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Daily Devotion May 18th

MONDAY 18th – Ephesians 2:11-22

We continue from yesterday and will go to the second ‘but’ in this chapter, in verse 13 ‘But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’ A similar portion of Scripture is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, ‘For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him’

In Ephesians 2 Paul makes a statement about the Gentile, that is the non–Jewish people, that they (which also includes us) were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth (or family) of Israel, not included in the covenants of God and we were without hope and without God in the world. It is a sweeping statement that sums up that until that time, everything that God seemed to do and be doing was for and involving Israel. They were his special people, they had been given the law, they had been given the covenants or promises. It was an ‘us and ‘you’ kind of programme of events, but thank God again for the ‘but’ found here in verse 13, it all changed at Calvary, for Paul says ‘BUT NOW in Christ you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’ The cross now meant that God was working not just with the Jew in mind, but also for the Gentile. When Christ died on the cross he was dying for the whosoever, when he became a substitute, dying as the Passover Lamb, he was atoning for the sins of the world and as a result we all, that is Jew and Gentile as we come to believe have access in one Spirit to the Father.

The but in verse 13 leads to a complete change in the situation. There is reconciliation in two ways, first between the Jew and Gentile, the division between both is taken away, so there is no longer an ‘us’ and ‘them’ but through the cross we enjoy the same benefits, the same means of salvation, the same results of salvation and the same blessings that spring from salvation. Instead of the Jew and the Gentile, the cross led to the creation of one new man, that is one new united group or body which is the Church. The second reconciliation is found in verse 16, ‘reconciled us both (Jew and Gentile) to God’. This is good news for in contrast to verses 11-12, verse 19 says that we (the Gentiles) are no longer strangers and aliens but are fellow citizens with or as the saints and members of the household of God.

Yesterday we looked at Gods abundant mercy, great love, and amazing grace. The whole of Ephesians chapter 2 also reminds us of Gods incredible plan. Yes, as Paul puts it in the chapter, it seemed as if everything God was doing up until that point was all toward and for Israel the Jew, but in reality, he had a plan that was purposed even before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:9 says ‘making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ’ This purpose he put into effect immediately after the fall when he pronounced to the serpent, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.’ (Genesis 3:15) And time rolled on, various events and characters in the Old Testament pointed toward a coming Saviour, who finally arrived at the God appointed moment (Galatians 4:4 ) and that which had been foreordained happened as he, the one born to be the Saviour, surrendered his life as a substitute at Calvary so that we who were dead in our trespasses and sins might be made alive. Ephesians 1:4 says ‘even as he (God) chose us in him (Jesus) before the foundation of the world,’ our inclusion into the family of God, our becoming members of the family of God, our being fellow citizens in the household of God, our being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit wasn’t an after-thought God had thousands of years after he had been dealing with the Jew, it was decided, purposed and planned even before the foundation of the world.

We will let the apostle Peter have the final word today: 1 Peter 2:9-10 ‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.’

Wonderful grace

That gives what I don’t deserve

Pays me what Christ has earned

And lets me go free

Wonderful grace

That gives me the time to change

Washes away the stain

That once covered me

And all that I have

I lay at the feet

Of the Wonderful Saviour who loves me

Wonderful love

That held in the face of death

Breathed, in it’s final breath

Forgiveness for me

Wonderful love

Who’s power can break every chain

Giving us life again

Setting us free

John Pantry ©Harper Collins CCLI788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 17th

SUNDAY 17th – Ephesians 2:1-10

‘No ifs, no buts’

I wonder how many of us know of this little phrase, ‘no ifs, no buts’ and if so, in what context? For me it takes me back to growing up on the farm and either my mum or dad would give an instruction, usually in regard to a job that needed doing or maybe homework that need completing  and one of us would start with our objections as to why we thought we couldn’t do what was being asked and out it would come, ‘no ifs, no buts’ just get on with it.

