Daily Scripture:“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)Daily Reflection:Imagine going to a financial planner who tells you that, if you want to save for retirement, you have to spend all your money. Or imagine talking to a dietitian who says that, if you want to lose weight, you need to eat as many cheeseburgers as you can. It just doesn’t make sense. But Jesus’ teaching here can sound almost like that: To find life, you have to give up your life for him.Being a disciple of Jesus is often about not doing what the world says we should do. Discipleship is hard work. Even his disciples, who heard these teachings directly from Jesus, didn’t get it right all the time. Discipleship requires that we listen closely for God to guide us. It also means that we stop putting ourselves first and instead love God with everything we have.Lyn Hayes ALM
Daily Scripture“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18)Daily Reflection This is the first time in our daily reflections that we’ve dipped into Leviticus – the third book of the Bible, written circa 1445BC. It is a guidebook on how to live a holy life and how to worship God. These are scriptures that Jesus would have known, studied and taught. The message occurs many times in the Gospels (the good news of Jesus Christ) and other parts of the New Testament.We are made in God’s image; we were created to have a close relationship with God. When our relationship is broken, we feel incomplete and need to rebuild it. If you feel overwhelmed, lonely, guilty through sin: then turn to God and build up your relationship with Him. “I am the Lord”; I am your Lord. Start by loving your neighbour….and yourself.Revd David
Daily Scripture“Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)Daily Reflection This sounds threatening – and Jeremiah has a reputation for gloomy messages! This is part of an angry denunciation of those who claim to speak for God but are actually perverting the moral truth: but, the message is, truth is everywhere and will catch out the lies.Jesus also speaks of God as all-seeing, caring even about a couple of sparrows, counting the hairs of your head; and he talks about secret places – “when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you”.There are secrets we can keep from other people, even from ourselves, but none that we can hide from God, and none that we cannot discuss with Him. David Harmsworth
Daily Scripture“But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thess. 3:3)Daily ReflectionMost people today probably dismiss the idea of spiritual warfare. Probably because we’ve grown up with an image of “the devil” as a cartoon creature with a pitch-fork, horns, and a tail; dressed in red, lording it over some sinister place. No threat there at all! But if you think the latter, the devil has already won the battle. On the other hand, whenever we say the Lord’s Prayer we use the words: “Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” So there is an acknowledgement that there is evil or an evil one in the world. The good news is that God can strengthen us and guard us. We can play our part though by: taking such threats seriously; praying for strength and protection; reading the Bible to recognise the devil’s subtle tactics. Start today.Revd David
