June 22nd

Deuteronomy 27-28     Isaiah 54     Psalms 119: 1-24     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Who is it we depend on? Who is it that we look to for comfort, strength, assurance, direction, provision? As a wife, I confess to an ease with which I am able to lay all of the above (and more!) firmly at the feet of my husband. As wonderful as he is, it isn’t long before this dependance on my husband leads me to become more than a little ‘unstuck’.

This chapter depicts so strongly the intimate relationship between God and his people.

“ For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you back from your grief – as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband.” (NLT)

Israel was created to be in an intimate relationship with the Creator of the Universe and in Isaiah 54 we see that despite the rebellion and apathy displayed by the people towards God for much of Israel’s history – He is not letting go.

And here we are, God’s people in 2012, created to be in an intimate relationship with our Redeemer.

“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain.”

Why like Israel, do I look elsewhere for that which only God can provide? Has God not shown me time and again His faithfulness and love? Today, as I reflect on this passage, I simply pray for more intimacy with my Creator, to walk hand in hand with Him, to become more like Him, to delight in the fulfilment and peace that can only be found in Him.

(member of the congregation)

June 21st

Deuteronomy 26     Isaiah 53     Psalms 117- 118     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

“Why should I gain from his reward?

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom.”

How deep the Father’s love for us – Stuart Townend.

Anyone who attended the Good Friday reflections led by Bishop Lee of Swindon will have recieved a copy of a 13th century prayer written by Bonaventura, a Franciscan leader. Having folded it, put it in my pocket and forgotten about it, this small piece of card somehow made its way to my bedside cabinet where I recently came across it. I took the time to read this prayer and as I did my soul yearned to draw closer to God, to grasp in a deeper way the sacrifice made by Christ by whose wounds I am healed.

Today, I am grateful for the time to reflect on these prophetic words in Isaiah 53 and am challenged afresh as to how the love of Christ that led him ‘like a lamb to the slaughter’ informs my attitude towards each day. I don’t know what is in store for you today, the blessings you will receive or the challenges you will face, but I invite you to take a moment to pray this prayer, written centuries ago, and in so doing to choose to respond to the unfathomable love of our Saviour in all that you say, think and do throughout today.

O Lord, Holy Father, show us what kind of man it is who is hanging for our sakes on the cross, whose suffering causes the rocks themselves to crack and crumble with compassion, whose death brings the dead back to life.

Let my heart, crack and crumble at the sight of Him. Let my soul break apart with compassion for His suffering. Let it be shattered with grief at my sins for which He dies. And finally let it be softened with devoted love for Him. Amen.

(member of the congregation)

June 20th

Deuteronomy 25     Isaiah 52     Psalms 116     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

I love the Lord, because…

Psalm 116 reminds us that God is always there; always loves us and we can always reach him, even in the most desperate of circumstances.

I was struck recently by a story of an unimaginable situation, faced by the parents of a young boy.   A friend of the family received an emergency call from the parents to join them at the hospital and explained their son had been involved in a very serious and catastrophic accident.  They had been told he was dying.  The situation became that serious that the doctors said there’s nothing they can do and were told they should consider turning off the life support machine.

This friend took them into a side room and knelt down in front of them and prayed, holding their hands.  They were devastated.  This was their son.   After desperately wondering how he could help them, the friend then witnessed the son’s Dad pray the most heartbreaking and heartfelt prayer, which went something like this:  “God, I don’t really understand what’s happening, but I give you back my son.  He’s yours and I give you back my son.”  

After praying this prayer, the Dad got up off his knees and lifted his head up. His eyes looked so clear.   At that moment, he said that he now knows what the peace that surpasses all understanding is…and it had just touched him.

Whatever our situation, whether we’re going through life’s daily grind or a significant life changing situation, we know the Lord God bends down and listens to our voice.   He doesn’t always answer prayers in the same way, but God is near, He listens carefully to each prayer and will answer each one to give you His best.

The parents’ son pulled through, against all the odds. In life’s most desperate moments, God can meet with us. If you are feeling discouraged today, remember the words of God: “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 5:7, ESV).

(member of the congregation)

June 19th

Deuteronomy 24     Isaiah 51     Psalms 114-115     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Redeemed from slavery.

In Deuteronomy 24 God instructs the Israelites that “True Justice must be given to foreigners living among you” (V.17, NLT) and the following verses remind them of their own redemption from slavery in Egypt. God also commands his people to show love to the powerless and poverty-stricken.   

George Bernard Shaw wrote:  "We learn from history that we learn nothing from history."    On a very wet Jubilee weekend in Hay-on-Wye, we visited this year’s literary festival and had the opportunity to listen to Harry Belafonte; the actor, singer and Civil Rights hero, who acted as a conduit between Martin Luther King and the Kennedys. During the 60s he become one of the world’s most popular singers, but he was never content to simply be an entertainer. Even at enormous personal cost, Harry could not shy away from activism and breaking down racial barriers and this broadened to a lifelong, passionate involvement at the heart of the civil rights movement and countless other political and social causes.

