MONDAY 16TH AUGUST
Isaiah 58:9-14
A Spring Whose Waters Never Fail
“Love is flowing like a river, flowing out through you and me, spreading out into the desert setting all the captives free.”
God is love. Jesus is love made into a human being. When we believe in Jesus and trust in the power of His blood, shed for us on the cross, Jesus digs a big well in our hearts, casting out all the sin and selfishness and filling us with His Holy Spirit. Springs of living water flow from us (see John 7:37-39). The springs of water are springs of love “because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us” (Romans 5:5).
Today’s message, from the book of the prophet Isaiah, tells us two ways in which we can keep God’s love flowing through us. If we obey these commands the springs of living water keep on flowing. If we disobey, the well in our hearts dries up.
The first of these commands is to be generous, especially to those who are in need - the poor and the oppressed.
When God poured out His Spirit on the infant church they were very obedient to this command; “no one claimed any of his possessions was his own but they shared everything they had ... there was no needy person among them” (Acts 4:32 & 34).
The second command, (the most disobeyed command in this day and age) is to keep the Lord’s Day. From early times Sunday became the Lord’s Day for Christians. To keep the river of love flowing we all need to keep Sunday as a day of delight for the Lord. We should stop unnecessary work and organised sport. After worshipping God, we have plenty of time for rest and reflection so God can build up that well of love in our hearts.
PRAYER: Lord, unblock the well in my heart. Make me so generous that I want to share everything I have with others. I confess that I have not kept the Lord’s Day holy. Help me to keep it holy and make it a day of delight for you and a day in which you can build up so much love in my life, through Jesus our Love Giver. Amen.
TUESDAY 17th. AUGUST
Psalm 103: 1-8
Oh What a Wonderful Lord we Have
My heart just wants to leap with joy as I read this beautiful Psalm. It reminds us of what a wonderful fantastic, fabulous God we have. It makes us want to love Him more and worship Him with all of our hearts.
There are so many benefits for those who have decided to follow Jesus and become committed Christians. He forgives all our sins. When we, as a human race, put God on the cross and crucified Him, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”. Since that day He has been pouring out His love on all sinners, forgiving everyone as they respond to Him with a sorrowful, repentant heart. His forgiveness is so perfect He says, “their sin and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). We can all say, with John Newton, the converted slave trader, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me”.
After forgiving us He is always ready to heal us of all our diseases. We have seen so many people healed by Him that our hearts leap with joy.
The most wonderful thing about our God is that He loves us all so much that He doesn’t want to let us go. Once we put our faith and trust in Jesus, He gives us the free gift of eternal life. He saves us from the torments of hell. In every way He is so good to us. His compassion and love touches each one of our lives. He fulfils so many of the desires of our hearts. He rejuvenates us all the time. He just keeps on and on pouring His love into each of us.
PRAYER: “Praise the Lord, O my Soul. All my being, praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord O My soul and forget not all His benefits. Oh God - how wonderful you are, I love you with all of my heart. Amen.
WEDNESDAY 18th. AUGUST
Hebrews 12:18-29
Buried with Jesus, a Wonderful Church - a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Again my heart leaps with joy as I read today’s scripture. It’s like looking through a window into Heaven! In contrast to the Old Testament reading of heaven, which was so filled with fear it made you shudder, we are beckoned to come to the wonderful city of God, the New Jerusalem, the Heaven that Jesus has revealed to us.
In Heaven we see countless angels continually bubbling over with joy. No trace of fear with them. With them we see the church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev 13:8). The term “first-born” is very significant. Traditionally the first-born male received the main inheritance, like Charles who will inherit the throne of England when the Queen dies because He is her eldest son. All who put their faith in Jesus, who are united with Christ when they hear the word of truth (Ephesians 1:13), are born again and are described as the first-born.
Every born-again man and woman is so important to God. He or she is given the status of being a first-born son receiving a full inheritance. Isn’t that truth so fantastic? All those in Heaven are made perfect by the blood of Jesus. He makes it possible for all of us to be there.
