God will not forsake

Thursday 31st March

Jeremiah 14

Ps 56, 57

Hebrews 7.1–10

John 8.31–47

Psalm 57

The psalmist is in deepest despair, his faith tested to the limit. He pleads in anguish for God's help, while lions, arrows and fire surround him. It is no wonder that his faith is in doubt and that he is afraid. In spite of his fears, he continues to praise God, taking refuge in the shadow of His wings, trusting that He will answer his cry and provide for his needs. His praise is not only in prayer but also in song, with musical accompaniment from the psaltery and harp. He knows that, in spite of his deepest fears, God will not forsake him. He renews his own strength through his belief in God's mercy. What an example of courage and faith for us today, as we live in increasingly troubled times.

Heather Charlton

Walking in the Light

Wednesday 30th March

Jeremiah 13.1–11

Ps 38

Hebrews 6.13–end

John 8.12–30

John 8.12–30

Jesus tries very hard to explain who he is, and that God is with him. The Pharisees are in the very presence of God, but they just cannot understand this amazing truth. To bring Jesus into our lives is to be as close as possible to God and in doing so, we move from the shadow to the light. The light is freely available to us as a gift of God, whenever and wherever we choose to accept it.

It's a choice we make each and every day - to walk in the shadow or to walk in the light.

Andrew Graydon

Tuesday 29th March

Jeremiah 11.18–12.6

Ps 6, 9

Hebrews 5.11–6.12

John 7.53–8.11

Psalm  6 and Psalm 9

In the midst of a psalm full of anguish, the psalmist declares
“The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.”

We are given no indication as to what has changed in his physical or material position, but suddenly the writer is confident in God's power and His mercy towards those who call on Him.

The act of calling upon God, of seeking Him in prayer, changes something in us. God will respond. But He has already responded, in the sense that having called out to God we are no longer the same.

Jesus prayed in anguish that the cup of suffering should be taken from him, if it was God's will. It was not taken from him, but from calling upon God, from praying, he had the strength to go to the cross.

Mags Bird

LET US.....

Monday 28th March

Jeremiah 11.1–17

Ps 5, 7

Hebrews 4.14–5.10

John 7.37–52

Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10

V14: Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess..

hold – keep, maintain, continue, grasp

firmly – strongly, resolutely

V16: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence

throne – royal seat

grace – favour, kindness, mercy

confidence – trust assurance

Let us: it is an encouragement to US to continue and to come near to God as are the other 'Let Us' in Hebrews!

Sheila Cuthbertson

V14: Tenons-nous fermement à la foi que nous professons ..
tenir - garder, maintenir, poursuivre, saisir
fermement - fortement, résolument

V16: Approchons-nous donc sur le trône de la grâce avec confiance
Trône - siège royal
grâce - sont favorables, la bonté, la miséricorde
la confiance - la confiance, d'assurance

Laissons-nous: il est un encouragement pour nous à poursuivre et à s'approcher de Dieu que sont les autres “Laissons-nous" dans Hébreux!

Third Sunday of Lent 27th March

Amos 7.10-17

Psalm 46

Ephesians 6.10-20

John 4.5-42

Psalm 46

“God is our refuge and strength,..”

When I read this psalm, it reminds me again on how God’s endless love to his children. “God is our refuge and strength,..” this is a short verse but powerful and real. While we are still living in this world, we experience not only happiness and joy but also troubles and worries as part of our daily lives. There are times that our burden is so heavy that we just do not know what to think or to do about our problems. This is the time to let God taking over our burden and relies completely on his providence. In practice, this is easier to say than to do. We are used to have control of our lives and we to find solutions by ourselves. There are times when there is no light at the end of tunnel and things are beyond our control although we have done our best, seeking his guidance and praying. Be patient and let God do his part; be like a child who runs into his father’s arm looking for a comfort and protection, he is our father who never fails or let us down.

DI

A calmer life free of loneliness and fear.

Saturday 26th March

Jeremiah 10.17–24

Ps 3, 25

Hebrews 4.1–13

John 7.25–36

Psalm 3

We live in troubled times; rarely has the world not lived in such times. In this psalm, David is beset by enemies, including his own son, who sow doubt of God’s power to save him. He fears for his life, but is comforted by his belief, frequently reinforced, that God will support and save him.