I was out walking and contemplating the devotions for this week and this phrase dropped into my mind, and the thought I had was this, thank God that there are some ifs and buts in Scripture. For example, in 2 Chronicles 7:13 the Lord says ‘When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land or send my pestilence among my people . . .’ This isn’t good news, that God would do these things, but it is followed by an ‘if’ in verse 14, ‘IF my people who are called by name . . . I will hear . . . I will forgive . . . I will heal their land.’

In the New Testament we have as an example, Ephesians 2:12 ‘remember that you were at that time separated from Christ . . .’ then verse 13 continues, ‘BUT now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’

To start this week we will look at two of the ‘buts’  If you have already read the verses for our reading and maybe continued in the chapter, you may have noticed it contains two ‘buts’, the first is in verse 4, ‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us’  the second is in verse 13 as quoted above.

In this chapter the ‘but’ defines a change, a change in what we were to what we have become, a change in our situation and in our position and the changes have come about because of Gods abundant mercy, his great love, and his amazing grace.

A brief summary of the first few verses in this chapter tells us that we were spiritually dead because of our trespasses and sins, we walked as the unbelieving world walked, we lived selfish and sinful lives and we were under the wrath of God. In other words we were depraved sinners and deserving eternal punishment yet because of the ‘but’ in verse 4, we have instead come to know Gods mercy, love and grace and we have been made spiritually alive, the wrath of God has been turned away from us, we are in Christ, and we are already knowing and will continue to know his unmeasurable riches of grace in our lives, and we have become his workmanship. (Philippians 2:13 ‘for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure’) We no longer live according to the flesh but we are living out good works which he prepared for us to do. What a transformation, what a change, an incredible change in our character, in our position and in our lifestyle.

Thank God that we have come to know this wonderful change in our lives, and it is because of a ‘but’, because of Gods abundant mercy, great love, and amazing grace.

Let us ponder on these three things today.

Abundant mercy – Our text says that God is rich in mercy, this means that despite the depth of our sin or the depravity of our human nature, God’s mercy is far greater. One hymn writer puts it this way, ‘Come, ye sinners, lost and hopeless, Jesus’ blood can make you free; For He saved the worst among you, When He saved a wretch like me. And I know, yes, I know, Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean, And I know, yes, I know Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean.’

In Psalm 51:1 the Psalmist cries out ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.’ Imagine where we would be if God were not a God of mercy! We may not think that we should be called the vilest sinner, but the truth of the matter is that whatever our sin we were all lost, hopeless, deserving of hell, but because of his mercy, he came to seek and to save the lost. He found you and he found me. Titus puts it this way, Titus 3:5 ‘he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.’

Gods mercy is linked with his love, Psalm 103, verse 11 is translated in the KJV as ‘For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.’ The modern versions translate ‘great is his mercy’ as ‘great is his love’ (ESV, NIV) Our text v4 says that God is rich in mercy because of his great love. They are both (mercy and love) eternally entwined in the character and nature of God and in his dealings toward mankind. Sadly, many still choose to reject both his love and his mercy. Our testimony is this, ‘Mercy there was great, and grace was free’

Great love – We have already seen how the mercy of God is extended towards mankind because of his great love. I almost should not need to expound on the greatness of his love, for we who believe have all come to be recipients of it because of Calvary. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved, (that is he was bursting with so much love for) the world (lost and sinful humanity) that he gave his one and only Son (to be a sacrifice for the sinner at Calvary) so that if we believe on him we will not perish (go to Hell) but will have eternal life. (italics mine) The immensity of the love of God should never cease to amaze us and should always win a positive response from us. ‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. The song writer expresses it this way, ‘The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.’

1 John 4:10 ‘In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’

Romans 5:8 ‘but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

Amazing grace – It was John Newton who penned the words of the famous song ‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound’ he was a man who knew what he deserved as a wretched sinner and yet had become a recipient of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And such were we, wretched, lost, and helpless until Gods amazing grace got hold of us and saved us.

