Posted on by Lesley

Love, for the Day Is Near

Love Fulfills The Law

 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

The Day Is Near

11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Romans 13:8-13 New International Version (NIV)

Posted on by Lesley

The Lord Watches Over You

Precious Lord Jesus, how great You are and I just want to kneel before You today to say thank You. Thank You that Your blessings and mercies are new every morning. You are a great and wonderful God and I love You.

Thank You, that Your love and grace towards me is waiting for me as I open my eyes to a new day. Thank You, that at the end of the day Your love continues to support me, to guard and protect me during the dark hours of the night.

Thank You, that as I go about my daily business and the duties of the day, You are there to lead and guide to help and to support. And thank You that no matter where I go, Your blessings hover above my head, for my hope is in You.

Thank You for Your great many precious blessings, and thank You that You pour them out on me day by day. Great is Your faithfulness O God my Saviour. All I have needed You have provided. Bless Your holy name for ever and ever,

Amen.

Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/121

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

New International Version (NIV)

Posted on by Lesley

Pray For Turkey and Syria

Source: World Vision

A series of devastating earthquakes have hit southern Turkey (now known as Türkiye) and north-west Syria, killing thousands of people and injuring many more. Thousands of buildings, including hospitals and schools, have collapsed and infrastructure has been badly damaged.

People have been left without shelter in freezing winter conditions, with humanitarian needs expected to grow in the coming days. Access to clean water will likely be a challenge, bringing the risk of cholera and other diseases.

World Vision is a member of the DEC and, along with others, is taking emergency supplies to those most in need, including food, water, warm blankets, hygiene kits and shelters.


Please stand with us before God in solidarity and in prayer.

Pray with us

For those who have lost loved ones

Heavenly Father, our hearts are moved by the effects of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The grief felt by families who have lost loved ones, or await news of loved ones, is unimaginable. We turn to you, God of all comfort, and ask that you be close to people in the days ahead and that they might know your peace that surpasses all understanding.

For those who have lost homes

Lord God, we pray for those who have lost their homes or have moved to safety away from tall buildings. Please keep them warm in the midst of this harsh winter and provide all they need. We pray especially for children who are confused and frightened by what is happening. May you be for them an oasis of peace in which to take shelter.

For those providing help

Lord God, we thank you for the swift action of those who are already responding. For the rescue teams searching for survivors, we ask for endurance and resilience. For those providing temporary shelter, we pray for the swift delivery of equipment. And for all those in communities offering comfort and help to their neighbours, we pray that you give them selfless compassion.

For the world’s response

Lord, we pray for world leaders as they decide how to respond. We pray that you stir each of our hearts in generosity towards the people of Turkey and Syria.

Amen.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV)

Posted on by Lesley

Behold, I stand and knock

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD , 1866 PAINTING BY WILLIAM HOLMAN HUNT

The figure of Christ holding a lantern and knocking on a wooden door is clear enough. Momentary study reveals that the door has no handle: it can only be opened from within. The door is the door to our hearts, and knock as loudly as he might, only we can open the door and let Christ in.

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:20-22

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you stand at the threshold of every heart and seek the welcome of an open door. As our doorbells invite us to welcome friends and strangers alike, may we also invite and welcome you as a permanent guest into our lives. Amen

Source: Adapted from At Home In Lent – An exploration of Lent through 46 objects by Gordon Giles.

Posted on by Lesley · 1 Comment

The Body of Christ and Love

The following is an excerpt from Retired and Inspired : Making the Most of Our Latter Years by Wendy Billington.

As Christians we are Christ’s body; each of us is precious to him and necessary for his work here on earth. That is why we need to strive towards wholeness so that we can offer our best for him and serve him well as a member of his body.

Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century Carmelite nun, mystic and theologian, wrote these famous words directly referring to and reminding us of Paul’s teaching on the body of Christ from 1 Corinthians 12:

Christ has no body now but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world.

Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Teresa of Avila

What a vivid analogy this is: the church, the body of Christ, is like and works as a human body. Each of us is a member and of equal worth but with a different part to play, essential to creating a harmonious whole. Paul goes on in his teaching to say to the Corinthians “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (1 Corinthians 12:22).

Whoever we are and whatever gifts we have, we remain indispensable to God and his people. God has called us to love him first; to do this we are to live close to him. God has called us to love our neighbours. The love that God requires is not a passionate physical love nor the love we feel for others: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18). This is a love not just of the heart but also of the mind and the will. It keeps on loving even when things aren’t going the way we would like. It is a resolve to put the welfare of others above our own with both actions and words.

