Daily Scripture‘I will meditate on your commandments and contemplate your ways. Open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of your law.’ (Psalm 119:15 & 18) Daily Reflection:The Psalmist speaks of meditating and contemplating God - His commandments and His ways. That is a very good thing to do; but it can’t be left there – the Commandments and Ways have to be put into action not just studied. We can know the laws and rules of the Highway Code, and still effortlessly and frequently break them; some people even boast at how fast they can drive. Many people can recite the Ten Commandments; but that doesn’t mean they live by them!God’s Commandments and Ways are good. Jesus simplified things for us: “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbour as yourself”. In the words of Aleksandr Orlov, the Meerkat, “Simples!” Open our eyes to that truth today, Lord……that we may see how wonderful life is living your way.Revd David
Daily Scripture: ‘Let us therefore no longer pass judgement on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling-block or hindrance in the way of another.’ (Romans 14 v 13)Daily Reflection:When we meet someone for the first time, we make an assumption about them. It may be because of the way they are dressed, the way they speak, or the style of their hair! That assumption leads to an “unconscious bias”, and will colour our thinking about that person, either positively or negatively. We tend to think positively about people who are the “same” as us. Paul tells us here that we must not hold others to our own standards, or try to “change” them to be more like us! We are all totally unique in our thinking, our behaviour and our beliefs – God made us that way, and God loves us for exactly who we are – not what others think we should be! Vicki Young
Daily Scripture‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ (John 3:16)Daily ReflectionSometimes a few words can say so much. This is one short verse from the Bible that sums up everything we need to know. God loves the world. In fact, He loved the world so much, that he was willing to give us his Son. Imagine that! Would we be willing to give up our sons or daughters out of love? 'Gave' in this context carries so much meaning. It stands for the sending of Christ into the world, and the giving up of Christ unto the cross. But it doesn't stop there, for the reason God gave us his Son, is so that we should believe in him. If we believe, we will not perish, but have life with him forever. That is really all we need to know. Ylva Blid-Mackenzie (Curate Designate)
Daily ScripturePeter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’ (Matthew 18.22)Daily ReflectionHow long we can be expected to go on forgiving somebody who persists in wronging us? Peter’s suggestion of seven times is pretty generous, given that we are sometimes quite reluctant to give somebody even a second chance. Jesus is not, of course, suggesting we should keep a record, and at the seventy-eighth offence feel free to retaliate! He is saying rather that knowing ourselves to be forgiven by God, whose patience with us is endless, we must also forgive others. (He goes on to illustrate this in a parable). Forgiveness brings healing, not only to the one who is forgiven, but to the one who forgives. As Shakespeare says of mercy, forgiveness blesses ‘both him that gives and him who takes’. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.Revd Rosemary
