Nehemiah 1:1-11
"Dear Father, thank you for today and everything that you have given us. Forgive us our sins, those we know about and we are ignorant of." Thus starts my daily prayer. Then I launch into a shopping list of please keep my friends and family safe, healthy and loving you- as appropriate for each person named. The list is far more lengthy than the initial sentence which incorporates my praise and thankfulness and the next which checks off sin.
Yes I am sometimes very distressed about a circumstance or too but even then my concentration is on that situation, not on God himself and his previous record of helpfulness and the content of his words.
Lord guide my prayer today because you are holy, you have been my companion in the past, you have ordained my circumstances and by my age I should know that I can trust you for today.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
God IS
Matthew 13:10-17
What did I see today?
Multi-coloured leaves floating earthwards.
A friend
Made a new friend.
A famous historical site (The Battle of Waterloo is on my daily route)
What did I hear today?
Dogs barking
An offer of help from a caring person
The wind in the trees
These may not be special messages on how to live or prophecies but laughing with friends, being the object of caring, enjoying creation are all ways that I know that God IS.
What did I see today?
Multi-coloured leaves floating earthwards.
A friend
Made a new friend.
A famous historical site (The Battle of Waterloo is on my daily route)
What did I hear today?
Dogs barking
An offer of help from a caring person
The wind in the trees
These may not be special messages on how to live or prophecies but laughing with friends, being the object of caring, enjoying creation are all ways that I know that God IS.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Words for today
Revelation 4:1-11
Holy, Holy, Holy
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.
My intention is to get as far as the Holy, Holy, Holy whenever my brain has an idle moment today. But maybe I can be more proactive and really try to concentrate on God's might and holiness.
Unlike the chaps in heaven I do have other things to do today, teach a student or two, cook a dinner, drive a car, walk some dogs but I pray that God's holiness will be towards the forefront of my thoughts.
Holy, Holy, Holy
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.
You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honour and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.
My intention is to get as far as the Holy, Holy, Holy whenever my brain has an idle moment today. But maybe I can be more proactive and really try to concentrate on God's might and holiness.
Unlike the chaps in heaven I do have other things to do today, teach a student or two, cook a dinner, drive a car, walk some dogs but I pray that God's holiness will be towards the forefront of my thoughts.
Monday, October 28, 2013
God's snooping
Zechariah 1:1-17
I read H G Wells' 1984 well before 1984. I sometimes thin that members of my family might watch to see if specks of dust have moved! Big Brother is watching you sometimes a real fear. maybe not me, maybe we have not reached each potentially insignificant individual being continually monitored but some nations do seem to be particularly watchful.
Over the weekend it was revealed that Angela Merkel's gsm has been followed by the USA. Today in the UK, press snooping court case against Rebekah Brooks starts. Is Edward Snowden a friend of the real friend of the people or an enemy of the state by his revelations?
I find it comforting to learn that unbeknown to me God, our Creator and Father, has his horsemen patrolling the world.
I read H G Wells' 1984 well before 1984. I sometimes thin that members of my family might watch to see if specks of dust have moved! Big Brother is watching you sometimes a real fear. maybe not me, maybe we have not reached each potentially insignificant individual being continually monitored but some nations do seem to be particularly watchful.
Over the weekend it was revealed that Angela Merkel's gsm has been followed by the USA. Today in the UK, press snooping court case against Rebekah Brooks starts. Is Edward Snowden a friend of the real friend of the people or an enemy of the state by his revelations?
I find it comforting to learn that unbeknown to me God, our Creator and Father, has his horsemen patrolling the world.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
The weather
Psalm 98
It seems a good day for this psalm. A hurricane forecast for the UK, Trees that I can see are blown by strong winds, tops swaying left then right. It is comforting to be inside.
The weather is beyond our control. It helps me to remember that God is indeed in control.
It seems a good day for this psalm. A hurricane forecast for the UK, Trees that I can see are blown by strong winds, tops swaying left then right. It is comforting to be inside.
The weather is beyond our control. It helps me to remember that God is indeed in control.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Firm faith
1 Corinthians 16:10-24
Verses 14 and 13, yes in that order
Let all that you do be done in love.
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.
What can I add? Maybe-
Help me to see in the stranger on the street as you see them, to look and smile, not to be pre-occupied with my concerns.
Help me not to get lost in my daydreams and what-ifs, my plans for your time.
Help me to remember that to you sins of the heart are as heinous as those of the body which I see other people committing.
Help me to be your true ambassador.
Verses 14 and 13, yes in that order
Let all that you do be done in love.
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.
What can I add? Maybe-
Help me to see in the stranger on the street as you see them, to look and smile, not to be pre-occupied with my concerns.
Help me not to get lost in my daydreams and what-ifs, my plans for your time.
Help me to remember that to you sins of the heart are as heinous as those of the body which I see other people committing.
Help me to be your true ambassador.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Something Wonderful
Psalm 37
I was just looking at the "News" on Facebook, seeing what friends far away are up to, what is their current beef or getting their goat. One friend had posted a picture from "Soulful Healing", thus it is difficult for me to show you the picture. But here is the text
Always beleive that something WONDERFUL is about to happen.
Psalm 37 tells me to trust God, to delight in Him, not to fret. Yes it goes on to promise a wonderful future but it talks about my current, not my future behaviour. The future starts in the here and now.
It is Now that something wonderful is happening and we are part if it. We view the picture from a different angle than God. From His side the Now is wonderful, that is where the trust comes in.
I was just looking at the "News" on Facebook, seeing what friends far away are up to, what is their current beef or getting their goat. One friend had posted a picture from "Soulful Healing", thus it is difficult for me to show you the picture. But here is the text
Always beleive that something WONDERFUL is about to happen.
Psalm 37 tells me to trust God, to delight in Him, not to fret. Yes it goes on to promise a wonderful future but it talks about my current, not my future behaviour. The future starts in the here and now.
It is Now that something wonderful is happening and we are part if it. We view the picture from a different angle than God. From His side the Now is wonderful, that is where the trust comes in.
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