Psalm 25

In what is a prayer for help and forgiveness, the psalmist acknowledges a misspent life, but has complete confidence in God, who, through compassion, can forgive a misspent youth and help a person through the troubles of all stages of life. For God, if heeded, will indicate the path to be followed, for a life less troubled.

This is a difficult concept, especially those for whom prayer seems at times a futile exercise, but at least we should know, as Christians, the path we should follow and can see the benefits from so doing; a calmer life free of loneliness and fear.

Nick Fern

Friday 25th  March 

Isaiah 52.1-12

Psalms 131, 146

Hebrews 10.4-10

Luke 1.26-38

Hope & Praise

Psalms 131, 146

Psalm 131 is about David personally. He has lost hope in God and is trying to find his hope in Him again. That is why he is opening up his soul so that God can enter in, so that he can put his hope in God now and for ever. We also if we’ve lost hope in God, need to try and reopen our souls so we can let God back in or open it up for the first time to enjoy the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

 Psalm 146 reminded me of a lot of hymns and makes you want to praise the Lord the whole day long and the rest of your life. It is true that we can’t put our trust in mortal men, because when they pass on, we are left with nothing put empty promises and dashed hopes. But if we trust in God, we will know what real blessings are and will feel at peace. God also never goes back on his word, something we humans unfortunately sometimes do. With God there won’t be broken promises and destroyed hopes. God is there for everyone apart from the wicked. With the wicked He will make sure that their plans get messed up so that they will see the light and put their hope in the Creator.

 We should thank Him every day of our life for creating us and the world we live in, we should admire the work He has done for us. He just gets the credit for everything and we should tell the world and shout ‘Praise to God, He gets the credit – 110 percent’, as it says in ‘The Word on the street’ by Rob Lacey.

 Jenny Freeman

Seasons

Thursday 24th March

Jeremiah 9.12-24

Ps 34

Hebrews 3.1-6

John 7.1-13

Jeremiah 9.12-24

It has been a long winter with rain, snow, strong winds and all of nature momentarily shedding its life and its beauty. It reminds us of the autumns and winters which we move through in our individual lives, in our communal lives and even- like the people of Israel- as nations.

Now, as we stand on the brink of spring, let us not forget that the winters of our lives often allow for God to recreate us in His image and to us back to Himself. Just like all of nature, just like Jesus Christ, we all go through periods of dying, but only to spring to life again, whether it be here or in eternity, transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Meanwhile we learn more and more to praise the Father in each and every season.

Sara Mäkipää

It is difficult

Wednesday 23^rd March

Jeremiah 8.18–9.11

Ps 35

Hebrews 2.10–end

John 6.60–end

Jeremiah 8.18–9.11

In my current computer contract, I work through an agency via a guy who seems really nice. I recently found out that this guy had "forgotten" to tell me that I was supposed to get an extra 28 EUR a day (a total of over 5000 EUR for the days I have worked). When I then asked for what was due, he changed his story, and directly lied to me about the higher rate. When I found out he had lied and I asked for the extra amount due, he effectively denied there had ever been such an agreement, calling in the lawyer to contest what we had verbally agreed. Fortunately I had written in an email last year what we had agreed, and I am therefore going to get paid the extra. But what a liar he was!

And I cannot but think of this when I read these words of Jeremiah 8:18-9:11: "...no one tells the truth; they have taught their tongues to lie and will not give up their sinning". But the message of Easter is that Jesus died for this guy. And for me. And for you. And he did it while we were still sinners. Praise Him for his rescuing us from sin. And let us never forget that all the folk we meet who seem really nice are also sinners, like us, in need of the salvation of Christ.

Hugh

Take it

Tuesday 22nd March

Jeremiah 8.1–15

Ps 50

Hebrews 2.1–9

John 6.52–59

Hebrews 2.1–9

It’s easy to say that we don’t have the time to do something. Sometimes, we don’t have the time to do the things that don’t interest us even though these may be the things that God commands us to do. In the beginning our interest may peak at a challenge but, as the task becomes more difficult, our interest wanes and we tend to take the easy way out and give up. We may feel that our job or personal life objectives are the most important things to claim our attention. We have no time to pray, to read the Bible, to think about religion, and the opportunities of salvation glide silently away until it is too late. The teachings of our faith will not benefit us unless we give heed to them. It will not save us that the Jesus came and spoke to people, unless we listen. Books will not benefit us, unless we read them; medicine, unless we take it; nor will the fruits of the earth sustain our lives, however rich and abundant they may be. We may perceive, too late, that we have let the opportunity of salvation slip forever away.