The great calling of the church is for it to be family, nurtured through Christ’s love with that same love flowing by the Holy Spirit to its members – the body of Christ. That means that our own personal relationship with God needs to play a key role, but at the same time we must remember that this relationship isn’t just for our own benefit. We have been placed into the body of Christ alongside our fellow Christians, individually and collectively to witness God’s love to the wider world. ‘See how they love one another’ is the mark of a truly spiritual church.

Posted on by Lesley

What does it mean that Jesus and believers are living stones?

QUESTION

What does it mean that Jesus and believers are living stones in 1 Peter 2:4-5?

ANSWER

The term living stones in 1 Peter 2:5 is used as a metaphor to illustrate the secure and intimate relationship believers have with Jesus, who is described in the previous verse as the “living Stone” (1 Peter 2:4). Together, these two verses picture how Christ and His followers are joined by God Himself: “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5).

The foundation of God’s building is His Son, Jesus Christ, the “living Stone.” The “living stones,” in turn, are believers who come to Jesus and place their lives upon this foundation. The living Stone is “precious” to those who believe (1 Peter 2:7), but some men reject the living Stone in order to build their lives their own way, not God’s way (see Psalm 118:22 and Luke 6:46–49). Unbelievers cast this living Stone aside, not caring that Jesus is the only true foundation upon which they can build securely (1 Corinthians 3:11).

In a metaphor much like that of the living Stone, Jesus is described as the chief cornerstone in Ephesians 2:19–22. Peter references Jesus as the cornerstone in Acts 4:11–12, stating that “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” God accepts no one who refuses to become a part of His building. And God is just like all builders—He has a foundation upon which all workers must build (Matthew 7:24–27).

Believers, then, are the “living stones” of the church that Jesus promised to build (Matthew 16:18). As living stones, we have new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). As integral parts of the building of God, we have security in Christ (John 6:37). As the Master Builder, God places His living stones just where He wants us to be (1 Corinthians 12:18). As living stones, we are connected to one another in the body of Christ (Romans 12:5). Our Lord, the foundation Stone, is alive forevermore and will never crumble. He will support us eternally.

Peter goes on to describe the function of the living stones: to “declare the praises” of Him who called us out of the darkness of sin into the light of life and glory (1 Peter 2:9). This is the “job description” of a living stone: a speaker of praise, a declarer of truth and love and light. The spiritual house God is building is designed for His glory, and we, the living stones, glorify the Lord in all we do (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Source: GotQuestions.org

Posted on by Lesley

Come to Him – the Living Stone

22 Now that you have taken care to purify your souls through your submission to the truth, you can experience real love for each other. So love each other deeply from a [pure] heart. 23 You have been reborn—not from seed that eventually dies but from seed that is eternal—through the word of God that lives and endures forever. 24 For as Isaiah said,

All life is like the grass,
    and its glory like a flower;
The grass will wither and die,
    and the flower falls,
25 But the word of the Lord will endure forever.

This is the word that has been preached to you.

(1 Peter 1:22-25 The Voice Translation)

2 So get rid of hatefulness and deception, of insincerity and jealousy and slander. 2 Be like newborn babies, crying out for spiritual milk that will help you grow into salvation 3 if you have tasted and found the Lord to be good. 4 Come to Him—the living stone—who was rejected by people but accepted by God as chosen and precious.

(1 Peter 2: 1-4 The Voice Translation)

Posted on by Lesley

God’s Great Love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

1 John 4:7-12

PRAYER

Dear Father,

We lift up all those who are suffering in Syria and Turkey right at this moment, all those who have lost their homes and families, the injured and those who will fall prey to hunger and disease. We also send our prayers of thanks to all the brave people involved in the rescue mission. Please give them the strength that they need to carry on with their strenuous and dangerous task. Thank you, God, for each miracle of another saved life.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on by Lesley · 3 Comments

You Hold Me

Your peace envelops me. The distractions of the world seem so very far off and last week seems a million miles away. There is no busyness, no worries of things to do and of those left undone. There is only You and I, Lord. I feel Your comfort and Your strength holding me up and You won’t let me go.

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Phillipians 4:7 ESV

“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”

Isaiah 40:29 ESV
Posted on by Lesley · 5 Comments

Temporary Absence

Hello my friends. I wanted to let you know that I’m feeling a bit poorly just now. It started last Thursday and we think I could have gastroenteritis. It seems to be getting worse instead of better, but maybe that’s the way of it. I’ll try to look in and read your posts, but that’s about as much as I can manage for now. I hope to be back properly before too long. Best wishes to you all.