Daily ScriptureThe river of God is full of water;you prepare grain for your people,for so you provide for the earth.You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;you soften the ground with showers and bless its increase (Psalm 65 v 9-10)Daily Reflection Sunday 9th May was Rogation Sunday, a day to be thankful for the earth that God created, in which we can grow food and marvel at the diverse wildlife it contains. The verse above tells us that God provides everything necessary for the sustaining of life. As human beings we are so often concerned with the future - what we will have, how we will get it, and how happy it will make us. The truth is that God is in the here and now - the present moment you are living. If we are so concerned with tomorrow, we will miss the great blessings of today! Little wonder that the Bible reminds us that even the birds of the air flourish and thrive with no concern for their future providence! Living in the present, knowing that God has given you all you need for today brings freedom and peace. Tomorrow will take care of itself. God will be there too. Vicki Young
Daily ScriptureAbove all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:8-10)Daily Reflection‘Love each other deeply’. What a charge! This is not just a bit of love, a token friendship, but the real stuff, from the bottom of our hearts. It is not romantic fellow-feeling, but the sort of love that will go above and beyond. The love that Peter commends to us is so profound, so all-encompassing, it blots out our weaknesses and covers up our mistakes. Its chief hallmark seems to be hospitality, the extending of invitation and service to all, and the sharing of gifts, whether spiritual or material. Knowing ourselves to be utterly dependent on God, we are only too happy to share what is not ours to hold on to anyway, with others, and in that sharing, we are ourselves enriched beyond measure. Deep love! Revd Ylva
Daily ScriptureWhen they had finished breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’ (John 21.15-17)Daily ReflectionThe night that Jesus was arrested a terrified Peter had three times vehemently denied that he even knew him. Sitting together now at the lakeside, Jesus does not reproach Peter, but gives him the chance to reaffirm his love, mercifully wiping out the memory of his threefold denial by a threefold declaration of love. We have all, at one time or another, said or done things which we deeply regret. We have let people down, but perhaps even worse is the knowledge that we have let ourselves down. Like Peter, we cannot undo what is done; but God, whose whole nature is love, does not dwell on our past failures, but restores us, as he did Peter, to a life of renewed love and service. Revd Rosemary
