When will we listen and do something about it?

The late Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister and leader of the U.K. Labour Party, said, "A week is a long time in politics". This must have been so for the Eurozone leaders when they met in Brussels to find a solution to the Euro crisis. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said, "If the Euro fails, Europe fails." There is an inevitability to her words, which may have prompted her fellow national leaders to pull back from the brink of total collapse. They agreed on a bailout plan initially for Greece but also for other tottering countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland, which also had major debt problems. Many newspaper financial commentators were sceptical about whether this plan would be implemented in time; they had heard euphemisms before, but now they wanted to hear words that would work. One lady said that they were kicking the can down the road. We understand her words to mean that, at some point in time, someone has got to pick the can up. Though battered and damaged, it had to be addressed; there was no point in kicking it further down 'Debt Avenue'.

When I worked as a travelling preacher in Cornwall, the locals would say that if it rained for two weeks, there would be floods, and if it didn't rain for two weeks, there would be a drought! It was inevitable! It always puzzled me why an area with so much rainfall could not conserve it in reservoirs for the tourists that often triple the county's population when the sun shines. 

Management of the earth's resources is vital, as the world's population is around 8.3 billion, and over one-half of them live in poverty without access to clean water. Every human being depends on water; our bodies are approximately 60% water, and we cannot survive for many days without it. In many places in Africa they have to go to where clean water is available, fill their cans, place the vessel on their heads, and carry it home, sometimes over a great distance. Share Africa is a Christian charity that helps village communities in various ways, including by paying for books and children's education. They also put wells in villages so they can pump water into a storage tank for families to draw water from, saving them a long walk to the river. Other charities do similar things and are commendable for the hard work they do.

The prayer of an old saint

Billy Graham's Prayer for the United States of America

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values..

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free.Amen!'

Ruth Bell Graham's Prayer

Many years ago, the future wife of Billy Graham prayed the prayer at the end of this post. Her prayer was undoubtedly answered. 

Have you ever made a note of your prayers? It’s the only way to know if your prayers are answered. God hears and answers prayers. 

The first prayer we need to make is the prayer of repentance. Here are some verses that confirm this truth.

Before you read the verses let me explain what the word repent means. To repent means a change of place or condition, to exercise the mind, think, comprehend. It is a change of mind or to relent. 

Theologically, it involves regret or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God. It is distinguished from mere regret - summary of definition from 'The Complete Word Study Bible'. 

Nothing lasts for ever - or does it?

Life is indeed a journey marked by constant change and the inevitability of loss. We all grapple with the reality that we will age, that loved ones will one day leave us, and that children will grow up and forge their own paths. These truths can weigh heavily on our hearts, but there is profound hope found within the pages of the Bible.

At the core of this hope is the belief that we possess an eternal soul, a fundamental aspect of our being that transcends physical death. This idea, however, is becoming increasingly dismissed in modern thinking. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking famously articulated his view of human existence by likening our brains to computers, which cease to function once their components fail. He stated unequivocally, "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark." While Hawking's statement may resonate with some, it fails to consider the complexities of human consciousness and the spiritual dimension that is integral to our existence.