Faith and Trust

by Pat Lee

(Based on Luke 12:32-40; Gen 15:1-6; Heb 11:1-3, 8-16)

Last week Bruce told us a personal story of running in a steeplechase at school when his friend passed him saying aloud, “Keep on going,” as he ran by. Bruce used this to encourage us to never give up. God is always with us, no matter what is happening.

We know Abram, or Abraham as he became known, was persistent in his asking, even pleading, with God. We also know, God had promised him a son.
In Chapter 15, God spoke to Abram in a vision telling him that he would have great blessings, so Abram asks God how come, because he had no son, and that another member of his household would inherit all his wealth.  God tells him to go and look up into the night sky and see the countless stars, and that he will likewise have descendants too many to count.
And Abram believes God.

What a great statement that is!  “Abram believed God.” He trusted God to do what he said he would do.

Last Sunday I asked Ruth what had brought her to Tairua. Her answer was, “Because that was where God told me to come.” And here she and her family are, with us. What a great answer. Just like Abram, she had to step out in faith and trust God to bring her to the place he had told her to come. She has a great testimony, well worth listening to.

This reminded me of a time in my life. Michael and I, along with our daughter, were living in Timaru in 1988. Michael was a Supervising Technician in the transmission section of Telecom and was in charge of quite a large number of staff. He came home from work one day early in that year to say that Telecom was going to restructure the whole company. And he had been tasked by his boss to find out how the transmission section could be more efficient, which levels could be run better … but with fewer staff.
After a few weeks of working at this project, he said to me one night that it looked most likely that his job was one of those that would disappear. So, he started applying for positions around the country in similar types of work but nothing came from it. We had no idea what was going to happen to us, as Michael, at the age of 47, was going to find it very hard to get a job even with his experience. He would have to retrain for something different.
But God had a different path for him in mind.

Unbeknown to each other, we committed our situation to God in prayer. I can’t remember who spoke about it first, but we both sensed that God was calling him into ordained ministry. Wonderfully, it was confirmed to us several times over by some of our friends; also by people we had only just met and knew nothing about us. We were totally blown away by this.
We had no idea how it would happen, but we had the faith to believe, and trusted God to bring it about.
It would take much too long to tell the rest of this story, but just to say that before Michael’s redundancy took place in October that year, he had secured a place at St John’s College through the Bishop of Waikato, Roger Herft. The rest is history.

Hebrews 11:1-3, this time from the Good News version: “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. It was by their faith that people of ancient times won God’s approval. It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God’s Word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.”
And that Hebrews reading goes on to say more of the faith of Abraham!

God, the Holy Spirit, ‘speaks’ to us in many different ways – through the Bible, other resources, books, music, other people, sometimes even animals, believe it or not. Some of us may even hear God’s voice.
But he’s not always telling us to go out and do something or go somewhere like he did to Abram and Ruth. But when God does call us to do or go, it is more than likely that we will find ourselves right out of our comfort zones. Virtually forcing from us the faith to believe and trust him.

God is telling us in the Luke reading not to be afraid, because it is his good pleasure to “give us the kingdom”. We heard last week about the man who built bigger and better barns. He lost his life because he was building up his treasure here on earth and not in heaven. He was not trusting God. (But how many of us would actually be prepared to go out and sell everything and give the money to the poor. Most of us would feel very uncomfortable about that.) It’s unlikely God will ask us to do that, but he may call us to do something else or give up something that we really treasure.
The joy of obedience, of course, is worth sacrifice.

Then Luke takes us in quite a different direction. He relates what Jesus says about slaves waiting for their master’s return from a wedding, and to be ready. Jesus follows this story with one about a thief breaking into a house and, once again, to be ready, because we “do not know what hour” it will happen. “You must be ready,” he says, “for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

I think this suggests a reversal: We need to have faith and trust in God, which gives us security, but God also seems to have faith and trust in us when he asks us to do things, expecting us to be ready when Jesus returns. So, when the Holy Spirit speaks to us, we need to take heed. It shows that God has faith and is trusting us to do what he asks.

Reflect on the words of this old hymn, in finishing:

Go at the call of God,
The call to follow on.
To leave security behind, and go where Christ has gone.
Go in the strength of God,
in weakness prove God true.
The strength that dares to love and serve, God will pour out on you.
O God, to you we come,
Your love alone to know.
Your name to own, your strength to prove,
And at your call to go.

Pollyanna Part One

It’s hard not to be impressed by Volodymyr Zelensky’s optimism.  Or Ukraine’s generally.  They face such odds, such crushing brutality, such patent injustice; and yet he – and his people seem infected by it – continues to broadcast hope and confidence and optimism.  For him it’s when Ukraine prevails, not if it does.

Is their confidence well-placed?  Is there really any hope?
Optimism can be ridiculous at times.  A compulsive form of denial and pollyannarism.

