Saturday 28th February ~ Bad News ~ Jeremiah 7: 1-20 ~ Jérémie 7:1-20

Psalm 63 ~ Psaumes 63

Galatians 6 ~ Galates 6

John 6.27-40 ~ Jean 6.27-40

Jeremiah 7: 1-20 ~ Jérémie 7:1-20

Bad news

The Jews, Jeremiah is speaking to, do not take their relationship with the Lord seriously. They talk a lot, but their deeds are not in accordance with their words. They seem to think that God will be pleased and they themselves will be okay if they use the magic phrase ‘This is the temple of the Lord.‘ 

God does not feel loved and respected by his people.

Does worshipping other gods apply to us as well? Do we take care of the poor and the strangers, not as something to earn God’s love, but as a logical consequence of what we believe in? Do we find time to pray to God, for ourselves and others? Do we take time to marvel over God’s faithfulness in our every day life? Often times, I am busy doing this and that and really need to remind myself to take some moments of quiet and peace.

God voelt zich door zijn volk als voetveeg behandeld. Laten wij onze relatie met God ook versloffen, of beseffen we dat het een groot voorrecht is om een persoonlijke God te kennen die ons begrijpt en van ons houdt?

Harm de Jong

Road of peace. By Naceem (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0],

via Wikimedia Commons

Friday 27th February ~ Galatians 5.16-end ~ Galates 5.16-fin

Jeremiah 6.22-end ~ Jérémié 6.22-fin

Psalm 22 ~ Psaumes 22

John 6.16-27 ~ Jean 6.16-27

Galatians 5.16-end ~ Galates 5.16-fin

Fruit: this agricultural metaphor runs like a thread through the Bible, starting

with God’s commandment “Be fruitful” in Genesis 1, all the way to the fruit of

the tree of life in Revelation 22. In the gospels, we hear this word over 50

times from Jesus’ own lips: Their fruit allow us to discern true prophets from

false ones (Matthew 7.16). The failure to bear good fruit leads to judgment.

Jesus curses a fig tree that isn’t bearing fruit (Matthew 21.19). The vineyard

will be taken away from the original tenants and “given to a people who will

produce its fruit” (Matthew 21.43).

Paul gives us a list of what this fruit could look like in the life of the individual

and in the collective life of the community:

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self control.

Amour, joie, paix, patience, bonté, bienveillance, foi, douceur, maitrise

de soi.

Liebe, Freude, Friede, Langmut, Freundlichkeit, Güte, Treue, Sanftmut,

Selbstbeherrschung.

Clearly, bearing fruit matters. However, this is not merely a matter of human

effort. While Jesus unmistakably expects us to bear fruit, the very nature of

the agricultural metaphor implies that even if we bear fruit, we cannot give

ourselves credit for it. The fruit is not ours - it is a fruit of the Spirit. Therefore,

Jesus says: “If a man or a woman remains in me and I in them, they will bear

much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”. (John 15.5).

Anonymous

Thursday 26th February ~

Jeremiah 6.9-21 ~ Jérémie 6.9-21

Psalm 42 ~ Psaumes 42

John 6.1-15 ~ Jean 6.1-15

Galatians 5.2-15 ~ Galates 5.2-15

We have been set free in Christ through His sacrifice on the cross. So why do

we constantly try to live by the law or by other people's rules, forgetting the

most important message: that we are to love our neighbour as we love

ourselves? Jesus gave us freedom, and we are to use it by expressing our faith

through love. Let us pray that we may remember this, especially during Lent.

Galates 5.2-15


God heeft ons geroepen om vrij te zijn. Het is onze opdracht de genade van

God te aanvaarden door vrij te leven en door ons geloof in liefde uit te

drukken. Houd net zoveel van uw medemens als van uzelf.

Sara T

Wednesday 25th February ~ Psalm 6 ~ Psaumes 6

Jeremiah 5.20-end ~ Jérémie 5.20 - fin

Galatians 4.21-5 .1~ Galates 4.21-5.2

John 5.30-end ~ Jean 5.30 - fin

Psalm 6 ~ Psaumes 6

“O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger, 

or discipline me in your wrath. 

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; 

O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. 

My soul also is struck with terror, 

while you, O LORD—how long?” 

This is how the psalmist opens this prayer of lament, of confession. As we

begin to fully enter Lent, being a week on from Ash Wednesday, we come

before God in penitence and in faith. We long for redemption, to be taken out

of the pit of our own sin, as well as the injustice that seems to pervade our

world. Today, may we pray for healing, for wholeness. May we learn to cry

out, “How long?” as we look forward into Easter and into the fullness of

redemption. May we learn to wait upon the Lord, believing in God’s

faithfulness to answer our prayers and to rescue us from our sin, our enemies

and our death.

