It is not the length of prayer but the proximity of prayer to the moment of sacrifice that calls for urgency and vigilance.
Prayer has to accompany a sacrifice as an offering in itself. Hand in hand these endure and prevail over the heaviness of the spirit and the weakness of the flesh.
Title: If Christ has not been raised
The resurrection is inevitable.
The resurrection is the proper witness to the grace and mercy of God to impart eternal life. It involves the same burst of energy in the primary act of creation. It contains the potential of the breath of life from the Spirit of God. It is overflowing with the abundance of the vineyard of pleasure. It is full of expectation for the sound of the footsteps of the Lord God as he walks in the cool of the day in the garden of delight.
Title: In his image
We were born bereft of knowledge, but ingrained with the capacity to worship God, know ourselves, the universe and its mechanics and mysteries, preserve the integrity and well-being of the earth and its inhabitants and resources.
The tragedy of life is in not growing into this design, but being independent of it. Distancing himself from God, man now has to complicate his life in order to make it meaningful, whereas God has ordained a simple lifestyle for man so he might dwell in the complexities of God.
So when the humanist determines for himself what is relevant, nothing is.
Title: A cup of cold water
Anyone who comes to the aid of a follower of the Lord Jesus, having recognized him as such, under the climate of persecution and at the pain of death has God’s approval and will surely be rewarded in this life.
What is honored here is the willingness to suffer the ultimate sacrifice of death although the token, a drink of cold water, may seem a small matter of consideration.
Here it is appropriate to bring to mind the exploit of three mighty men who risked their lives and broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David who had longed for a drink from that particular well.
Title: Father
In no other instance is the relationship of a Christian to his heavenly Father more self-evident than in prayer.
Prayer is coming home to the place of comfort, acceptance, nourishment, forgiveness, renewal, and security that only the presence of God could provide.
Title: In the image of God
Life is never an empty start, and it is not true that it is a journey in search of meaning and purpose.
Life commences possessing all the possibilities and capacity for holiness, which is humanity’s defining virtue in recognition of his preeminence over all created beings.
From birth to the moment of his last conscious breath, man is worshipping God. His tenure above ground is one deliberate act of adoration, whether he acknowledges it or not, and for which he will be subject to judgment at the end of time.
Title: Light of the world
In thick darkness a faint glimmer of light can be seen from a very great distance, not unlike the flicker of starlight. This kind is not bright enough to surmount the gloom in the world and in the hearts of men.
The glow of the light from God is near and powerful, and bathes and impacts everyone with the warmth and the brilliance of the good deeds of the Christian testimony, to the praise of God and the salvation of the lost.