Jesus offers His salvation to all but not all make it to Heaven. We must accept His offer and believe the good news and trust in Him. Those who refuse to listen when He speaks are doomed to miss out on heaven.
All those who choose Jesus’ way enter a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We are very thankful and worship God with all of our hearts.
PRAYER: Jesus, as we get a glimpse into what Heaven’s like our hearts leap for joy. We put our trust in you. We accept you as Saviour and Lord and thank you for making us perfect by your spilled blood and for including us as your first-born with our names written in Heaven. It’s so wonderful to be in your kingdom and we appreciate you so much. Amen.
THURSDAY 19th. AUGUST
Jeremiah 1:4-19
God’s call to Jeremiah
Each one of us is very special to God and He has a plan for each one of our lives. If we are open to God we will discover His plan and He will enable us to fulfil it!
God’s plan for Jeremiah was for Him to be a special prophet. He chose him for this job before he was born. When God revealed this to him, he was reluctant to accept it. He didn’t think he was mature enough. God told him not to worry. God would put all the words in his mouth and look after him and protect him. Jeremiah’s mission was to deliver God’s message to all sorts of people. It was not to be a very popular message as he had to warn everyone that they had strayed so far away from God’s ways that God was going to destroy them if they didn’t heed His warning.
This was a very daunting task for Jeremiah. God gave him the strength and the courage and assured him of victory, “they will fight against you but will not overcome you but I am with you and will rescue you says the Lord” (v19).
Whatever God’s plan is for us, however daunting and dangerous, if we follow it He will certainly enable us to fulfil it. We will always be 100% safe and sound under His protective guidance.
PRAYER: Lord, help us to do what you want us to do with our lives. However difficult, give us the strength to do it and the courage to keep going and the faith to believe we are ever secure under your protection, through Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
FRIDAY 20TH AUGUST
Luke 13:18-30
The Kingdom of Heaven
These little parables tell us a lot about the kingdom of Heaven. Even though a church starts in a small way and seems so insignificant to many, in the end it has a huge influence.
The mustard seed is so tiny when it’s planted, you need a magnifying glass to see it, yet it grows into a huge tree.
A tiny bit of yeast mixed with the dough makes the whole loaf of bread rise. So even if only a small percentage of a society becomes Christian, this can transform the whole of society. When Jesus started with a tiny bunch of men, He ended up turning the whole world upside down. The Christian influence has transformed society very much, especially when Christ has been accepted as the Lord of that society.
The way through to the Kingdom is a very narrow door, only a few enter; only those who accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Jesus made it clear that not everyone will be saved, only those who enter through the narrow door, the door of trust and obedience. The way Jesus describes hell sounds a terrible place to be in with all that weeping and grinding of teeth. No one has to go there. Christ is always at the door beckoning them. However late they come in they will be accepted - the last will be first.
PRAYER: Lord help us through the narrow door of your kingdom by trusting you and obeying you. Small though we are, help us to have such a big influence in the world, through Jesus our wonderful saviour. Amen.
SATURDAY 21st. AUGUST
Luke 13:10-17
Jesus sets us free
A woman had been crippled for eighteen long years, all bent up and unable to walk very well. Jesus saw her come into church on a Sabbath day. His heart went out to her and He healed her, even though it was on a Sabbath.
The Jewish religion was such a burden to the people, especially those laws on Sabbath observance. They were so upset because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Jesus freed us from the strict rules of the Jewish religion about Sabbath observance but He wants us to use the Sabbath properly.
Many people have too much stress in their lives causing so much havoc. So many people need to be set free from this stress. Jesus gives us a way to be set free. He gives us his Sabbath - Sunday. If we use Sunday properly we can be set free from stress and all other problems of modern living. For example, begin each Sunday with worship, then spend the rest of the day quietly at home resting a lot, reading, praying, meditating and letting Jesus ease your tension. This will set you free and your whole world will be transformed.
