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"A Journey Shared Part 7 - "More Musings on Prayer".

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My last Blog was actually a bit thin on practical talk about how to get moving with the habit of daily prayer. One thing I am sure of is that there is no template that we can devise which will suit everyone. My first, and very obvious suggestion, is to take the first step: 1. Find a quiet place - with your Bible. 2. Some people play some quiet back ground music or light a candle. 3.Wait upon the Lord 4. Be still and clear the lines of communication. Pray for forgiveness of your sins and deviation for the path. GET SELF OUT OF THE WAY! (God cannot fill you if you are full of yourself - remember!) 5. In the beginning I started by trying to achieve a fairly rigid structure, by using this acronym:   A = Adoration   C = Confession   T = Thanksgiving   S = Supplication 6. I found that after a few weeks, and reading quite a few more books my prayers began to take some rough shape around this basic foundation. 7. (The Big Step). I started writing it all down. Ev
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"A Journey Shared Part 6 - "Some Musings on Prayer".

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Thank you for the messages reminding me that it’s time for another Blog. I hadn’t actually forgotten but you, uh, well, you know how it is. Yes, it’s the same with prayer. It’s not like I haven’t been trying. I have, but I just haven’t been able to ‘get it together’. And after receiving a few reminders that I hadn’t written a Blog for while I had to knuckle down and remedy the situation. Thank you for all the support - it is greatly appreciated. " The passive idea we often have about prayer has no place in the Word of God. Prayer is work, the hardest work you will ever do. It is grueling labor. It is agonizing. It is coming to God and coming to grips with the realities of your life. " David Jeremiah - PRAYER. THE GREAT ADVENTURE First of all a quick health update for those who wish to know. As I type this I am in the process of having my fourth Chemotherapy session of 6. They last five days. I get ‘hooked up’ on a Monday and the drips are changed on a re
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"A Journey Shared Part 5 - "My Big Challenge."

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Here's one of the big battles I am facing - 'doubt'! Peter sees Jesus walking on the water. Jesus encourages him to get out of the boat and walk to Him. He does so. For the first few steps all is well. Suddenly Peter starts to sink! - Jesus takes his hand and says.."Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 8:31). Those two words 'doubt' and 'faith' have been, and remain, a challenge to many Christians. And I must admit to being one of those right now. 'Doubt' even puts some people off asking God for certain things in prayer. They doubt. So they would rather keep quiet and not ask. The first thing to understand when making prayer requests is that we will not always get the answer that we want or in the time we want it. All prayer requests should come with that proviso (as did Jesus' before he was arrested) .. "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, b
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"A Journey Shared - Part 4 "The Garden we Grow Up In".

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Last week one of the readers of my Blog posted in the comments section on Facebook that something I had said 'triggered' some thoughts that got him thinking. Not only is that pleasing but a very similar thing happened to me whilst reading an article over the weekend. The writer touched on the subject of The Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes - one of the most difficult teachings in the Bible. There is a wonderful saying that says "You are the garden you grow up in". When I dwelt on the article and thought of that saying the difficulty in understanding the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount made perfect sense. They are at odds (in fact completely the opposite) with the 'garden' we are growing up and living in. Here are some thoughts I came up with following some further reading, research and reflection just to illustrate why we have such difficulty with, not only these teachings but (for some) the whole idea of Christianity. "Bles
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"A Journey Shared - Part 3 "Free Will - Choose Your Path Wisely".

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I expect objections, and they will come from evolutionists, secular humanists, moral relativists and atheists. We are currently witnessing an attack on Christianity from aggressive atheists, on the one hand - lead by Richard Dawkins and his ilk, and on the other hand those who seek to dumb down Christianity. Those who wish to make some of the more challenging teachings of Jesus more acceptable to how 'The Word' fits in with what they would rather believe. Liberal Theology, Secular Humanism and Moral Relativism is a real threat to Christianity, and it comes in many a disguise and you will find it all over Facebook, mostly based on completely false teaching without any truth whatever. False prophets abound! There are also those who seek to 'disprove' Christianity by Science. I find this difficult to digest. As far as I know Science is involved in the physical, observable and reasoned world - not the spiritual. "Christians believe that God created
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"A Journey Shared Part 2 - "Where I Was, and Where I Am".

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An admission I make in my first Post is that whilst calling myself a Christian I was deceiving myself (and perhaps some people who are not aware of being a true Christian is) as I had largely ignored or sidelined the spiritual dimension of the faith I claimed to be part of. ' I am the light of the world" , declares Jesus in John 8 vs 12. In saying this he makes the claim that He is the exclusive source of spiritual light and that no other source of spiritual truth is available to mankind. So, whilst I was not only in denial to my faith I had also dosed up on self. And I had become so full of self there was no room for anything spiritual whatever. I was, quite literally, walking in darkness - knowingly. But trying to deny it by sprouting forth Christian Apologetics 'around the dinner table' and boring everyone to tears. There is probably good reason that we are told " ...not by your good works, that you might boast" . (Matthew 6 vs 1) If I
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"A Journey Shared - Part 1. Introduction"

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 On reflection, this journey started many years ago as I will reveal in future Blogs. The real story started in January 2017 when the reality of the situation set in. Some members of my family expressed a concern about the way I was talking and eating, and enquired if I was in any pain. An instruction to make a doctor's appointment was issued! After numerous tests, scans, biopsies and all the battery of medical procedures undertaken these circumstances I was diagnosed with a malignant carcinoma on my tongue. This was surgically removed in March 2017 and some muscle 'harvested' from my left forearm used as a replacement. A seven week recovery process was followed by a 6 week course of radiation. The first check up in August 2017 indicated that all seemed to be well. December check up, however, lead to another operation to remove another growth in my neck. Further tests and scans have lead to yet another round of chemotherapy and radiation to another gr
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