Jeremy Heuslein

Tuesday 24th February ~ John 5.19-29 ~ Jean 5.19-29

Jeremiah 5:1-19 ~ Jérémie 5.1-19

Psalm 44 ~Psaumes 44

Galatians 4.8-20 ~ Galates 4.8-20 

John 5.19-29

This passage follows criticism of Jesus for healing people on the Sabbath.

Sometimes we might think that being a Christian means we’re limited or

constrained by religious rules and that life is somehow less exciting. However

in these verses Jesus shows us that following God means the very opposite;

rather than holding us back, it’s the path to healing and everlasting life. No

matter what challenges or problems we face we should continually look to

Jesus as our inspiration and saviour. These verses also remind us of the

promise Jesus makes to us in John 10 v 10 “I have come that they may have

life, and that they may have it more abundantly”.

Jean 5.19-29

Jean 10 v 10 « ...je suis venu afin que les brebis aient la vie, et qu'elles soient

dans l'abondance. »

Rajnish and Janice Singh

Monday 23rd February ~Jeremiah 4.19-end~Jérémie 4:19-fin

Psalm 11

Galatians 3:23-4:7

John 5:1-18

Jeremiah 4.19-end~~Jérémie 4:19-fin

Do we take the consequences of sin and folly too lightly? Do we blame God’s 

wrath for the suffering that comes our way? Having described our short 

comings in v22, Jeremiah paints a desperate picture of the desolation of the 

earth in vv23-28, a reversal of the created order established in Genesis.  Read 

it slowly and receive Jeremiah’s despair.  This nuclear holocaust, this laying 

waste of nature, is the direct result of our failure to know God and our 

inability to do right.  Only if we begin to take sin and its consequences 

seriously, as seriously as do Jeremiah and God, can we begin to appreciate 

the power and Grace of Easter.

Ann Milton

Sunday 22nd February NEVER AGAIN First Sunday of Lent

Psalm 25:1-
1 Peter 3:18-22

Mark 1:9-15

 NEVER AGAIN

Genesis 9:8-17 ~ Genèse 9.8-17

“Never again” (v.11). Words of comfort from a loving God. Words of comfort to a weary soul. You’ve been through this once. It’s finished. It won’t happen again.

“Never again” (v.11 again). Hear it a second time. It was a great trial indeed, but the time of testing is over. Your loving God saw the end from the beginning, the omega from the alpha. He knew just how much your weary soul could take, just how much your precious soul needed in order to learn the lesson it needed to learn.

“Never again” (v.15). Hear it a third time. The trial He sent you was for a purpose He knew, and for a time He knew – and for a time which He knew would end, and when, and why. It won’t happen again, rest assured. It won’t ever happen again.

Tests and trials will come and go, but when Jesus comes, all will be well.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12 NIV)

“Heureux l’homme qui supporte patiemment la tentation; car, après avoir été éprouvé, il recevra la couronne de vie, que le Seigneur a promise à ceux qui l’aiment.” (Jacques 1:12 NEG)

“Gelukkig is hij die telkens verleidingen weerstaat en niet doet wat verkeerd is, want later zal hij als beloning de kroon krijgen, die God beloofd heeft aan wie Hem liefhebben: Het eeuwige leven.” (Jakobus 1:12 HTB)

^{James Pitts}

Saturday 21st February ~ Psalm 71 ~ LOOKING BACK IN OLD AGE THE PSALMIST SEES THAT IT IS IN THE TOUGH TIMES THAT OUR FAITH IS STRENGTHENED

Jeremiah 4.1-18

Galatians 3.15-22

John 4.43-end

Psalm 71

In his forty days fasting in the desert Jesus must have had a tough time. He was deliberately led there by the Holy Spirit to be tested. Our little modern self-denials in Lent hardly compare. The Psalmist is here looking back over a long life. He has had faith in God since his youth (v5). This would fit King David (to whom the Psalm is attributed in the early Greek translation called the Septuagint) with his childhood experience as a shepherd boy of seeing off the bear and the lion coming after his father’s sheep with a special courage given by God. (1 Samuel 17:34-37). But later on as he grew up David experienced the treachery both of Israel’s traditional enemy the Philistines and of fellow Israelites – King Saul when the bad moods came over him, and later the rebellion of his own son Absalom. Through it all God had been his rock of refuge and he can still say (v14) that he will always have hope and praise God more and more.