PRAYER: Jesus, I need a whole day each week to be set free from all the stresses and tensions of this life. I need to be strengthened by You. Help me to use Sunday properly as I rest in You and to set me free to live out the best life I possibly can. Amen.
SUNDAY 22ND. AUGUST
THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE
JESUS HEALS ON THE LORD’S DAY
Jesus is our wonderful healer! He is the same yesterday today and for ever! He is ever ready to heal when we are ready to put all our faith and trust in Him. Every time He went to worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day there was always someone there who needed healing. Jesus hated seeing people suffer so he immediately healed them.. In our Gospel reading today we see how He completely healed a woman who was so bent up with arthritis that she couldn’t stand upright.
How wonderful it must have been for her. This made the congregation so delighted in the fantastic things Jesus was doing.
It is hard to believe that the leaders of the Synagogue objected to what Jesus was doing because He healed on the Sabbath. He could not stand their fussy legalistic attitude to keeping the Sabbath. They accused Jesus of working on the Sabbath. How stupid of them. This was not work but loving ministry Jesus still wants us to keep the Sabbath, that is, He wants us to put aside one day a week when we rest from work and come to Worship God. The leaders of the early church changed the Lord’s Day from the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday.
Our first reading from Isaiah tells us that there are tremendous benefits from keeping the Lord’s Day properly. Lets see what it says:
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s Day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the Land and to feast in your inheritance”.
Jesus said, “If you draw near to me, I will draw near to you.” This is what we do when we come together to worship God in our Sunday Eucharist. We show Jesus how much we love Him and, as we do, we experience His most wonderful presence with us. If our lives are shaken at all by sickness anxieties or fears, He is with is to heal us and save us from all life’s problems. He promises us a kingdom (which means a way of life) that cannot be shaken. Let’s all be so very thankful and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe and delight in the wonderful things Jesus is doing all over the World!!!!!!!!
MONDAY 16TH AUGUST
Isaiah 58:9-14
A Spring Whose Waters Never Fail
“Love is flowing like a river, flowing out through you and me, spreading out into the desert setting all the captives free.”
God is love. Jesus is love made into a human being. When we believe in Jesus and trust in the power of His blood, shed for us on the cross, Jesus digs a big well in our hearts, casting out all the sin and selfishness and filling us with His Holy Spirit. Springs of living water flow from us (see John 7:37-39). The springs of water are springs of love “because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us” (Romans 5:5).
Today’s message, from the book of the prophet Isaiah, tells us two ways in which we can keep God’s love flowing through us. If we obey these commands the springs of living water keep on flowing. If we disobey, the well in our hearts dries up.
The first of these commands is to be generous, especially to those who are in need - the poor and the oppressed.
When God poured out His Spirit on the infant church they were very obedient to this command; “no one claimed any of his possessions was his own but they shared everything they had ... there was no needy person among them” (Acts 4:32 & 34).
The second command, (the most disobeyed command in this day and age) is to keep the Lord’s Day. From early times Sunday became the Lord’s Day for Christians. To keep the river of love flowing we all need to keep Sunday as a day of delight for the Lord. We should stop unnecessary work and organised sport. After worshipping God, we have plenty of time for rest and reflection so God can build up that well of love in our hearts.
PRAYER: Lord, unblock the well in my heart. Make me so generous that I want to share everything I have with others. I confess that I have not kept the Lord’s Day holy. Help me to keep it holy and make it a day of delight for you and a day in which you can build up so much love in my life, through Jesus our Love Giver. Amen.
TUESDAY 17th. AUGUST
Psalm 103: 1-8
Oh What a Wonderful Lord we Have
My heart just wants to leap with joy as I read this beautiful Psalm. It reminds us of what a wonderful fantastic, fabulous God we have. It makes us want to love Him more and worship Him with all of our hearts.
