Daily Scripture‘Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice.’ (Psalm 95:6-8a)Daily Reflection How do we listen to his voice – to God speaking to us? We can do it through prayer; we can do it through reading scripture; we can do it by hearing what someone else is saying to us….God uses all sorts of ways of getting his message into us. Some of them can be quite unexpected. For our part though we need to be open, attentive; we need to be ready to listen…..and not too busy that we miss Him!In those few verses He is expressed as: our Maker, our God, and (implied) our Shepherd (ie he cares); and we should worship Him…..and we should listen!Prayer: Lord God, the maker of all, as we bow down in praise this day, make us attentive to your voice and do not test us beyond our enduring; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Revd David
Daily Scripture‘O Lord, how glorious are your works! Your thoughts are very deep. The senseless do not know, nor do fools understand’. (Psalm 92.5-6) Daily ReflectionHow little we - any of us - understand! ‘Fools’ and ‘the senseless’ may include people of great knowledge and brilliance, but who lack understanding - who are not wise. Wisdom, the Bible says, begins with recognition that we are creatures who should be in awe of our creator. There are principles behind the way the world works deeper than knowledge (‘science’) can grasp. Human history (and the biblical story) is sadly rich in examples of folly and moral failure. Yet we have the capacity to be wise, to understand what really matters, because wisdom is the capacity to recognise goodness when we see it. Jesus showed us how much deeper God’s thoughts are from ours. David Harmsworth
Daily Scripture‘Your word is a lantern to my feet and a light upon my path.’ (Psalm 119:105)Daily ReflectionThis is a beautiful image in this verse of scripture, and they are reassuring words. The lantern that we carry gives light at our feet so we don’t stumble over things immediately in front of us. The lantern also illuminates the whole path that we are walking so that we know the direction we should be heading in. What is it that helps prevent us from tripping up? “Your word”. But we can walk confidently along without stumbling, but at the same time heading in completely the wrong direction! What is it that helps us walk the right way? “Your word”. What is this thing – Your word – that is so helpful?........It is picking up your Bible and reading some verses of scripture. Make it a habit; it works; it helps..….you’ll see.Revd David
Daily Scripture‘Bless the Lord, O my soul…Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with faithful love and compassion.’ (Psalm 103 v 1 and 4)Daily Reflection How do you see God? According to some writers, the way we think about God influences everything about our lives - our attitudes, our desires, actions and even our words. Do you see God as uninterested, distant, powerless maybe? Let the words of today’s Psalm help you to see God as he really is – God who redeems you, makes you “whole” again, shows you your true potential. You are precious to Him, so precious that he “crowns” you with his love. So precious that he “crowns” you with his compassion. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, says that we can trace all our human problems back to our view of God. The Bible tells us the truth about God – He is full of love, full of compassion and longing to meet our every need. Perhaps it is not our circumstances that need changing, but the way we see God?Vicki Young