Someone has said that GRACE can be described acronymically as ‘Great Riches At Christs Expense’. In other words, we get what we do not deserve because somebody else, in our case, Christ, does whatever is necessary for us to be able to receive it, (salvation) he died in our place as our substitute. We get what we could not earn, (redemption) we get what we could not achieve, (righteousness) we get status which we could never ever attain to, (seated with Christ in heavenly places) and all because of his grace which is given to us through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome is a great book of grace, the word grace appears around thirty times, I will end this devotion with some verses from that letter. Notice it is a ‘but’, Romans 3:21-25 ‘But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.’

Years I spent in vanity and pride,

Caring not my Lord was crucified,

Knowing not it was for me He died

On Calvary.

Mercy there was great, and grace was free;

Pardon there was multiplied to me;

There my burdened soul found liberty,

At Calvary.

By God’s Word at last my sin I learned;

Then I trembled at the law I’d spurned,

Till my guilty soul imploring turned

To Calvary.

Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus everything,

Now I gladly own Him as my King,

Now my raptured soul can only sing

Of Calvary.

Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!

Oh, the grace that brought it down to man,

Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span

At Calvary!

William Reed Newell CCLI 788682

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Daily Devotion May 16th

SATURDAY 16th

Jonah 4 – or read all of Jonah it will not take long.

Jonah 4:1 ‘But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.’

The context of this verse falls into the fact that God had relented of the disaster that he had said he would bring upon the people of Nineveh, and he did not do it (Jonah 3:10) Jonah was angry with God because of the decision God had made! (we read of David getting angry with God as well in 2 Samuel 6:8)

It was not my original intention to share from Jonah again today, but as I was reading what got my attention was that Jonah was angry with God and I felt I should share something along these lines,  an even shorter devotion than normal, so here goes!

You will have got used to me using my imagination during the time I’ve been sending these devotions out, here as I picture Jonah getting angry with God, I imagine a tiny squatty little mouse standing on his hind legs waving his front foot fist in anger towards a large roaring majestic lion. Now for some honesty, I wonder if you have ever been like Jonah, and got angry or upset with God?  I have (thankfully it’s not lasted for long) and I know of others who have because they have been honest enough to tell me so, yet in a sense we know that to be angry or upset with God is as pointless as a mouse putting its fist up to a lion, the lion is going to win every time, and thankfully even if we do get angry with God, he still wins every time, not because we didn’t have a legitimate enough reason to feel angry or upset, but simply because of who God is – God, and he is a God of love, in fact he is love and love always wins!

There are many reasons why we may begin to feel angry or upset with God, a sickness, the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, you can put your own reason in this space .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. but what I want to say today is this, that God understands! Yes, God understands our hearts, he understands our emotions, he understands our feelings and frustrations, after all he created us, but more importantly God is big enough to take our anger, our outbursts, our frustration and he is able to come alongside us and to help us overcome it, and the wonderful things is that even though we may have felt angry or got upset with God or toward God, as he comes in love he can turn our anger, upset feeling into joyful praise as we realise that what we saw as harm or as a disappointment or a negative in our lives, God can use it for good and for his glory. Now, I know that some would say (for this reason I was almost reluctant to write about this, but have done because I have had to deal with it in pastoral ministry) that we should never get angry or upset with God, and of course it is better to never get angry or upset with God, but sometimes because we are human our emotions can get the better of us, it can happen in the natural realm, we can get angry or upset with someone we love, but because love wins, the anger or upset feeling is soon forgotten.

God is so much bigger than we realise, even the lion in my imagination at the beginning of this devotion is puny in comparison to our Almighty God, he knows our hang ups, he knows our foibles, he knows us inside out, and yet he still cares for us, he still loves us, and even if we get angry or upset with him, he is still willing to come alongside us and to carry us through. Love wins.

