To mark the release of a book of essays by Pope Francis and diverse religious leaders and scholars titled Not Just Good, but Beautiful: The Complementary Relationship between Man and Woman, Plough hosted an interfaith panel at Philadelphia’s National Museum of American Jewish History during the World Meeting of Families.

As Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers, director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, told the audience: “Our concern for the family is about the poor. Men and women suffer from the retreat from marriage, which is now common among the poor, but even more so among the black community. And it’s the innocent who suffer most – the children.”
Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life and another contributor to the book, added: “I think we need to celebrate good marriages. I think we need to celebrate strong families – rather than being an opponent of the negative, being a proponent of what’s right.…We came to this conference from a lot of different perspectives, but there was one thing we agreed on: you can’t have a strong nation, a strong community, a strong congregation without strong families.”

A Jewish perspective was offered by Daniel Mark, a professor at Villanova. Other speakers included D. Todd Christofferson, a Mormon leader; Helen Alvaré from the George Mason School of Law; and Gerhard Cardinal Müller from the Vatican.

Cries from the Heart answers a specific hunger millions share - a longing for a personal connection to the divine. In times of crisis, all of us reach for someone,or something, greater than ourselves. Some call it prayer. Others just do it. For many, it's often like talking to a wall. People are looking for assurance that someone hears them when they cry out in their despair, loneliness, or frustration. The last thing they need is another book telling them how to pray or what to say, holding out religion like a good-luck charm. So instead of theorizing or preaching, Johann Christoph Arnold tells stories about real men and real women dealing with adversity. Their difficulties - which range from extreme to quite ordinary and universal - resonate with readers, offering a challenge, but also comfort and encouragement. People will see themselves in these glimpses of anguish, triumph, and peace.

Why has God not answered my prayers? What should I be praying for? If everything I prayed for came true, would I be ready?
In this spiritual classic, Eberhard Arnold mines the riches of biblical teaching on prayer and the example of Jesus, the Hebrew prophets, and the early Christians to point us back to the prayer that pleases God most – prayer that has the power to transform our lives and our world.
In a new reflective response, much-loved author Richard J. Foster relates Arnold’s words to our contemporary reality.
From Eberhard Arnold’s closing chapter, “Praying for the Kingdom”:
Do we have the faith that through our prayer the status quo can be shattered? Can we believe that at our call Christ will come among us to judge and save? When we ask for the Holy Spirit, are we ready for God to strike us like a burst of flaming lightning, so that at last we experience Pentecost? Do we really believe that God’s kingdom is imminent? Are we capable of believing that through our pleading, this kingdom will break in? Are we able to believe that as a result of our prayer the entire history of the world will be turned topsy-turvy?
Let us come to God in the absolute certainty that Jesus’ words are true: “The kingdom of God has drawn near!” and, “If you have faith, nothing will be impossible for you.” Wonders will take place, mountains will be torn from their place, and the whole situation as it is on earth will be changed. Mighty things will happen when we have faith.
From Richard J. Foster’s reflective response:
…So we are drawn into prayer not by obligation or by need or by desire but by divine Love. God seeking. God waiting. God wooing. God pursuing. This emphasis upon the loving heart of God seeking us out is, of course, drawing from a long and deep biblical tradition about prayer.

 Words of Hope for a Time of Sickness 

These sixty short daily reflections, each based on a verse from the Bible, will guide a believer facing serious sickness – and his or her family – to a rock-solid faith and trust in the will of God. With confidence in the healing power of God and the possibility of miracles, the Blumhardts, a father-son team of pastors renowned for their healing ministry, point us away from our troubles and toward a Creator who is supremely wise and good and wants the best for each of us.

In a world where medical advances seem to promise a cure for everything, it’s tempting to believe that we can live free of pain. But we know that even the best medicine cannot extend life forever or solve the riddles of physical and emotional illness. How, then, to respond to the inevitability of suffering? And how to help those who live in fear of disease to conquer their daily worry about their diagnosis? What better place to turn than to these words of comfort and hope drawn from the Word of God?

As Rick Warren writes in his foreword, “the Blumhardts remind us that physical healing is not God’s greatest answer to prayer.…Whatever circumstance you are facing right now, this book of daily readings will help you focus on a closer relationship with Jesus, our one true spiritual healer.”

 

 

 

Such prayer is right, and approved by God our Saviour, whose will it is that all men should find salvation and come to know the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4, NEB


Lord our God, give us your Spirit, we pray, that we may learn to understand what we are and what tasks you have set for us. We thank you for all the light you give us. Grant that we and many others may come closer to knowledge of the truth and be at peace about all that belongs in your hands, our Father in heaven. Keep us now and forevermore in your almighty hand. May we know your goodness and the blessing it brings. For through your goodness we can endure even the hardest days and be victorious in the battle of life. Amen.

 

If God is the god of everything,  your work matters to God. Every legitimate kind of work is a way of loving God, serving others, and fulfilling your calling. In fact, work is a major topic in the Bible, beginning with the surprising statement in Genesis 2:15 that God created people to work. Not as a punishment, but as a pleasure and a way of relating to God himself.