Although he did not profess an open relationship with God, Harry did admire Christ’s example of a non-violent approach in dealing with serious injustice and oppression.  Harry’s view on religion had quite obviously been affected by the racial hatred and oppression he had lived through. But also by the response, behaviours and attitudes of church members to social activism.  His interview ended with Harry reflecting on his first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., when he asked Harry,  “Do you believe in Christ”. Harry replied “Yes, but I don’t believe in the Church”, to which Martin Luther replied “Well Harry, we’re gonna get along just fine…!”.

As we reflect on the experiences of history and those within our city and the world today, let’s remember how Jesus responded when some disciples asked Him to grant them high positions, when He said to them, '’…it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant'" (Matt 10:42-43).

Today, as we go about our work, as we buy our coffee or meet with our friends, let’s not just dream about a better society. We should not only yearn for unity between people, but let us lead others to the true unity offered by Jesus – that crucial unity between a person and God.

(member of the congregation)

June 18th

Deuteronomy 23     Isaiah 50     Psalms 112-113     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

It is very nearly 5 years since the banking crash triggered a whole host of repercussions most of which are still working themselves out today.  I don't know about you, but I'm tired.  I'm tired of the political rhetoric of our day, tired of its lack of vision and I'm tired of my own apathy.  I'm tired of austerity that seems austere for some but not for others, I'm tired of celebrity and tired of TV.  I'm tired of seeing our world struggle to believe in something that gives meaning to our work and our lives.  And then I get to Psalm 112 and I find a little rest from my tiredness. I find hope and the kind of person I want to be and can be.

Let me be a person who cherishes and relishes God's commands - may I go and read them and live them!  Let me be blessed, and may that blessing overflow into a generosity that never runs dry.  The Message paraphrases:

"Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people -

God's grace and mercy and justice! 

The good person is generous and lends lavishly;

No shuffling or stumbling around for this one,

But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.

Unfazed by rumour and gossip,

Heart ready, trusting in God,

Spirit firm, unperturbed,

Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies...

...Someone wicked takes one look and rages,

Blusters away but ends up speechless.

There's nothing to the dreams of the wicked.  Nothing."

May God's law and wisdom invade my life.  May I live a life of such life affirming generosity that the world sits up and takes note.  May my dreams be big and seek only His glory.  Lord, may your Kingdom come, your will be done. Today and always.

(member of the congregation)

June 17th

Deuteronomy 22     Isaiah 49     Psalms 110-111     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Neighbours, sex and holiness! It could almost be an interesting film title couldn't it? 

We know the golden rule to love God and neighbour perhaps to a point of over familiarity. To the point where living it out in our day to day lives may feel a little "Old Testament"!

How often do we find neighbours getting in the way?  The work colleague we're competing with for the next promotion; the tasty morsel or steak of gossip that we could stop but choose to add to; the wrong that we don't want to right because they had it coming to them anyway.  In these opening verses of Deuteronomy we find ourselves being asked to do things differently.  To see wrongs put right, to see our neighbour's daily worries and stresses relieved.  Relieved by me; you; us.  Have you got your neighbour's back?  It is a back you're called to sooth and unburden.

Sex.  Rape.  Violation.  Divorce.  In one sense I'm reassured that what happens today has happened for as long as humans have been human.  In another I am disturbed and a little saddened.  How often does sex, something very beautiful, get in the way of our being holy?  Gentlemen, let's purge the evil from amongst us and treat our women as princesses - for that is what they are.  Ladies, purge the evil from amongst you and treat your men as princes - for that is what they are.  May we be accountable to each other in this.

The law books' refrain of: “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy” chimes through these verses in Deuteronomy.

Are we guilty of having substituted holiness for self-righteousness? Have we stripped holiness of its grace and shalom (wholeness of being) and turned it into something for the most part we just don't want to be?

We are called to be distinctive. To be free. To be whole people.  To be holy.  To be ambassadors for Christ.  May it be so today.

(member of the congregation)

June 16th

Deuteronomy 21     Isaiah 48     Psalms 108-109     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

In Psalm 109, David makes his feelings known to God in no uncertain terms. “Wicked and deceitful men” (verse 2) have done him great wrong and he urges God to punish them. Although righteous anger is no bad thing in the short term, it seems that David has allowed his resentment to fester and it is consuming him. As I write, we are considering forgiveness in the “Freedom in Christ” course – in particular forgiving from the heart. What I have learned anew is that forgiveness is an act of will and it has nothing to do with feelings. In contrast with what is consuming David in this Psalm, we must realize that God is the ultimate judge and that he will judge everyone justly. This is a big relief for Christians. Of course we want to see justice be seen to be done now for evil in this world but we can be assured that God is the ultimate judge and will punish those who are evil. In the very last verse of Isaiah 48 we are reminded that “there is no peace for the wicked”.

(written by member of a homegroup)