Daily Scripture ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value he went and sold all that he had and bought it.’ (Matthew 13.45)Daily ReflectionThe merchant must have been trading in pearls for some time, to be able to identify this one specimen as being uniquely valuable and precious. It was worth parting with everything he had previously valued, which he now saw was only second best. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like this merchant. The kingdom is not something presented to us on a plate. This man had been searching, evaluating, assessing, comparing, and eventually identified this perfect pearl.It’s worth thinking about what we desire above all else in our own lives. Once we begin to have some inkling as to what it is and where it can be found we can no longer be content with second best.Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
Daily Scripture:“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9 - 51)Daily Reflection: Jesus knew it was likely that he would be arrested. He also suspected that he might even die. Can you imagine the storm of emotions that must have been whirling around in Jesus’s mind and heart? Yet he decided to make the journey to Jerusalem! Throughout the Gospels we see evidence of Jesus’s faith and trust in God. Today’s verse is an example of the depth of trust Jesus had in God. Do we have such faith? I hope so. We have to nurture our faith and trust in God each and every day! This creates a foundation and a relationship with God that will support and sustain us whenever we are in need. Today and every day let’s ask Jesus to deepen our trust and faith in him!Lyn Hayes ALM
Daily Scripture:“O Lord, what are mortals that you should consider them; mere human beings, that you should take thought for them?” (Psalm 144:3)Daily Reflection: The Psalmist recognises how small he is compared to God. In fact, how insignificant the human race is compared to God... “mere human beings”. And yet, God “takes thought” of us. The God of creation cares about us; he cares about you. The Psalmist makes no distinction between the colour of skin of the human being; he is simply in awe that God cares for all of us. We should all be grateful for that. The Psalm finishes, “Happy are the people who have the Lord for their God.” May you be happy knowing God.... for He is happy knowing you, just as you are.God our deliverer, stir our weak wills, revive our weary spirits, and give us the courage to strive for the freedom of all your children, to the praise of your glorious name. Amen.Revd David