Jamie and Richard Simpson

Monday 21st March

Jeremiah 7.21–end

Ps 26, 32

Hebrews 1

John 6.41–51

 John 6.41–51

Daily Bread-Le Pain Quotidien

In this passage we have the Jews unable to accept Jesus and his message, as they have seen him grow up as the carpenter's son.

Not Messiah material for them

.

This reminds us not to judge only the exterior. God who sent Jesus , seen as an unlikely messenger, continues to send us messengers.

We thank God that He does speak to us through others.

What is the message here? Jesus is the bread of life. Accepting Jesus means accepting life in all its fullness here and now and in the life to come. It means constantly re-evaluating where we are, spending time in prayer and listening to His personal message for each one of us.

With Easter in mind , let us read vs 51 " I am the living bread that came down from heaven . If anyone eats of this bread he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world"

J’ai choisi le passage de Jean versets 41 à 51

Ici nous avons les Juifs qui ne peuvent pas accepter Jésus et son message car ils l’ont vu grandir comme le fils du charpentier. Pour eux il ne peut pas être le Messie.

On nous rappelle ici de ne pas juger uniquement l’extérieur . Dieu qui nous a envoyé Jésus, qui n’avait pas l’allure que l’on pouvait attendre, continue à nous envoyer des messagers. Nous remercions Dieu qu’Il nous parle à travers les autres.

Quel est son message ? Jésus est le pain de la vie. En acceptant Jésus nous acceptons une vie pleine ici maintenant et une vie éternelle. Cela implique une ré évaluation d’où nous nous situons, la nécessité de la prière et d’un temps d’écoute pour entendre Son message personel pour chacun de nous.

A l’approche de Pâques, relisons le verset 51.

Je suis le pain vivant qui est descendu du ciel. Si quelqu’un mange de ce pain, il vivra éternellement; et le pain que je donnerai, c’est ma chair, que je donnerai pour la vie du monde.

Hilary Stone

Second Sunday of Lent 20th March

Jeremiah 22.1-9

Psalm 74

Romans 4.1-5,13-17

Matthew 8.1-13

Faith and works

Romans 4.1-5,13-17

Lord, I am so grateful for my faith. It is your own free gift. My greatest bible heroes stepped out to you and asked you without timidity to meet their needs. I know that you hear my prayers as well and trust that you answer them, albeit not always in ways that I anticipated. Please enable me to heed your call to behaviour that is pleasing to you and to the good deeds that you prepared for me to do. Please let me never boast in myself though, but only in You and in your love.

La foi et les œuvres

Seigneur, je te remercie infiniment pour ma foi. Elle est vraiment ton don gratuit. Mes plus grands héros bibliques t’approchaient pour te demander sans aucune fausse timidité de combler leurs besoins. Je sais que tu m’écoutes également et j’ai confiance que tu exauces mes prières, bien que ce ne soit pas toujours de la façon que j’avais anticipée. Je te prie, donne-moi la grâce de conformer tous mes comportements à tes attentes et de m'acquitter de toutes les bonnes œuvres que tu as préparées pour moi. Je te prie, fais que je ne me vante jamais de mes propres accomplissements, mais uniquement de Toi et de ton amour.

Lieve Cordeel

Saturday 19^th March (Joseph of Nazareth)

Jeremiah 7.1–20

Ps 59, 63

Galatians 6

John 6.27–40   

Your treasure?

John 6.27–40

Lent reminds us to think about what is important rather than indulge in unnatural and exaggerated acts of abstemiousness, least of all making a public show of them.

In the desert Christ confronted temptation. He simply stood firm, obeyed his Father, and explained how we should position spiritual values in relation to material wealth or earthly powers, denying even the means to keep alive if it prolongs a life devoid of meaning.

Stewart Sansom