Sep 21st

2 Samuel 17     Ezekiel 24     2 Corinthians 10     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

During my summer holiday, a slight disaster happened.  I was in the middle of no-where and needed to fill up with diesel.  Thankfully we stumbled upon a rather random garage in the middle of no-where, with just one pump.  I needed diesel, and on the pump it said diesel.  I rang the service bell and a man appeared and filled up my vehicle.  Later on that day I broke down and called the RAC.  After a bit of investigation, in turned out that the wrong fuel (petrol) had been put in my vehicle.  The petrol was now inside the workings of my entire engine.  It was the wrong fuel, and it was achieving nothing, in fact it was causing chaos and harm!  The wrong fuel had to be removed, different parts of the engine had to be repaired, and then the right fuel had to be put into the vehicle for it to go again!

We have all been called by God to partner in his work here on earth, of spreading the gospel and bringing in His Kingdom.  We all have a part to play in this work.  So, how do we do this work? We need the right type of fuel to help us, strengthen us, and empower us!  The wrong type of fuel will achieve nothing and cause chaos and harm.  When we start to think we can do this gospel and kingdom work in our own strength, and with our own logic and wisdom, nothing of eternal value will be achieved.  Verses 3-5 tell us that we need a different kind of fuel.  We need the divine power that comes from operating under the power of the Spirit of God!  It is this kind of fuel that will enable us to spread the gospel and bring in His Kingdom.  So let’s go to the Father daily, and say “Fill us anew with your spirit, that we might live for you and serve you in this world.”  And let’s trust that by the power of His Spirit, God will do incredible things through us to bring in His Kingdom here and now!  Amen!

(lay member of staff)

Sep 20th

2 Samuel 16     Ezekiel 23     2 Corinthians 9     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

When I was growing up I did a local paper round with my brother.  We delivered papers to quite a range of houses.  Some of the houses were in the poorer part of the suburb, and some of the houses were in the richer part of the suburb.  Every year, when Christmas came round, different characters would give us gifts or tips.  My brother and I were intrigued by the pattern that emerged over the 9 years that we did the paper round.  The characters who gave us the most were often those who had the least, and they were the most joyful givers.  It was these generous givers who had big smiles on their faces when we came to the door.  They seemed to have been waiting for us, they had often planned it, with a gift that was wrapped up, or the money was in an envelope!  Those people taught us both something about giving!  And some of those lessons we learnt are echoed in the passage today.  Verse 5 talks about gifts being generous and out of choice, not because you have to.   And verse 7 talks about cheerfully planning your giving in your heart in a response to God and all that he has done!  When we have a mindset that is reluctant to give, we often think that all that we have is ours, and if I share it, that’s it, it’s gone.  This chapter encourages us to think that God is the source of all that we have and that when we are generous with what we have, he will replenish.  God is a God who gives, and we should be people who give, and then we will also receive.  V.6 whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

If we really grasped all that God has done for us, the gifts he has given us, we would be so much more generous and cheerful in our giving, and we would see giving as another form of worship!  All that we have is his anyway!

(lay member of staff)