Bigger than all my problem, Bigger than all my fears

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than all my question, Bigger than anything

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

He’s bigger than all the shadows that falls across my path

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than my confusion, Bigger than anything

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than all my problems, Bigger than all my fears

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than all my questions bigger than anything

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

He’s bigger than all the giants of fear and unbelief

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than all my hang ups bigger than anything

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than all my problem bigger than all my fears

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Bigger than all my questions bigger than anything

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Daily Devotion May 15th

FRIDAY 15th

Reading – Romans 8

The Lockdown or the restrictions we have had over the last eight weeks will have affected us all, some have been almost like prisoners in their own homes, others will have had a little more freedom and been able to go for a walk each day or out to do a shop, while others have had to continue to go out to work because they have been classed as essential or key workers, then there are those who either themselves or family members will have suffered the virus and had their lives affected in ways unimaginable just a few months ago. At this point I want to add my personal thanks and appreciation to everyone who has kept going, working on the front line as an essential worker, the farmers and production workers along with the shop workers keeping shops stocked for our daily provision, the Government and the team working with the Government who have had to and will yet have to make tough, difficult decisions to anticipate us pulling through this pandemic, and the NHS and associate workers who have risked all to bring the healthcare needed during this time.

We have gone out on the doorstep each Thursday evening to clap them  and the appreciation needs to be continued afterward. We also thank God for the way he has undertaken for us as a Church family, we have prayed, and God has heard our prayers and will continue to do so.

For us personally, the restrictions have meant that our house has been delayed, our belongings will remain in storage in North Wales for longer than anticipated, our holiday to Australia that should have started on May 13th has had to be postponed, and it will be longer before we can finally settle down properly to the new life up here in the North East of England that commenced in mid-February. To be honest it certainly was not how we had planned it to work out when we put the ball in motion to relocate last year. BUT and it is a big BUT, God has not been caught out! He knew exactly what was going to happen. When I thought we would be in Perth, God knew we would still be in Middlesbrough, when I thought we would have had the keys to our new house and the furniture in, God knew it would still be in storage and the keys not ready to hand over. And why can I say this? And why do I believe it? To put simply because I believe in the sovereignty of God. I believe that as we have surrendered our lives over to him, God is control of our every situation. For us and for you that are reading this.

In the book of Jonah, we see how God had control over Jonah’s circumstances. Jonah was asked to go to Tarshish, but he ran away, it was God who provided the storm! (Jonah 1:4) As a result of the storm Jonah was thrown overboard, it was God who provided the big fish, (1:17) Jonah was spewed out on the dry land, it was God that manoeuvred the big fish from the depths of the sea to the shore line, (2:10) Jonah obeyed the second time, and preached and the people repented, it was God’s right to not do what he said he would do to the people of Nineveh, (3:10) Jonah got angry with God and sulked, it was God who provided a plant to grow and give Jonah shade (4:6) and the next day it was God who caused the plant to shrivel up and die, (4:7) and to cap it all it was God who declared to Jonah, you pity the plant, should I not show pity to Nineveh, (4:10-11) and why? because God is sovereign, he is in control of every situation.

We cannot always understand the way we have to take, but we trust God. With the world-wide pandemic, humanly speaking we do not understand and may ask a thousand plus questions, but God knows, and in and through it all God is working out his divine will and purpose.

This has been a shorter than normal devotion, but it’s purpose is to give us all hope, in the midst of everything all around us God is in control, as he was there every step of the way in Jonah’s circumstance, so he is with ours. And hey, be grateful that during the lock down we are in our own homes – Jonah spent his in the belly of the fish!

A couple of closing verses:

From our reading today Romans 8:28 ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.’

1 Corinthians 7:17 ‘Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.’

Job 42:1-2 ‘Then Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’

Psalm 42:5 ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.’

