Submitting to authorities (most of the time)

We held our 11th Eco Prayer Meeting at Shipley Baptist Church on 18th March.

The Authorities That Exist... 

We read Romans chapter 13 verses 1-7 and Daniel chapter 3 verses 1-18 and asked what these two Bible passages are telling us about State Authorities.  

Some important points that we made:

• In some mysterious way, the (state) authorities that exist have been appointed by God. We think this is something to do with the way that they seek to maintain order.
• Even authorities that do some really horrible things (like the Babylonian empire that Daniel was a part of and the Roman empire that Paul was a part of) are still God-appointed and worth of respect.
• BUT there is a line beyond which God's people should go, as demonstrated by the early Christians who refused to worship the Roman Emperor, and the Jews in Babylon who refused to worship the golden image.

What should we do?

• Be aware of the false Gods of our time.
• Respect our authorities and laws.
• Hold our authorities to account.
• Pray for our Council, Parliament and government and expect good things from them.
• Lead the way in doing right

Sharing our good Eco news

We shared some encouraging news of Eco things we have seen recently, lots of them related to things we are trying to grow in our own gardens.

Pray

We prayed for the following things:

1. Authorities: we prayed for the work of our political representatives and our Council.
   
   
2. PEACE in Ukraine, Sudan, Congo and Iran. As well as destroying lives, military activity – from the mining of elements to the rebuilding of destroyed buildings – is estimated to contribute 5.5 to 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
   
   
3. In the UK, a new film from the National Emergency Briefing - a climate change information group - will be released on 7th April. It presents the national implications of climate and nature breakdown along with action people can take in a 45 minute film designed for screening in communities across the UK. Pray for:
1. Many groups to take up the challenge to organise screenings.
2. Voters and decision makers to heed the call to action.
   
   
4. The UK Big Walk and Wheel scheme which is taking place 16-27 March (NOW!): schools compete to get the most pupils walking/scooting to school
1. Thank God that 2,486 schools with 775,820 pupils are registered.
2. Pray that children and staff will take the message to heart.
   
   
5. In Bradford, the Council and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are launching a Nature and Wellbeing programme, to support people in developing green spaces in the City. The scheme is partly inspired by the Lister Community Action Group who spent years turning a fly tipping alley into a green space.
1. Thank God for the hard work of people in Bradford who love and care for our green spaces.
2. Pray for more!
   
   
6. Pray for global decision makers:
1. China’s government will be releasing its next Five Year Plan and passing a new ecological and environmental code.
2. EU leaders will meet to discuss energy pricing.
3. Colombia and the Netherlands, backed by 22 nations, are developing a roadmap to fossil fuel phaseout, beginning with a conference in April in the coal port city of Santa Marta, Colombia
   
   
7. Pray for people affected by Cyclone Gezani in Madagascar and Mozambique, and by winter storms in in Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco. One town in Spain received a year’s worth of rain in a single day; 18 people have been killed in Portugal; 43 people died in Morocco

Please keep on praying for all these things 🙏🌍💚

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 15th April, 7:30pm, at Shipley Baptist Church (Facebook event!).