Daily Scripture‘Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’’ (Luke 10:25-28)Daily ReflectionThe lawyer who gave Jesus this answer, was quoting the Jewish prayer known as the Shema, after the first word of the prayer in Hebrew, which means ‘Hear…’. This prayer, which Jewish believers recite twice daily, acts like The Lord’s Prayer does for us, setting out the tenets of the Jewish faith: The Lord is one, the Lord is the only God. We are called to love him with all that we are and all that we have. When we want to pray to God, a good place to start is always with the simplest, most comprehensive prayer. Even when we cannot find our own words to speak to God, the Lord’s Prayer gives us all that we need to know, just as the Shema did for this Jewish lawyer.Revd Ylva Blid-Mackenzie
Daily Scripture‘Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you; pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself ...’ from today’s CollectDaily ReflectionThese words are quoted from St Augustine (354-430), who is remembered as a bishop, philosopher and theologian. However, his youth and early adulthood were far from saintly, and his path to faith was long and by no means smooth. Like many in our own day he spent much of his life looking for ‘happiness’ in sex and every kind of self indulgence, but was left only with a sense of dissatisfaction and emptiness. It was only when he experienced for himself the love of God (largely thanks to the faithful prayers of his mother, Monica) that he found what he had been searching for all along: peace and purpose and real fulfilment.Let us pray that God may draw us to himself and that in him we may find peace.Revd Rosemary
Daily Scripture:From today's Collect: 'Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you; pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself...'Daily Reflection:These words are quoted from St Augustine (354-430), who is remembered as a bishop, philosopher and theologian. However, his youth and early adulthood were far from saintly, and his path to faith was long and by no means smooth. Like many in our own day he spent much of his life looking for ‘happiness’ in sex and every kind of self indulgence, but was left only with a sense of dissatisfaction and emptiness. It was only when he experienced for himself the love of God (largely thanks to the faithful prayers of his mother, Monica) that he found what he had been searching for all along: peace and purpose and real fulfilment.Let us pray that God may draw us to himself and that in him we may find peace.Revd Rosemary
Daily Scripture‘Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; make music in praise of the Lord; He rides on the ancient heaven of heavens and sends forth his voice, a mighty voice.’ (Psalm 68 v 32 & 33)Daily ReflectionSinging is good for the soul, it lifts the spirits and helps you focus on the here and now - you can’t be thinking about what you are going to have for tea or what bills you’ve got to pay when you are really concentrating on the words of a song. In these troubling times we can easily be swept away with worry, especially if we are struggling to put tea on the table or pay the bills. But if we sincerely sing to the Lord - to pray to the Lord and ask Him for help, he will respond in sending out His voice - not a loud and booming one, but a strong and mighty one to let you know that He is there beside you to love and protect you.Lyn Hayes, ALM