There are so many benefits for those who have decided to follow Jesus and become committed Christians. He forgives all our sins. When we, as a human race, put God on the cross and crucified Him, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”. Since that day He has been pouring out His love on all sinners, forgiving everyone as they respond to Him with a sorrowful, repentant heart. His forgiveness is so perfect He says, “their sin and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). We can all say, with John Newton, the converted slave trader, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me”.
After forgiving us He is always ready to heal us of all our diseases. We have seen so many people healed by Him that our hearts leap with joy.
The most wonderful thing about our God is that He loves us all so much that He doesn’t want to let us go. Once we put our faith and trust in Jesus, He gives us the free gift of eternal life. He saves us from the torments of hell. In every way He is so good to us. His compassion and love touches each one of our lives. He fulfils so many of the desires of our hearts. He rejuvenates us all the time. He just keeps on and on pouring His love into each of us.
PRAYER: “Praise the Lord, O my Soul. All my being, praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord O My soul and forget not all His benefits. Oh God - how wonderful you are, I love you with all of my heart. Amen.
WEDNESDAY 18th. AUGUST
Hebrews 12:18-29
Buried with Jesus, a Wonderful Church - a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Again my heart leaps with joy as I read today’s scripture. It’s like looking through a window into Heaven! In contrast to the Old Testament reading of heaven, which was so filled with fear it made you shudder, we are beckoned to come to the wonderful city of God, the New Jerusalem, the Heaven that Jesus has revealed to us.
In Heaven we see countless angels continually bubbling over with joy. No trace of fear with them. With them we see the church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev 13:8). The term “first-born” is very significant. Traditionally the first-born male received the main inheritance, like Charles who will inherit the throne of England when the Queen dies because He is her eldest son. All who put their faith in Jesus, who are united with Christ when they hear the word of truth (Ephesians 1:13), are born again and are described as the first-born.
Every born-again man and woman is so important to God. He or she is given the status of being a first-born son receiving a full inheritance. Isn’t that truth so fantastic? All those in Heaven are made perfect by the blood of Jesus. He makes it possible for all of us to be there.
Jesus offers His salvation to all but not all make it to Heaven. We must accept His offer and believe the good news and trust in Him. Those who refuse to listen when He speaks are doomed to miss out on heaven.
All those who choose Jesus’ way enter a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We are very thankful and worship God with all of our hearts.
PRAYER: Jesus, as we get a glimpse into what Heaven’s like our hearts leap for joy. We put our trust in you. We accept you as Saviour and Lord and thank you for making us perfect by your spilled blood and for including us as your first-born with our names written in Heaven. It’s so wonderful to be in your kingdom and we appreciate you so much. Amen.
THURSDAY 19th. AUGUST
Jeremiah 1:4-19
God’s call to Jeremiah
Each one of us is very special to God and He has a plan for each one of our lives. If we are open to God we will discover His plan and He will enable us to fulfil it!
God’s plan for Jeremiah was for Him to be a special prophet. He chose him for this job before he was born. When God revealed this to him, he was reluctant to accept it. He didn’t think he was mature enough. God told him not to worry. God would put all the words in his mouth and look after him and protect him. Jeremiah’s mission was to deliver God’s message to all sorts of people. It was not to be a very popular message as he had to warn everyone that they had strayed so far away from God’s ways that God was going to destroy them if they didn’t heed His warning.
This was a very daunting task for Jeremiah. God gave him the strength and the courage and assured him of victory, “they will fight against you but will not overcome you but I am with you and will rescue you says the Lord” (v19).
Whatever God’s plan is for us, however daunting and dangerous, if we follow it He will certainly enable us to fulfil it. We will always be 100% safe and sound under His protective guidance.
PRAYER: Lord, help us to do what you want us to do with our lives. However difficult, give us the strength to do it and the courage to keep going and the faith to believe we are ever secure under your protection, through Jesus our Saviour. Amen.
