Mar 30th

Leviticus 1     Proverbs 17     Judges 20     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Proverbs 17  The value of friendship

A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity v 17

Social networking has brought a new dimension to the concept of friendship. We can have hundreds of friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter or contacts on Linked in. Good as they may be they are no substitute for close face to face friendships, which is recognised here by the writer of the Proverbs. a man of many companions may come to ruin but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother Pr 18 v24.

 We can learn much from the many examples of loyal friendships in the Bible including David and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1 v 36) or Ruth’s loyalty to her mother in law Naomi (Ruth 1 v16) or Jesus himself in his relationships with his followers and companions.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She writes about the extraordinary perspective and the clarity of vision that people have when they know their lives are coming to an end. One of the consistent regrets expressed was I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. We all need close friends who we don’t have to pretend with and who will be there for us whatever life’s challenges. Friendships don’t just happen overnight. We have to invest time in them.

Pray that God would give you the opportunity today to invest in a friendship.

(husband and wife)

Mar 29th

Exodus 40     Proverbs 16     Judges 19     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Proverbs 16

To a man belong the plans of the heart but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.  V1 Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed v 3.  In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps v 9.

Do you have plans for today, for tomorrow or for the week or even the year ahead and how do you make plans? Are you someone who likes to be spontaneous or perhaps you can’t get through the day without a long ‘To Do List’?

The writer of Proverbs has much to say about the process of planning. Making a plan has been defined as ‘a method of action to accomplish a purpose’. God expects us to use our minds to make a plan whilst at the same time allowing him to direct our paths and to guide us along the way. We need to be listening to God, asking him to nudge us in the right direction, committing our plans to him in the knowledge that he may overrule and give us something even better.

We have friends who are currently going through a challenging time of trying to move house. They have a date by which they have to be out of their current property (soon!) and as yet have been unable to find a suitable house to move to. They are seeking to trust God in the midst of the uncertainty. They have made plans and have committed them to God, trusting that he will to determine their steps.

Whatever our situation, the way of wisdom is to commit both our everyday plans to him as well as the dreams and bigger purposes for our lives, and to allow him to bring our thoughts in line with his will (1 Cor 2 v16) as he determines our steps.

(husband and wife)

Mar 28th

Exodus 39     Proverbs 15     Judges 18     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Proverbs 15  Words of life

The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit v4

As a child I remember being told only to speak if what I had to say was kind, true and necessary. The poem The Three Gates written in 1835 by Beth Day offers similar advice

If you are tempted to reveal

A tale to you someone has told

About another, make it pass

Before you speak, three gates of gold.

These narrow gates: First, "is it true?"

Then, "is it needful?" In your mind

Give truthful answer.  And the next

Is last and narrowest, "Is it kind?"

And if to reach your lips at last

It passes through these gateways three,

Then you may tell the tale, nor fear,

What result of speech may be.

Quaint and possibly not our style but the underlying truth is that our words matter. They matter a great deal. The book of James has much to say on this subject. ‘With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers this should not be’ James 3 v 9. We can find it so easy to be careless with our words. The children’s rhyme ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me’ just isn’t true. Most of us can remember all too clearly hurtful words said to us. Today’s verses remind us that we have the power to use our tongue instead to speak ‘words of life’ to one another (Proverbs 18 v21 ). We can point out each other’s strengths rather than our weaknesses, and speak words of encouragement healing and blessing.

Take a moment today to choose to speak a ‘word of life’ to a friend, a spouse, a child or a work colleague. If we aren’t with them why not phone, text, facebook or tweet. The writer to the Proverbs tells us that is the path of wisdom.

 (husband and wife)

Mar 27th

Exodus 38     Proverbs 14     Judges 17     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Proverbs 14  Hard work pays off

Pr 14 v 4 makes interesting reading ‘Where there are no oxen the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes abundant harvest’

The writer of Proverbs is using a farming illustration to teach us a lesson. There are pros and cons of keeping oxen. Oxen are expensive and time consuming to look after, and they make a mess in the stable. But if there are no oxen there can be no ploughing, and without ploughing there can be no harvest. The farmer needs to weigh up the cost and inconvenience of keeping oxen with the reward of being able to reap an abundant harvest.

