Gayle Claxton of Voice In The City (and formerly of Christ For All Nations) did a excellent job of leading us (International Christian Fellowship) through 4 hours of prayer. This began with an exposition of the healing of Bartimaeus (Mark 10.46-52); relating it to prayer.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on us! (Isa 61) The question we have to ask now is if we, as both individuals and as a community, will do as Bartimaeus, i.e., cry out to Jesus, throw off our cloaks, rise up, and go to Him? The "cloak" piece really spoke to me. It was his coat in cold weather, his bedding at night, perhaps even he even used it to sit on as he begged. It is even suggested that this was a special cloak identifying him as blind - that is it was his identity. So whether this was something he depended on or whether it represented who/what he was, he cast it aside to come to Jesus. I want to live my life with more abandon and press through the crowd to Christ.
I pray that the community heard both that His Spirit is upon us and also that we need to make a move toward Christ. I think the cloak can symbolize our tradition and programs. Clearly we are too often found sitting. And so on goes the analogy. As a community, we must also abandon the things that trip us up as we try to press through to Christ.
Technorati Tags : Bartimaeus, Claxton, prayer, CFAN, VoiceInTheCity
1 comment:
We are Bartimaeus, but seldome realize or acknowledge it to ourselves. We are "blind beggars." Let us never forget it, and always humbly throw ourselves upon the mercy of God for our healing, for our sight....
By the way, hello. I see that you have linked my blog. You must find some value there, and if so, I am glad.
Peace to you,
A. Hanson
abbeyinfo @ mn.rr.com
Post a Comment