FRIDAY 20TH AUGUST
Luke 13:18-30
The Kingdom of Heaven
These little parables tell us a lot about the kingdom of Heaven. Even though a church starts in a small way and seems so insignificant to many, in the end it has a huge influence.
The mustard seed is so tiny when it’s planted, you need a magnifying glass to see it, yet it grows into a huge tree.
A tiny bit of yeast mixed with the dough makes the whole loaf of bread rise. So even if only a small percentage of a society becomes Christian, this can transform the whole of society. When Jesus started with a tiny bunch of men, He ended up turning the whole world upside down. The Christian influence has transformed society very much, especially when Christ has been accepted as the Lord of that society.
The way through to the Kingdom is a very narrow door, only a few enter; only those who accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Jesus made it clear that not everyone will be saved, only those who enter through the narrow door, the door of trust and obedience. The way Jesus describes hell sounds a terrible place to be in with all that weeping and grinding of teeth. No one has to go there. Christ is always at the door beckoning them. However late they come in they will be accepted - the last will be first.
PRAYER: Lord help us through the narrow door of your kingdom by trusting you and obeying you. Small though we are, help us to have such a big influence in the world, through Jesus our wonderful saviour. Amen.
SATURDAY 21st. AUGUST
Luke 13:10-17
Jesus sets us free
A woman had been crippled for eighteen long years, all bent up and unable to walk very well. Jesus saw her come into church on a Sabbath day. His heart went out to her and He healed her, even though it was on a Sabbath.
The Jewish religion was such a burden to the people, especially those laws on Sabbath observance. They were so upset because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Jesus freed us from the strict rules of the Jewish religion about Sabbath observance but He wants us to use the Sabbath properly.
Many people have too much stress in their lives causing so much havoc. So many people need to be set free from this stress. Jesus gives us a way to be set free. He gives us his Sabbath - Sunday. If we use Sunday properly we can be set free from stress and all other problems of modern living. For example, begin each Sunday with worship, then spend the rest of the day quietly at home resting a lot, reading, praying, meditating and letting Jesus ease your tension. This will set you free and your whole world will be transformed.
PRAYER: Jesus, I need a whole day each week to be set free from all the stresses and tensions of this life. I need to be strengthened by You. Help me to use Sunday properly as I rest in You and to set me free to live out the best life I possibly can. Amen.
SUNDAY 22ND. AUGUST
THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE
JESUS HEALS ON THE LORD’S DAY
Jesus is our wonderful healer! He is the same yesterday today and for ever! He is ever ready to heal when we are ready to put all our faith and trust in Him. Every time He went to worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath Day there was always someone there who needed healing. Jesus hated seeing people suffer so he immediately healed them.. In our Gospel reading today we see how He completely healed a woman who was so bent up with arthritis that she couldn’t stand upright.
How wonderful it must have been for her. This made the congregation so delighted in the fantastic things Jesus was doing.
It is hard to believe that the leaders of the Synagogue objected to what Jesus was doing because He healed on the Sabbath. He could not stand their fussy legalistic attitude to keeping the Sabbath. They accused Jesus of working on the Sabbath. How stupid of them. This was not work but loving ministry Jesus still wants us to keep the Sabbath, that is, He wants us to put aside one day a week when we rest from work and come to Worship God. The leaders of the early church changed the Lord’s Day from the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday.
Our first reading from Isaiah tells us that there are tremendous benefits from keeping the Lord’s Day properly. Lets see what it says:
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s Day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the Land and to feast in your inheritance”.
Jesus said, “If you draw near to me, I will draw near to you.” This is what we do when we come together to worship God in our Sunday Eucharist. We show Jesus how much we love Him and, as we do, we experience His most wonderful presence with us. If our lives are shaken at all by sickness anxieties or fears, He is with is to heal us and save us from all life’s problems. He promises us a kingdom (which means a way of life) that cannot be shaken. Let’s all be so very thankful and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe and delight in the wonderful things Jesus is doing all over the World!!!!!!!!