In every area of life there is a cost to progress. We may look at people we think are naturally gifted and might be tempted to think that it all comes so easily to them. In the world of sport David Beckham didn’t learn his amazing free kicks in the England v Greece qualifying match, but with Alex Fergusson over hours and hours of hard work and training, Jonny Wilkinson’s penalty to win the Rugby World Cup was achieved not in the moment of glory but in practice kick after practice kick in the training ground.  Eric Morecombe known for his quick humour rehearsed and recorded his best stories and jokes until they were word perfect. We can apply this lesson to our spiritual progress as well. No oxen no effort involved, but no oxen no ploughing, and no ploughing no corn. It’s a simple message. If we want to see a harvest it may mean rolling our sleeves up and getting our hands a little dirty on the way.

(husband and wife)

Mar 26th

Exodus 37     Proverbs 13     Judges 16     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)


Proverbs 13 Righteous living

The light of the righteous shines brightly; but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out v9

A number of verses in this chapter of Proverbs contrast the life of the righteous with that of the wicked (v 5, 6, 9, 25)

Righteousness is a rich term that conveys the sense of being in right relationship. In the Old Testament righteousness was used not only in the context of the relationship between God and man (Psalm 50 v6) but also in the practical outworking of  the relationship between people, promoting a sense of peace and wellbeing. ‘If a man is poor do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you , and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God’ Dt 24 13) In the New Testament as forgiven sinners we are made right with God ‘the righteous one’ through Jesus death on the cross, which is again expressed in the way we live together.

The picture of righteousness as a light shining brightly is reflected in the Psalms ‘in the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion... (Psalm 19 v5 ). It is interesting to compare the lamp of the wicked which is temporary and will be extinguished, with the true light of the righteous. Pr 4 v18 takes a similar theme the path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn shining ever brighter til the full light of day.

Jesus said I am the light of the world. As we come to Jesus the Light of the World let us ask him to help us reflect his light in the way we live today.

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your Father and praise your Father heaven. (Matt 5 v16).

(husband and wife)

Mar 25th

Exodus 36     Proverbs 12     Judges 15     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Proverbs 12

The writer of Proverbs now moves from the longer lessons of chapters 1-12 to individual sayings. Each one describes a particular practical outworking of wisdom and folly. Most of the Proverbs are two liners, the second often providing a contrast to the first. Some of the proverbs are linked and others stand alone. This week we will take a look at some of the individual Proverbs and discover that they have much to say to our lives today.

Criticism and the kernel of truth

 ‘Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid’ v1 and ‘The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice’ v 15

Last week I emailed a piece of work to a colleague for comment. I eagerly opened the reply, expecting to feel the warm glow of affirmation as I read positive comments. She did say that it was a great effort, but the rest of the email gave a quantity of corrective advice as to how I could improve things. I had spent a long time crafting the original draft and her feedback was hard to take. However gently it is given, few of us enjoy receiving criticism, but the writer of Proverbs encourages us that the way of wisdom is to embrace correction. The fact is that inside every criticism is usually a kernel of truth, and rather than taking offence we would do well to try to identify where truth lies and to adjust our step accordingly. This can be challenging and may involve laying down our pride and our right to be right. But the writer of Proverbs tells us that this is the way of wisdom and the one that God invariably uses to shape his character in us.

If you are on the receiving end of criticism this week ask God to help you see any kernel of truth and then adjust your step accordingly.

(husband and wife)

Mar 24th

Exodus 35     Proverbs 11     Judges 14     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Judges 14

The tearing up of a Lion sounds like a Hollywood film doesn’t it? This superhuman strength is like the incredible hulk or something, except for those 9 key words ‘the spirit of the Lord took control of him’. I don’t recall that happening to the incredible hulk.

We find out that the spirit is working in Samson at the end of yesterdays reading but it isn’t until verse 5 and 6 that we get a picture as to what it may be doing. God fills him with strength. If a lion came bounding up to me I can assure you I would run a mile in the opposite direction, it would potentially be good training for the Bristol 10k. But Samson was confident in his ability, in his strength and he stood his ground. However as the story unfolds Samson becomes more and more confident in his own Gifts rather than trusting in God.

When it comes to gifts God gives us we need often do one of two things: Some of us don’t embrace them enough. Looking back at Samson he teaches us a lesson. His strength became a part of him, needing not to be mentioned. We can take a lesson here, what are the gifts God has given us? What is our purpose and crucially our role in the building of Gods Kingdom?
For others of us the challenge is trusting our gifts too much. This was Samson’s fatal error – he trusted the wrong place. We need to trust God rather than relying on ourselves.

(lay member of staff)