Chris Tomlin at Number One

Here's Chris Tomlin talking on Fox News about his latest album, Burning Lights, going to number one, and some other things close to his heart.

Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll get the chance to share some of the great songs from this album - which has been the soundtrack to at least 30 miles of running since it came out.

Prayer and Miracles

This post follows on from Wednesday - if you missed that click here to start with.

Simon and Andrew brought their problem to Jesus immediately - and immediately Jesus did something about it. So why doesn't it seem to work that way in my life?

It is a serious mistake to think that Jesus and the disciples had a comfortable and trouble free life because they simply prayed for miracles and God gave them what they wanted. Earlier in chapter 1 we find Jesus being sent by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by Satan. Then John the Baptist finds himself in prison where later he is beheaded. As we continue to read through the New Testament we find that Jesus and most of the disciples suffered and were ultimately killed because of their faith. The fact that God performed miracles was no guarantee of an easy life. The miracles were a signpost to something else.

Prayer is not about bringing a list of requests to God - so that God conforms to my wishes. Prayer is about putting myself in a place where I allow God to transform me so that I want what God wants. Sometimes that may mean a miracle - of the healing variety. They do happen.

But at other times it means that I have to walk the valley of the shadow of death - and trust that God walks with me; trust that God knows what is going on; trust that God loves me - and that for whatever reason (a reason that is totally beyond me at this particular point in time) this is God's best for me. And within the context of the storm, rather than panic, I allow God to give me the peace that is beyond all understanding. A peace that comes from knowing, as we thought with Tuesday's Tune, that because of God's love and forgiveness, it is well.

Listen to this message here

Give a man a fish

There are now only 85 days to go until the London Marathon - which I am running to help raise £2000 for Christian Aid. Each Thursday I am posting a short video to highlight one aspect of the work of Christian Aid. Last week we looked at their work campaigning for tax justice - putting pressure on rich governments to ensure that tax regulations do not benefit the rich and the expense of the poor.

This week's video shows how the provision of a boat, new nets, a new smoking oven and training in new fishing techniques allow fishing communities in places like Sierra Leone to not only feed themselves, but provide a source of income so allows families to work their way out of poverty. 

Projects like this demonstrate how aid is not simply about providing communities with food - so that they need to keep on coming back for more. It is about empowering communities to provide for themselves. This particular project highlights the wisdom of the Chinese proverb that says 

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime

To sponsor me please visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Every little helps. Thank you.

Don't Panic

When trouble or crisis hits what's the first thing that you do? Panic? Phone your Mum? Pray? In Mark 1:30 Simon and Andrew take Jesus and James and John home, but Simon's mother-in-law is ill with a fever. There is no paracetamol to hand. But Mark tells us that immediately (TNIV) they told Jesus about her. So Jesus helps her up and the fever goes.

I'm sure that most Christians, if you were to ask them what you should do when trouble strikes, would respond 'pray' - but how many of us do? 

Simon and Andrew had just seen Jesus heal a man by driving out an evil spirit. In comparison a fever probably didn't seem too big a deal. But for many of us, our experience of prayer is that all too often God doesn't seem to answer. People get sick and we pray for them and they get worse. Or else they go to the doctor and respond to the medicine - just like everyone else. So why should I pray immediately - in fact, why should I pray at all?

Miracles were very important for Mark - although his is the shortest gospel he records the most miracles. The miracles were a sign that Jesus was the Messiah. They were also a sign that the Kingdom of God was at hand. As God moves in, the powers of darkness have to move out. The trouble was that most people started to focus on the signpost rather than what it was pointing to. Crowds looked for Jesus in order to see or experience a healing miracle. But Jesus wasn't just here to perform miracles, he was here to proclaim the Kingdom of God and bring people to repentance and belief. It got so bad that Jesus wasn't even free to enter the villages anymore (Mark 1:38 & 45).

So then, what is prayer and why should we pray?

In all the busyness of his ministry Jesus took time out to pray - time when he could be alone with God without distraction. The only time this was possible was very early in the morning when everyone else was still asleep (Mark 1:35). If Jesus felt the need to spend time with God - how much more do we need regular time with God.

But what's the point if my prayers don't get answered? Come back on Friday for a few thoughts on that question.