Many leaders in history have been like Zelensky.  Mandela and Churchill come to mind (although the latter was also a renowned depressive and pessimist!).

When is optimism realistic?  When is pessimism sensible?  And where does reality sit – somewhere in between?

Nothing personal, but first I’m going to pour cold water on pessimism, sorry.  Before optimism gets critiqued in Part Two.

Pessimism stifles possibilities and too often feeds depression.  According to American psychologist and educator Professor Martin Seligman, “Depression is the ultimate expression of pessimism.”  And it doesn’t have to be: it’s an attitude that can be harried out of the room.  Depressives will decry this, and say depression can’t be helped, it’s imposed from without, it’s chemical, it’s situational … 

There is validity in this, and I truly don’t mean to diminish anyone’s struggle with it or aggravate their vulnerability to it.  But I will quote a piece relevant to the issue. 
This is Martin Lloyd-Jones, influential twentieth century Welsh Protestant minister and medical doctor.  He counselled people should wrestle with depression (and, by association, pessimism), to bully it out of the mind:

We must talk to ourselves instead of allowing ‘ourselves’ to talk to us … the main trouble in this matter of … depression [is] that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self … Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself … You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself.  You must say to your soul, “… what business have you to be disquieted?”  You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself, “Hope thou in God.”  Instead of muttering in this depressed unhappy way.
(Italics added.)

If you can!

A pessimistic mindset needs to be recognised, and consciously and determinedly dealt to.  Professor Seligman agrees (with Lloyd-Jones), that we can change our mode of thinking:

The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe bad events will last … will [happen again, frequently], and are their own fault.  Optimists, confronted with the same hard knocks, … think in the opposite way … defeat is just a temporary setback … Confronted by a bad situation, they perceive it as a challenge, and try harder.

Mandela knew this, and overcame.  So did Churchill, a depressive.  Perhaps Zelensky will too, but only future events can vindicate his optimism, and confirm him as a Churchill or a Pollyanna.  Because unwarranted optimism can be problematic too.  (On which, and for an unpacking of ‘pollyannarism’, don’t miss Part Two.)

Meanwhile, reflect on these:

Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. (Nelson Mandela)

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  (Winston Churchill)

The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present; … it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Ken F

Never Give Up

by Bruce Gilberd

(Based on Luke 12:13-21; Hosea 11:1-11; Col 3:1-11)

In 1955 I was running in my school steeplechase.  As I was overtaken by one of my still best friends, I heard him saying to himself, “Keep going!  Keep going!”
This could be the underlying theme of today’s three readings (and relevant, in the shadow of the current Birmingham Commonwealth Games) as we all “run the race that is set before us”: Keep going!

The book of Hosea has a sense of intimacy, as the prophet describes God’s relationship with Israel.  God’s deep love for Israel as he calls and recalls his people is seemingly evident – even when “the more I called, the more they went away from me”.  Yet, “how can I give you up, Ephraim, how can I hand you over, Israel?”  God is the love that will never let Israel go; never let the church go; never let you and me go – ever.  God’s call to us to keep on going.

We are to keep responding, keep going, keep running in the race set before us.

Never give up!

Paul in his Colossian epistle urges believers not to ease back into their old ways.  They are to keep living out their indelible connection to Christ, in whom their life is hidden and protected.  Don’t revert – or divert – from your call to live transformed lives.  Don’t ease up.  Keep going.

And so to Luke, and Jesus’s parable on greed, which is such a human flaw.
“Be on your guard,” Jesus admonishes his disciples, “against all kinds of greed.”

What greeds might he be referring to?

  • The greed for money and things?
  • The greed for praise?
  • The greed for power?
  • The greed for attention? (Not least in our conversations?)
  • The greed for impersonal, sensual pleasure?

And so on …
Also, on the world scene, there is the greed for domination, land and profits …

No, says Jesus, be rich towards God – that is the greatest treasure – for nations, churches and believers.
Keep on growing as a person.

Time and again the Scriptures, and Jesus himself, keep encouraging us to keep going – keep walking on God’s way, up hill and down dale – never giving up.   Keep letting God’s light and love shine through us.


This will involve,

  • Keep praying
    • together
    • and alone – being still and attentive in God’s presence
  • Keep reaching out to others
    • those we know
    • those we don’t
  • Keep seeking justice
    • locally
    • globally

Of course, we all need resources for the daily walk of discipleship, if we are to avoid wrong turns and side trips, and sustain our forward journey.
May I recommend something like this – daily/weekly? (Most of us are probably giving it our best already.)

  • Early in the day, be still.  Wait with a receiving disposition.  “Contemplation is the spring which leads to right action, the stream.”
  • Access a resource that feeds your heart and soul and mind.  It is likely the Scriptures and prayers will be part of this.
  • Have projects and involvements that build relationships with others … and that will build if you listen accurately and respond with empathy.
  • Seek to be informed about what is going on in the world, and locally – participate and pray – here, weekly, together.  And alone.  Have broad interests.
  • Give thanks, often, for this land of Aotearoa, and the planet – and walk outdoors as often as you can with your phone switched off.