And we know that all things work together

Yes we know that all things work together

For those who are called

Those who love God

Those who are called

Called to Your purpose

All things work together

All things work together

All things work together

Work together for good

So we lift up our hearts

Lift up our hands

Lift up our hope in You

Though we may not yet understand

We know it’s true

Twila Paris CCLI788682

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Daily Devotion May 14th

THURSDAY 14th

Reading – John 4:1-54

In our devotion on Monday, we looked at the parable of the Good Samaritan, I mentioned a verse from our reading today (v9) that says that the Jews do not associate with Samaritans. In this chapter today, we discover that Jesus practised what he preached in that he was willing to associate with those who his kinsmen would refuse to associate with.

We probably know the story well, having just read it, I don’t need to recount it all but what we will have discovered is that as a result of Jesus being willing to associate with this woman, it led to many more Samaritans coming to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (verses 39-42)

Now this woman was not just a Samaritan, but she was an adulterer, a serial adulterer, that is why she had to come alone to the well, she shouldn’t even associate with her own people, let alone a man who was a Jew! But in God’s plan she had a divine appointment, that would take place, regardless of the protocol or prejudice of the time. It wasn’t by chance that Jesus had to go through Samaria, it wasn’t by chance he sat at the well at the time when this woman would come, it wasn’t by chance that the disciples were not around, it wasn’t even by chance that Jesus was weary, thus needing at that moment to stop and rest. It was all because of a divine timetable. The woman did not know it at the time when she arrived at the well, but she soon discovered that this was a moment that was going to change her life forever. An encounter with Jesus. She went to the well to get her daily supply of natural water, but got far more than she had bargained for, she came away with living and eternal water.

Thinking back to the parable of the good Samaritan, we saw how the Samaritan, who according to the culture of the time, should have walked past the beaten up Jew, but he threw protocol or prejudice out of the window and went to his aid and actually went above and beyond. (Luke 10:34-35) Continually through the life and ministry of Jesus, we read that he also did the same, he was willing to associate with the publicans and sinners, he went to the outcast, he reached out to the helpless and hopeless, he listened to the cry of the beggar, he answered the call of those who were of the upper strands of society or the lower strands, he was willing to go to anyone who called out to him for his help.

Another Scripture we used on Monday, was from the book of James, which reminded us that we should show evidence of our faith by our works, in this same letter James also says that we shouldn’t show prejudice toward anyone, in the ESV I use, the heading is ‘the sin of partiality’ the NIV heading is ‘favouritism forbidden’ the text is James 2:1-9 ‘My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”  have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called? If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.’

We are living in a multi-cultural society and we are living in a depraved society, and although we would not accept so much that comes from other cultures, such as religion and practise etc, and we would not accept the lifestyle of many in society, and although there is so much going on around us that we as the redeemed of the Lord do not like and cannot embrace, we should never be prejudice against individuals, the gospel is for the whosoever, Jesus loves the whosoever, Jesus came to die for the whosoever, and he wants us who are born again, to be the conduits of his love and the demonstrators of his compassion in the world around us to day. It doesn’t mean we should overlook the sin, Jesus didn’t, remember he told the woman taken in adultery, to go and sin no more, but we should seek to love them, and pray for them and look for opportunities in sharing God’s love and compassion, to point them to Jesus, the only One who can enable them to know their lives turned around and to bring their lifestyle in harmony to what the Word of God reveals.

The days are long gone where we could think that we are all chips off the same block.  There is so much variance amongst us in our communities, lifestyle, religion, race, culture, behaviour, but there is still only One true and Living God, there is still only one way to eternal life, there is only one source for eternal hope, and it is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we who know him, need to reveal Jesus to the people around us that together, as they come to believe we will become one in Christ Jesus.

As I close this devotion, we will look at Revelation 5:9-10 as you read it, imagine how different it would read if Jesus had been prejudiced to any who were not a Jew! ‘And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’

Thank God, he found me despite who or what I may have been and that he is no respecter of persons. Thank God he found you and thank God he is still finding. We who are saved know a Man who is the answer to the communities around us, his name is Jesus. Acts 10:34-35 ‘So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’ In the KJV ‘Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.’