PSAUME 71

En regardant en arrière dans la vieillesse le psalmiste voit que c’est dans les moments difficiles que notre foi est renforcée

Jérémie 4.1-18

Galates 3.15-22

Jean 4.43-end

Dans ses quarante jours de jeûne dans le désert Jésus doit avoir eu un moment difficile. Il a été délibérément conduit là par l'Esprit Saint à tester. Nos petits renoncements modernes de Carême peine de comparer. Le Psalmiste ici regarde en arrière sur une longue durée de vie. Il a eu la foi en Dieu depuis sa jeunesse (v5). Cela correspondrait Roi David (à qui le Psaume est attribué dans la traduction grecque ancienne appelée la Septante) avec son expérience de l'enfance comme un jeune berger de chasser l'ours et le lion venant contre les brebis de son père avec un courage spéciale donnée par Dieu. (1 Samuel 17: 34-37). Mais plus tard, comme il a grandi David a connu la trahison de l’ennemi traditionnel d'Israël des Philistins et des autres Israélites - Roi Saül quand les mauvaises humeurs sont venues sur lui, et plus tard la rébellion de son propre fils Absalom. À travers tout cela Dieu avait été son rocher de refuge et il peut encore dire (v14) qu'il aura toujours l'espoir et louer Dieu de plus en plus.                                                             David Fieldsend

Friday 20th February ~~ Faithless Israel

Psalm 3 ~ Psaumes 3

Galatians 3.1-14 ~ Galates 3.1-14

John 4.27-42 ~ Jean 4.27-42

Jeremiah 3.6-22  ~~. Jérémie 3.6-22

Faithless Israel

Today's passage contains blunt imagery, as Jeremiah points to Israel's "adultery" with "stone and wood", which has taken her far from God 's presence. And into the bargain, on observing Israel's behaviour, Judah committed even worse sins. Merciful God entreats Israel to return ("I am your husband").

I'm reminded of Israel's situation today - a country desperate to carve out a broadening patch for itself in the Middle East, and prepared to kill thousands of Palestinians in so doing. No, I am not sympathetic, although I do have Christian friends who plead for a more conciliatory approach towards Israel.

The end of our passage reveals Israel's eventual "weeping and pleading" on the "barren heights". Sometimes, like the prodigal son, we have to reach rock bottom before returning to the Lord. So I pray.....

Israel est l' adultrice contre Dieu qui essaye de la dissuader. Finalement elle devient contrite. Mais quelles sont les implications pour l'Israel d'aujourd'hui?

Sue Bird

Thursday 19th February~~John 4.1-26 ~~The Living Water

Psalm 77

Jeremiah 2.14-32

Galatians 2.11-end

John 4.1-26 ~~  The Living Water ~~ Jean 4. 1-26

In some sense, Jesus' entire ministry was a journey in which He went out of His way to show His love to us. Jews held the Samaritans in contempt, and the Samaritans returned the favour to the Jews. However, Jesus made a point to travel through the region of Samaria - He didn't let barriers of hate hinder Him. He knew about this woman who needed His truth. In the same way, Jesus went out of His way - to the cross - so that you could know God's truth about salvation.  Although many say that Jesus is the living water, Jesus intended the phrase to mean it as the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers.  It is the ministry of the Spirit, flowing out of a heart redeemed by God, that blesses believers and, through them, brings life and light to the world. What will you do with Jesus' message of love and salvation today? Believe it? Tell others about it?

"Le ministère de l'Esprit, se écoulant d'un cœur rachetés par Dieu, bénit les croyants et apporte la vie et la lumière du monde."

Dave Harding

18th February Ash Wednesday~~ A blast on a trumpet! (Joel 2.1)

Psalm 51.1-18

2Corinthians 5.20b-6.10

Matthew6.1-6, 16-21

A blast on a trumpet!  (Joel 2.1)

Joel2.1-2, 12-17

Something important is happening.

A proclamation; a threat of judgment.  

This is something very important indeed.

As we enter Lent today, we could think of it as just something that happens every year that we notice because the flower arrangers have a break, the colours in church turn to a lovely rich purple and there’s more chocolate appearing in the shops.

But Lent is not about externals.

“Rend your heart not your garments”  (Joel 2.12).   By all means give up something for Lent; or take a discipline on.  But make sure that it is your heart which is at the centre; the heart in which our gracious and compassionate Lord God is at work.

He must be our focus in these forty days, for it is he who calls with the blast of a trumpet.

  Joel 2.1-2, 12-17

Par le Carême, le Seigneur nous appelle à le suivre pas seulement par nos actes mais aussi dans nos cœurs.
« Déchirez votre cœur, et non vos vêtements, et revenez à l'Eternel, lui qui est votre Dieu. »  Joel 2.12                                                                        John Wilkinson