Five simple guides – a pattern.  All giving God time and space to grace and guide us – so we don’t lose heart, but keep going, forward.  Joyfully.  Courageously.

Let us all keep on going in the way God has called us; right to our end, which will be a new beginning!

Persist in Prayer

by Pat Lee

(Based on Luke 11:1-13; Gen 18:20-32; Psalm 138)

Clearly this passage in Luke is about prayer, but not just prayer. It is actually about life in general.

The first word that came to mind when I read the readings for today was persistence, so I was pleased to find that Elisabeth Johnson in her commentary supported me in this thought. The word used in the NRSV is the Greek word anaideia, which translates as persistence. But a better translation may have been ‘shamelessness’. I will come back to this later.

Parents and grandparents know how persistent children can be when they want something. “Mum, can I have an ice cream? Dad, can you fix my bike? When can we go to the beach?” and, of course,  when we’re going somewhere that takes a while, “Are we there yet?” They will ask a million times until they get what they want or are told very strongly not to ask again.

But if we need to keep praying persistently, is it because we think that God is deaf or is not listening, or that once is enough and that God does not need to be bothered any further? Be assured that God is not deaf and is always listening. Someone has written, “Persistence in prayer is the test to determine whether or not we are really serious about our request.” Further, “All worthwhile goals in life are reached by disciplined efforts. Why should we expect less in our prayer efforts?”

In today’s Genesis reading, the Lord was considering hiding from Abraham what he was about to do to the city of Sodom, but decided against it because he had chosen Abraham to become the father of a great nation, that would keep the way of the Lord.
So, in the verses that follow we see a great example of persistence or shamelessness. This is a few verses on from last week’s passage when Abraham had three visitors. When the three men left, Abraham went some of the way with them. When they set out towards Sodom, Abraham stayed, standing before the Lord.
He began asking the Lord if he was indeed going to sweep away the righteous as well as the wicked, even if only fifty righteous people were found in Sodom. Abraham kept asking boldly, some may say, audaciously, until he got down to asking if just ten righteous people could be found. Abraham was persistent, shameless, in his asking. We don’t know why he kept asking: perhaps it was because he knew his nephew Lot and his family lived there. (Reading on in the following chapters we find that Lot was indeed saved from the destruction of Sodom.)

To illustrate that God can be trusted to respond to our prayers, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent friend who goes to a friend at midnight.


Hospitality was of paramount importance in the biblical world, and when the guest arrived – even unexpected, at midnight – there was no question that hospitality must be extended. But the man does not have the provisions to do so, so he goes to his friend to borrow some, even though he must wake up the entire household.

 I wonder how we would have reacted? Some of us would have been pretty upset, especially with that persistent knocking on the door. We feel empathy for the woken friend. Elisabeth Johnson says that in the culture of the biblical world, it is the woken-up friend who is behaving badly. The ability of his friend to provide hospitality, and thus his honour, is at stake. The woken-up friend would incur dishonour if he failed to help in this essential obligation. So, he will respond because of social pressure at the very least.

Jesus then continues, “So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (11:9-10)

Johnson says this is the most difficult part of the passage to preach because our experience contradicts Jesus’s words. So often we have asked and not received; searched and not found. In spite of our most fervent prayers for their health and safety, we have lost loved ones to illness and senseless accidents. In spite of the fervent prayers of people around the world, daily we hear of tragedies of violence, hunger, disease, and natural disasters.

If God is a loving parent who desires what is good and life giving (11:11-13), why do so many prayers seem to go unanswered?

There is no simple answer, although answers are often given. Another writer says, “I don’t know why some prayers seem to be answered and others are not. I don’t have any good answers or explanations but I have heard some really bad ones: ‘You didn’t pray hard enough.’ ‘You didn’t have enough faith.’ ‘You were asking for the wrong thing.’”

Elisabeth Johnson writes, “What can we say about unanswered prayer? It is wise to be wary of saying more than we can possibly know. We can, however, affirm what Scripture tells us: that God is all-powerful, yet God is not the only power in the world. There are other powers at work, the powers of Satan and his demons, the powers of evil and death often manifested by human sin.”
1 Peter 5:8,9 says, “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”
Johnson again: “Although God has won the ultimate victory over these powers through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the battle still rages on.”

So, we dare to be persistent in our prayers, to keep bringing our needs and hopes to our heavenly Father, because Jesus tells us to do so, as he himself did, trusting in God’s loving purpose for us; and remember to give thanks. Psalm 138 tells us to give thanks with our whole hearts, and 1 Thessalonians 5:17,18 says, “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I believe we should always thank God when we have asked, even before we receive the answer, because this shows we have faith in God. 

Be persistent, and give thanks. Whatever the outcome.