I can’t take a heart that’s broken

Make it over again

But I know a man who can

I can’t take a soul that’s sin sick

Wash it white as the snow

But I know a man who can

Some call him Saviour, the Redeemer of all men

I call him Jesus, for he’s my dearest friend

When you feel no one can help you

And your life is out of hand

I know a man who can

I can’t walk upon the water

Calm the dark and raging sea

But I know a man who can

I can’t cause blind eyes to open

Or make the lame to walk again

But I know a man who can

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Daily Devotion May 13th

WEDNESDAY 13th

The Parable of the Persistent Widow – Luke 18:1-8

In our final parable for this week, we have a parable which speaks to us of persistency in prayer. The opening verse tells us who the audience was for this parable, ‘’Then Jesus told his disciples a parable. . .’

When I left school at sixteen I went into the motor trade to train as a panel beater, sprayer and refinisher, I had to learn what was going to be my trade for twenty years from someone who already knew and had practised it. I was very fortunate in that the guy who was going to train me, was very experienced, he was nearing retirement and had spent many years working for Rolls Royce in the paint shop and had had his own vehicle repair business – so when it came to learning from him, he not only knew what he was talking about, but he also knew what he was doing. I spent three years with him, and I can honestly say that that period was the most enjoyable years in my secular employment. I learned from the best, and it became obvious as I progressed into other places of employment, for I had learned skills that I soon discovered others had not been taught.

When we come to our parable today, the disciples were in a position similar to what I was, they were learning, they also spent three years with the Master, and they could say that they had learned from the best! See, when it says ‘Jesus told his disciples a parable, he wasn’t going to teach them something he knew nothing about, he was going to teach them a lesson in prayer and he could teach them the lesson because he himself had learned and practised what it was to pray.

Hebrews 5:17 tells us that Jesus prayed and how he prayed, ‘In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.’ And the gospel writers often mentioned something about Jesus prayer life, Mark 1:35 ‘And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.’ Matthew 14:23 ‘And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.’ Matthew 26:36 ‘Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’

In Luke 11:1 we have a combination of Jesus both praying and then teaching the disciples to pray, they had seen his example and they wanted to follow. ‘Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’  And learn they did from the great teacher. For we find when we come to the book of Acts they continued in the (respectfully I put it this way) trade they had been taught, which included prayer.

Acts 1:14 ‘All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.’ Acts 2:42 ‘And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’

The disciples learned the lesson of the importance of prayer, and the lesson taught in our parable today is of ‘persistent’ prayer. It portrays a widow who keeps pestering a judge to grant her justice against an adversary, now the parable isn’t saying that God will only answer our prayers to stop us bothering him, what it is teaching us is not to give up. I have to admit, that there have been many times when I have agreed to pray for a particular, need, situation or person and I’ve been faithful for a few times and suddenly another matter arises and the original need either goes on the back burner or even gets forgotten about, I’m sure it happens to us all. But there are other times perhaps we have prayed for a need so many times and have then just given up! Jesus when he taught the disciples is also teaching us ‘Don’t give up’.

What are you seeking God for at this moment? It may be for the salvation of a family member, or a healing, it may be for direction, it may be any number of things, do not give up, keep seeking, keep asking.

Matthew 7:7-11 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!’

The clouds have passed away,

I see the light of day,

The sun is shining through dispelling gloom with

hallelujahs;

I know that this is real,

For in my heart I feel,

That my Saviour heard my earnest prayer.

I know He heard my prayer;

He knows my every care,

He gives to me the blessed victory.

Oh yes I feel Him now,

My loyalty I vow,

I know the Saviour (Lord) heard my plea

The enemy had said to me,

That my faith in God was dead

And if the way was rough, He did not care

(That The Saviour did not care),

Thank God (Thank the Lord) it is not true,

He thrills me through and through

I know the Saviour heard my prayer

I know He heard my prayer.

When in the future days the fiery trials blaze

When Satan comes to me to take away my victory;

I can point him to the time when Heaven’s light did shine

I can say He heard my earnest prayer.

