Daily Scripture:‘1 O Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 For there is not a word on my tongue, but you, O Lord, know it altogether.’ (Psalm 139:1 & 3)Daily Reflection:This is one of those Psalms where I really encourage you to take the time today to read all of it. It is a most beautiful Psalm recognising whom God is; how close God is to us; how powerful God is; how caring God is. And how God is always there – no matter where we are physically; no matter where we are spiritually; no matter how we feel. God is there. God cares about you.So we pray: Creator God, may every breath we take be for your glory, may every footstep show you as our way, that, trusting in your presence in this world, we may, beyond this life, still be with you where you are alive and reign for ever and ever. Amen.Revd David
Daily Scripture:‘There is gold, and abundance of costly stones; but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.’ (Proverbs 20.15)Daily Reflection: The Bible is full of surprises, and the Book of Proverbs is one of them. The sayings pile up one on another, jumping about from one area of advice to another, down-to-earth, pithy, arresting. This one seems as relevant as ever today, in a culture where the piling up of riches is so celebrated, but so little value is attached to speakers whose ‘lips are informed by knowledge’. (Psalm 141.3) ‘Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips.’David Harmsworth
Daily Scripture:“Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it [the Church] increased in numbers.” (Acts 9:31)Daily Reflection: Many churches in the Western world are in decline numerically speaking. Here is how the early Church, at the time of the first Apostles, “increased in numbers”: the people of the Church – for “the church” is the people not the building – “lived in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” Fear and Comfort would seem to be opposites; but this is fear as in being in awe, not as in being petrified! The early church lived in awe of God. We would all do well to learn from that and take a leaf out of their book! Recognise the incredible things God has done; be comforted by the Spirit of God being with you. Praise God…. and His Church will grow! Ignore God….and it won’t.Revd David
Daily Scripture:‘Let them know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.’ (Psalm 83, v 18)Daily Reflection:There are many books written about angels. Guardian angels, arch angels, cherubim, seraphim – good and protective “spirits”. Many people believe that angels watch over them, and if you are one of them, you’d be right. The Bible mentions angels many times. It’s easy to believe in angels, but the above verse tells us that there is no-one, absolutely no-one and nothing higher than God. So, if God made all of us, and God made the angels, it makes sense to believe that God is the supreme being of goodness, love and protection, over and above the angels. If you believe in angels, go one step further – get to know God - why stop half way up the tree, when the view from the top is so much more awe-inspiring!Vicki Young
