Daily Scripture‘Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.’ (1 Corinthians 12.12,13a)Daily ReflectionIt’s hard to overstate the benefits of physical health, when all the complex bits of our body function fully and work in coordination. Does this ever happen to perfection? The same dream applies to ‘bodies’ of people – families, faith groups, communities, nations. Even in a small group of Christian converts in the early days, individual members were failing to support the whole – the body’s limbs and organs at loggerheads. Paul’s response was to appeal to them to respect each other’s gifts and regard each member as equally vital to the health of the whole body. It really challenges Christians, and all families, communities and nations. What contribution am I making to the health, or to the dysfunction, of any body? David Harmsworth
Daily Scripture:‘O praise the Lord, all you nations; praise him, all you peoples.For great is his steadfast love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Alleluia.’ (Psalm 117)Daily ReflectionYou have just read a complete Psalm…..this is the shortest Psalm in the Bible; two verses. Yet it packs so much into it. We should praise the Lord: everyone; every nation. His love is “steadfast”; it is unwavering, reliable, constant, trustworthy. His faithfulness “endures for ever”. Not just every day of this life that we all live……but for ever. His steadfast love was there before we were born; all through this life; and will continue for us in the next stage of our life. That is why we should praise God; why we should shout out “praise the Lord”……Alleluia!! Prayer: Gracious God, we praise you for your faithfulness and pray that every nation may find your blessing in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Revd David.
Daily Scripture:“Be rejecting conscience, certain people have suffered a shipwreck in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:19)Daily Reflection:How do we know whether we are doing things the right way or the wrong way in life? Your ‘conscience’ is like your compass. You know that feeling of peace you get when you have gone the extra mile for somebody, or taken time to listen to them? And you know that prickly feeling you get when you ignore someone who needs you? There’s your conscience guiding you. Paul warns his friend Timothy that rejecting your conscience, leads to your faith suffering. God is the only being who can properly distinguish between right and wrong, and you only have to ask him for His guidance before you act. Even if it might be hard to do what God is prompting to do, listen to the rewards…. “A quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” – right and acceptable in the sight of God.Vicki Young
Daily Scripture'...and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.' (Ephesians 4:32 - 5:2)Daily ReflectionIn the Lord's Prayer, the only thing that is asked of us, is that we forgive those who do us wrong, in exchange for that our Father in Heaven forgives us our wrongdoing. Here, in this passage from Paul's letter to the Christians in Ephesus, we see why. God has forgiven us in Christ. In that, he has set us a pattern, a way of conducting ourselves that we can imitate. When we grow up, we often look towards those who are older, or wiser to show us the way. We want to be like them. As God is our Father, we should strive to be like him. But more than that, we should strive towards imitating Jesus Christ, our older brother, whose self giving love was poured out for us.Revd Ylva
