Surround us O God
Encircle, protect
Like walls to a fortress
Is the Lord our God
–
Satan’s arrows strike
Pulling down the unwary
But you O God
You are our shield.
reflection
Reflection on James 1:17-27
Scripture
Do not merely listen to the word of God and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Observation
Every good gift comes from heaven, from the Father who never changes. He is the one who chose to give us birth.
We need to be quick to listen, slow to speak and even slower to anger. We must get rid of all moral filth.
It does no good just to listen to the word- we must obey it as well. Otherwise we are like someone who after looking into a mirror forgets what he looks like.
True religion results in a controlled tongue, care for widows and orphans, and holiness of living.
Application
Faith has to result in a change of life. We don’t need to copy what other believers do, but instead allow God to change us from the inside.
Reading Scripture and watching Bible teachers are good. But we need to let the divine word of God take root in our heart and put it into practice.
It is sad that many christian live lives that are indistinguishable in character from those of their unsaved neighbours. If we let the word of God dwell in us, then everything about us will change.
Prayer
Father, please show me what you want me to change about the way I do life and grant me the grace to change. Convict me of my sin and prompt me to care for the poor and vulnerable people in my neighbourhood. Amen.
Reflection on Psalm 72
Bless kings and presidents
Prime ministers and premiers
Flow justice into the nations
Lift high the poor
Make whole the afflicted.
—
All power is yours Lord
And all authority
May laws bring justice
And reigns heal nations
As leaders bow the knee
Reflection on Song of Songs 2:1-13
The love of the Lord
Is a fire in my heart
A passion that shakes me
Trembling
When I think of Him
—
He takes me to the banquet
Laying a feast before me
An abundance for the soul
—
When you came Lord
Leaping across the mountains
Winter became spring
Melting
My icy heart
A life turned
Reflection on John 6:56-69
Scripture
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Observation
Jesus tells His followers that to receive eternal life they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Many of the people are offended by this.
Jesus tells them that His words are spirit and life. Some of them do not believe and this is why He has told them that no one can come to Him unless the Father enables them.
Many of the disciples turn back from following Jesus. He asks the Twelve if they want to leave too. But Jesus says “Where else could we go?”
Application
Following Jesus is not always easy. Often He will challenge our thinking in order to confront the sins we love and the lies we trust.
We all have our idols, and Jesus is determined to strip them of the power they have over us.
When Jesus leads us into water too deep for us to stand, the true disciple keeps looking towards Him and trusting Him to lead us through. The ones who never really knew Him will turn away and complain that it is too hard.
Prayer
Lord Jesus please help me to trust you more, especially when things seem too hard. Amen.
Reflection on Ephesians 6:10-20
Scripture
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil on the heavenly realms.
Observation
We must put on the full armour of God to resist the devil’s evil plans. We don’t struggle against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil.
The armour of God is our combat equipment that enables us to stand our ground and defeat every attack of the enemy. It consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
We should pray in the Spirit on every occasion, with all kinds of prayers, especially for our christian brothers and sisters.
Application
Our struggle as christians is against the demonic forces not against people. For this reason, it is important to fight our battles in the heavenly realm, not in the earthly realm.
Prayer is what wins our battles for the Lord- prayer together with integrity and devotion to Christ.
God does call us to action, even to activism, but this must start and continue in prayer. There is no point fighting the battles we have not been called to fight, nor in engaging in actions which God has not initiated. These are the very things which play into the hands of the devil.
Prayer
Lord help me to discern your will for me as I step out into the battle each day. Amen.
Reflection on John 6:51-58
Photo:Alvin Trusty
Scripture
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
Observation
Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. If we eat this bread we will live for ever.
The Jewish people begin to argue among themselves. Jesus tells them that without Him they have no life in them. The one who eats His body and drinks His blood has eternal life.
Jesus lives because of His relationship with the Father, and so the one who feeds on Him will live because of Him. This is better than the manna that their ancestors ate in the desert.
Application
In Communion we feed on the body and blood of Christ. This is not some kind of gory ritual, but a representation of the life-giving power of Jesus’ death on the cross for us.
Eating bread and drinking wine or grape juice do not give eternal life in themselves. It is only when by faith we take the spiritual meaning of the physical objects that we feast on Jesus.
It was Jesus’ union with the Father that gave Him life, and it is our union with Christ that gives us eternal life. By faith in the death and resurrection of Christ we too are raised for eternity.
Prayer
Thank you Father for the power of faith in your Son setting us free from the law of sin and death. Amen.
Reflection on 1 Kings 3:1-15
Scripture
“I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for- both riches and honour- so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.”
Observation
Solomon makes an alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt. He shows his love for the Lord by obeying the statues of his father David.
He goes to Gibeon to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. While there, the Lord appears to him in a dream and tells him to ask for whatever he wants. Solomon replies that he needs a discerning heart to rule the kingdom wisely.
The Lord is pleased with Solomon and promises to give him a discerning heart which he asked for and riches and honour which he did not ask for.
Application
Solomon was already wise in acknowledging that he needed wisdom from the Lord. God granted this very selfless request and much more.
When God promises to meet our needs, He is not stingy just doling out the bare minimum to get by. He loves to grant our requests when they come from a simple humble heart. He goes far beyond what we can think to ask Him for, giving us things that we never think to request.
Jesus tells us to seek His kingdom first, then everything else will also be given to us. God’s grace is truly limitless, not bounded by what we can ask Him for.
Prayer
Teach me Lord how to pray the prayers that please you. Show me your ways and I will walk in them. Amen.
Reflection on John 6:41-51
Scripture
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world.”
Observation
Jesus declares that He is the Bread of Life that comes down from heaven.
The people murmur against Him because He says He came from heaven. He is Joseph’s little boy!
No one comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him. Everyone who believes in Jesus has eternal life. The manna in the desert fed people for a limited time, and then they died. Jesus is the bread who gives eternal life.
Application
Jesus is the food for eternal life. We feed on Him and He sustains us into eternity.
The only way into heaven is through Jesus. No other way will provides us with access to the Father.
Good works are not good enough to obliterate sin. Other religions offer their own ideas about justifying ourselves, but they don’t deal with the root problems of sin.
Only Jesus takes away our sin.
Only Jesus counteracts the law of sin and death.
Only Jesus can bring us to the Father.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are the true Bread of Heaven. Thank you for setting me free from sin through your death in the cross. Amen.
Reflection on Ephesians 4:25-52
Scripture
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.
Observation
We are to speak truthfully to one another. Anger must go; nobody should let the sun go down while they are still angry.
Thieves must steal no longer, but work for a living instead.
All forms of bitterness, anger, slander and malice should give way to kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
We must imitate God, living lives marked by love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.
Application
Following Jesus means that our lives should be transformed at the most basic level. Our relationships and attitudes to others will be radically reorganised by the power of God’s love.
The commandments Paul gives in this section are impossible in human strength alone. The good news is that we have the grace of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.
We cannot expect the Lord to do all the work, however. He will not change us if we refuse His grace. The christian life is a process of learning to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, and then repenting daily of those sins. It is a partnership in which we co-operate with the Spirit’s sanctifying work.
Prayer
Thank you Lord for the grace to change my life. Amen.
