Encouraging

Romans 12:1-21

It is not the British way to encourage. We tend to attempt to "encourage" a person by indicating faults and areas for improvement rather than encouraging the good attributes in a person.

We watched a soccer game, we have of course watched many soccer games but this one is special. We learnt an important lesson. Our son set up an intricate plan for a goal. he also made some rather inept moves.

As we were walking off the field preparing to admonish him for his negligence his coach congratulated him on his intellectual contribution to the game.

Our lesson was received. I hope we have learnt it though I am sure there is still planty of room for practice.

Family relations

Colossians 3:18-4:18

This is one of those passages where one might expect Paul to be out of his depth. As far as we know he had no experience of marriage or of being a parent though obviously he had experience from the receiving end of parenthood.

Paul's words on husbands and wives are possible some of those most taken out of context- by those with opposing opinions. Yes he instructs wives to submit to their husband but only as fitting in the Lord and it is to a loving and gentle husband. It is not advice to a gentleman to turn from a wooing suitor into a tyrannical husband.

As a parent it is often a difficult tightrope walk not to discourage ones children, even well thought out and formulated sentences can be heard as discouraging.

This is all summed up in "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." for how else can we live a life with our thoughts under God's guidance in all matters.

Prayer

Colossians 3:12-17

Paul can sometimes be very annoying as he makes observations about subjects of whihc he has no personal experience and hence he is sometimes written off as being from a different era and therefore of no consequence to us. We need to be able to extract the good from everyone. Paul's prayers for his Christian bretheren are some his most wonderful writngs. 

For whom will you pray these verses? You are one of mine.

Praying

Colossians 1:1-14

Please God this, please God that. Our prayers are shopping lists for health and wealth for us, our family and friends. How often do we give thanks for their faith and friendship?

Me in my little world and you in yours, separately we live together, keeping our distance, hiding our feelings. Paul is writing to the Colossians sharing his joy. He knows them only  by reputation.

What prompts me to pray? Do I only pray when I see a need or do I mean a want? The blurry difference between those two words is one of my hobby horses, not to be indulged today. Today is the day for prayer. Monks and Muslims have set times of prayer throughout the day. Note times with an S and throughout the day.

What markers can I erect during the day to promt me to pray?

Now to quality, thanks, thanks, thanks.

Getting nowhere

Luke 5:1-11

Getting nowhere or rather 'now here', here to stay, never to go up or down, now here in this treadmill of life. Stuck in a rut, making every effort to get out, exhausting all means and still nothing. No fish, then along came Jesus, invited himself into the boat and pushed out inot deep water, out of the comfort zone. The result, big fish, a joyful outcome.