjoy. Naturally or spiritually gifted or not, we can all improve by practising. See if you can find a way to encourage someone in each of the next seven days, or even see how long you can keep the streak going.

I “encourage” you to check out some of the other writers I mention above, and have no doubt you will come away refreshed and uplifted. I will be sharing some of their posts in the near future, so do look out for them.

If you wish to encourage me, do leave me a comment, share a post or pray for me. I receive your prayers with delight and gratitude. Have a great weekend!

What is Prayer? – Andy Brown

Recent news has reported a big increase in the number of Google searches for the term “prayer.” The stories suggest that the increase in these searches is in step with the spread of Coronavirus and in general perhaps reflects people’s growing fears in recent times. Just yesterday I caught a video on Facebook of Russell…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2020/05/15/what-is-prayer/

Work Hard – Andy Brown

Some evenings I sit down after a hard day’s work and reflect on the day. I often ask myself how well I have represented God’s kingdom, and marking myself coming up short most of the time. Did I share my faith at any point? How much did I pray? Is God’s Kingdom any stronger because…
— Read on andy-brown.org/2022/04/06/work-hard/

10 STEPS TO A STRESS-FREE LIFE

Hey friends, how are you today? Phew!! There’s been a lot of happenings in our world recently, haven’t there? It’s enough to grey the hairs of most …

10 STEPS TO A STRESS-FREE LIFE

Of All the Mornings Revisited

Beautiful words penned by Bruce Cooper shared for you below on this Easter day. He is risen! Praise the Lord!

Of all the mornings that have ever occured, this Easter morning, when Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, rose from the dead, is the morning above all …

Of All the Mornings Revisited

Just as He said He would

Happy Easter!

It was my privilege to share for a few minutes this morning at our early morning sunrise service on this Resurrection Sunday.

I share below a recording of the message which I hope you enjoy.

May you be eternally blessed this Easter weekend!

A message from Andy on Easter Sunday morningA message from Andy on Easter Sunday morning

Marriage Matters, It’s A Family Affair, S01E012

Can’t recommend this highly enough! Do give it a watch!

In this week’s Marriage Matters, Andy B and Jo talk candidly about things that cause problems in our marriages, that may lead to unfaithfulness in …

Marriage Matters, It’s A Family Affair, S01E012

Fasting – Sunday Suggestion

Over the season of Lent, I have been fasting. It has not always gone according to plan, I hasten to add, but it has been an enriching experience in many ways.

This Sunday, why not give it a try yourself? Be sure to do it sensibly and wisely if you have never done it before. For instance, if you have any medical conditions which may be affected by it, then give it more thought and seek some advice if you need to.

There are different ways to fast, and it does not necessarily mean giving up all food altogether. You may choose to limit what food you eat, or to only eat certain foods. You may decide to miss a particular meal, or you may decide not to eat anything at all for a period. Pray about it before you begin, and follow the Lord’s lead. Start off slowly, and build yourself up.

Most importantly, fast with a purpose. Do not do it merely to appear spiritual to others. Instead, use the time you would have spent eating or preparing food to talk to the Lord or read your Bible. When you feel that sense of hunger, use it as a prompt to thank God for all the good He is doing in your life. Let this disciplining of your body remind you that we are not merely physical, but rather spiritual beings, and the spiritual needs to be primary, not the physical.

Remember, Jesus said:

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)

Jesus wants us to fast for our spiritual good and to draw nearer to God, not to look good in front of others. If we talk about our fasting, or worse fish for compliments, then we have already received any reward we may get from the exercise.

Use the experience to strengthen your relationship to God, and praise Him for the plenty you have.

Preaching to the Choir

Are you preaching to the choir? Is that wasteful, or does the choir need your encouragement as well?

It was a great pleasure yesterday evening to meet (on video) a couple of fellow Christian bloggers, and lovely to share some of our stories, questions and experiences of ministering through this medium. It was humbling to see God at work through our words and videos, and (at points) amusing to hear of some of the mistakes we had made along the way… for instance, the time I accidentally shared a post inviting people to a psychic evening!

Alan at Devotional Treasures writes frequently inspiring posts, giving us Scripture to ponder on and encouragement and challenge to take away. Andy, at Berry Bunch Family, put outs a huge amount of video content for all the family, and has recently published his first book – Broken Dreams and Hope – which I highly recommend. Do check out both feeds if you get a chance.

We reflected that often we feel a little like we are preaching to the choir. We produce our materials and they seem to primarily reach a Christian audience, and we wondered whether we were reaching those who are yet to believe in Jesus.

This inspired me to share a few thoughts with you today on this subject.

Firstly, it is no bad thing to encourage the family of believers (not that we ever thought it was!). The church is a body, and we all have a part to play. There will be days when each one of us needs a boost or bit of encouragement, and blogging is a great opportunity to do this. There have been countless times when I have read a post or watched a video from either of the two men of God mentioned above, and God has used it to uplift and strengthen me.

It is things like this that keep us going. Being a Christian in this hostile world is no easy thing. At times, we feel like aliens on a dangerous planet, completely at odds with the views and people around us. The Christian family needs to come together to support one another, and keep on keeping on!

Secondly, being consistent and producing material regularly means that a huge library of materials is slowly built up. As I write, I think my blog now houses over 400 posts, and someone like Alan’s is probably far higher. This means that there is likely a post out there for you today. The Holy Spirit can direct people to the very thing they need, and that may be years down the road. On days when I post and get only a few views, I take comfort in knowing that the words will remain available for anyone to find in the future when they perhaps need it most.

Finally, we cannot reach everyone. There will be people who I will never meet or interact with, and so have little hope of sharing the Gospel with them. Yet, the same is true for me in that there will be people I meet that you will not. Only together can we all fulfil God’s purpose and reach all those who need to hear. Whether you see yourself as a big or small cog in the giant machine that is God’s Kingdom, know that you are an important cog. There may be many “small” parts in my computer, but if I start removing them, it won’t be long before the machine fails altogether!

I remember someone saying once that it is our job to give God glory in our little corner of the world. We all have our own corner, and our own opportunity to share our faith. We can encourage our brothers and sisters, and we can share our faith with those yet to hear. Let each of us just help everyone move one step closer to God today.

Have a great weekend!