13. Fri 3rd April: Groundhog Day
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14-15
How are you getting on in this lockdown period? Some days for me reminds me of the film ‘Groundhog Day’. In the film Bill Murray seems to live the same day every day which includes being a reporter at a Groundhog Day.
I have lost some of the regular appointments and I miss the variety that you get when you live ‘a normal day’. However, something that doesn’t change is my sinful heart. I still sin and it shows itself through my selfish actions, thoughtless ways and me doubting God’s goodness Sometimes I have thoughts which are horrible and wonder where did that thought come from?
I am reminded every day of how far I fall from the glory of God (Rom 3:23) and yet this morning’s verse reminds me of Jesus who came into the world at just the right time to bring hope and a way back to God and all he offers. What do I have to do? I have to repent.
Repent is a funny old word and you won’t hear it being said on Eastenders or in the queue at Sainsburys.
To repent means to see you're going the wrong way and turnaround. So when Jesus said to repent and believe the good news He was saying that:
-His way will lead to life and not death, His way will lead you to hope not to despair, His way will bring joy not gloom.
So brothers and sisters turn around and follow the Lord Jesus. We sin everyday and so we need to repent every day.
So this morning I want to leave you with the Anglican Confession - read it and use it in your daily repentance.
Most merciful God,
I confess that I have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what I have done,
and by what I have left undone.
I have not loved you with my whole heart;
I have not loved my neighbours as myself.
I am truly sorry and I humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on me and forgive me;
that I may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Much love
Tim
12. Thurs 2nd April: Leave it all with God
A while ago I was reading a daily devotional book called “Streams in the Desert” and I came across this thought: “Leave it all quietly with God… your failures, fears, foes, future.”
I was so taken with it that I preached a sermon on it from Psalm 55v22, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you.” The Apostle Peter quotes this Psalm in his letter (1 Peter 5v7) that we considered last week.
But let’s actually do what the Psalmist said we should do, and let’s do it now as we read this devotional: “cast your cares on the LORD.” Leave it all quietly with God…
1. Our failures
We all have our failures and they can really get us down making us feel worthless, fed-up with ourselves and useless.
We all have our sins in our actions, words, attitudes, responses, and behaviour. These sins get us down as they affect our hearts and minds
So let’s cast our failures and sins on the Lord and he will sustain us.
1 John 1v8: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
2. Our fears
We live in a world that is a fearful place, and so we all have our fears. These fears are different for each one of us, but they can cripple us in life, and make us freeze in a moment. Let’s cast our fears onto the Lord and he will sustain us…
Jesus often said to people, “Do not be afraid”. To Simon Peter who was sinking “Do not be afraid”. To his disciples after the resurrection: “Do not be afraid.” To Jairus whose little girl was so ill: “Do not be afraid.” To his disciples in the Upper Room: “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Remember: God is near, you are dear, do not fear. So take your fears and cast them onto the Lord
3. Our foes
We all have people who don’t like us, or don’t like what we are doing; who are jealous of us; who make things difficult for us, or who generally just seem to be against us!
These could even be people we once got on with so well and spent time with, and went out with for meals and drinks. We may have gone to the prayer meetings with them! But now they have turned their backs on us – or worse, have sought to hurt us in some way: verbally or emotionally; and we don’t know why!
One of Jesus’ closest friends turned against him and betrayed him. Judas Iscariot, one of the 12, shared the Last Supper with Jesus, had a meal with Jesus, spent 3 years with Jesus, but then betrayed Jesus.
Cast your foes onto the Lord. If you don’t they will eat your mind up; you will have no peace – and you will be troubled and unsettled. Let them go! Yes, love them and do good to them, but don’t let them screw your mind up. So take your foes and throw them onto the Lord
4. Our future
I guess all of us, no matter what age we are, every now and again, have a little worry about the future? Especially during this coronavirus pandemic? Children and schools; teenagers and exams and future placements; students and what happens next; older people in their care homes; our own health may concern us when we begin to feel unwell. We wonder what the future will bring..
Maybe we are even worried about our ultimate future after death?
But do you know that our God is not just the God of the past and the present but also of the future. We can trust God that he has our future in his hands. Jesus said, “I give you eternal life, and you shall never perish; no one will snatch you out of my hand.”
So take your cares about the future and cast them onto the Lord and he will sustain you
Our Saviour Jesus did all this
We are to think of him “casting his cares upon the Lord” throughout his difficult and troubled life. Picture him singing, reading, praying Psalm 55v22! The very thought of Jesus reading, praying, singing this Psalm somehow boosts our hearts and cleanses our thoughts, And shows that what seems impossible, is actually possible with the Lord
In Jesus, leave it all quietly with God; your failures, your fears, your foes, your future…
And our God will sustain you.
love from Paul
11. Wed 1st April: Salmon Sandwiches
At once the Spirit sent Him out into the wilderness, and He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended Him. …Mark 1:12-13 NIV
Following your baptism what did you do? I had a special lunch and we had salmon sandwiches and one of my friends decided it was time to sing more songs and so we sang all sorts of rugby songs with a beaten up old guitar and a kazoo.
In our reading this morning Jesus doesn’t have a family gathering but He immediately is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Again this leading was into a tough season for Him. We are told that for 40 days He was tempted by Satan. These 40 days reminds us of the Israelites who were in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus unlike the Israelites kept His focus and worshipped only God (his Father). Jesus was tempted, He had trials and yet His focus was only on God - He didn’t sin.
How do we respond to this part of Mark’s gospel today?
Know the God who is with you in these times of trials and see it as a time when your faith will grow. Following this time in the wilderness Jesus demonstrates His authority and power as He does all kinds of miracles.
I’m not saying this will be the same for us but I’m sure that following these days (it might be 40?) hold on and trust and you will come out stronger at the end of it.
Eugene Peterson’s Message puts it like this -
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4)
Much love
Tim
10. Tues 31st Mar: Thanksgiving
Col 3v15 And be thankful.
Col 4v2: being… thankful.
Heb 12v28 let us be thankful,
What a good hat-trick of thankful verses! I’m thinking about “thankfulness” a lot these days and although I wrote about it in my last devotional, yet I’m going to write about it again, because again and again God tells us to be thankful. My problem is that I focus too much on what I don’t have, on my problems, and not on what I do have and my blessings. Thankfulness gets me out of this rut.
So here are ten things that I, a sinner who is being restored, am thankful for. Each one is taken from a song or hymn. I wonder if you can guess the songs? There’s a prize for the first person to list all ten!
1. I am thankful that I am “ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven.”
2. I am thankful that “my Saviour loves me so… He will hold me fast.”
3. I am thankful that “His goodness restores my soul.”
4. I am thankful that “Death, hell and sin are now subdued, all grace is now to sinners given,”
5. I am thankful that one day, “in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing God’s power to save.”
6. I am thankful that the Name of Jesus “soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds
and drives away our fear.”
7. I am thankful that “In tenderness he sought me, weary and sick with sin, and on His shoulders brought me, back to His fold again.”
8. I am thankful that “Jesus the Saviour this Gospel to tell joyfully came, came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell, sharing their sorrow and shame: seeking the lost, saving, redeeming at measureless cost.”
9. I am thankful that God is “rich in love and slow to anger, His name is great and His heart is kind.”
10. I am thankful for the “Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me.”
To hear, “He will hold me fast”, click on the following link
Throughout today have “moments of thankfulness.”
Love from Paul
9. Mon 30th Mar: Who’s singing the loudest?
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:9-11 NIV
There are certain events that you never forget. Some events you remember for the wrong reasons. I remember my 18th birthday very well because this was the day when I crashed my dad’s car. I also remember the time leading up to the birth of our first child because my wife was in labour for 4 days!
An event I remember for the right reasons was my baptism. At the baptism it was full of family and friends and I made a public declaration that I had turned from sin and was to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. When I came out of the water there was clapping and cheering and Mrs Price struck up the chord to play ‘Up from the grave he arose’ and the voice that I could hear the loudest was my dad’s - he was very pleased. That was a great day!
In our Bible reading this morning we are told that Jesus was baptised. Why on earth was the Son of God baptised? He had not sinned! He didn’t have to put his faith and trust in himself! No, Jesus was baptised because he was obedient to his Father and in the words of the 1st century letter:
‘and being found in appearance of a man, he humbled himself’ (Phil 2:8).
Jesus became one of us and he humbled himself and identified with the human race. Baptism was a sign to those there that he was ‘in this life with them’. Jesus knew the world was full of rebellion and he also knew that people could only get right with God through repentance and faith. So Jesus was baptized to identify with them (and us).
We then have a beautiful picture of the Trinity as the Father speaks to the Son and the Spirit descends on the Son. The words of the Father were as follows -
‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’.
Jesus was obedient to the mission of the Father, who sent his Son into the world to be one of us and to rescue us.
If Mrs Price was at Jesus’ baptism she would strike up the chord and the Father God would be singing the loudest, why? Because He’s my Son, I love him and I am well pleased!
Much love
Tim