I know He heard my prayer;

He knows my every care,

He gives to me the blessed victory.

Oh yes I feel Him now,

My loyalty I vow,

I know the Saviour (Lord) heard my plea

The enemy had said to me,

That my faith in God was dead

And if the way was rough, He did not care

(That The Saviour did not care),

Thank God (Thank the Lord) it is not true,

He thrills me through and through

I know the Saviour heard my (earnest) prayer

I know He heard my prayer.

I know the Saviour heard my earnest prayer.

CCLI788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 12th

TUESDAY 12th

The Parable of the Ten Virgins – Matthew 25:1-13

The placement of this parable that we are considering today is within the conversation Jesus had with his disciples regarding the end times. In the previous chapter 24, we read in verse 1 that the disciples had drawn the attention of Jesus to the temple buildings. No doubt it was a splendid building, but Jesus makes a startling statement to the disciples that suggested that the temple buildings would be destroyed, with not one stone being left on another. We don’t know how long the gap is between verse 2 and 3, but by now Jesus and the disciples are sitting on the mount of Olives, the disciples had obviously been mulling over what Jesus had said and so they ask him, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ The whole of the remainder of this chapter is the answer that Jesus gave to them, which then leads into the parable before us today.

To summarize what Jesus had said in Matthew 24 is not the purpose of this devotion, but what we do learn is this, in his answer Jesus gives sufficient warning that his second coming would be sudden and at a time least expected. (see 24:42 and 44) This is then confirmed at the end of our parable, 25 verse 13 ‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’

Let us remind ourselves today in the midst of the turmoil, trouble and testing that is shaking the world at this moment as a result of the virus, we who are Christians need not fear, God is in control, and these things will happen before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 24:4-8) We need as it were to keep our eye on the ball, be watchful, be ready, for he could come at any moment.

Jesus uses a wedding scene in his parable, ten virgins who were supposed to be ready to go out to meet the bridegroom, we learn that five were wise, five were foolish. What then made the difference between whether they were wise or foolish? It all came down to whether they had oil with them to keep their lamps burning, so that when the bridegroom arrived, they would be ready.

We are told that the bridegroom was delayed, during the delay their lamps had been burning, but for five of the virgins their lamps were running out of oil and they had no spare oil to top their lamps up. They asked the other five to give them some oil, but they had to answer in the negative, for ‘if we give you some of our oil, there will not be enough for us as well.’ So, the foolish five went off to buy some oil, but alas, too late for while they were gone the bridegroom arrived and the wise five went into the feast and the door was shut. On their return the cry was made from the foolish five, ‘let us in’, but it was too late.

The purpose of the parable is to warn us to be ready for when Jesus comes again, by keeping our lamps trimmed and having a fresh supply of oil. If the wick of a lamp wasn’t trimmed regularly, the light would eventually diminish, give off an unpleasant smell and weaken, so keeping our lamps trimmed speaks to me of cutting off from our lives anything that is likely to frustrate our walk and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. There are so many things today that could hinder our walk, or our alertness and our readiness for our Bridegrooms arrival. Lacking oil could be symbolic of several things, it could refer to becoming spiritually dry and barren, through our lack of prayer, fellowship, and the reading of the Word. It could refer to our lack of dependency upon the Holy Spirit, it could simply be our loss of interest and desire for the things of God, even maybe a flirtation with the things of the world! In the parable it led to the five foolish not being ready!

The parable is all about ensuring that we watch our lives in the light of his impending coming, ensuring that we are in continual fellowship and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, being spiritually fed and spiritually alert as we wait for his arrival.

In Luke’s account of the second coming teaching of Jesus, he doesn’t include this parable, but in an earlier chapter he gives a similar warning, Luke 12:35-40 ‘Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’

In bringing this devotion to an end, as you are reading this, are you ready? Is your lamp trimmed and burning bright? Do you have some fresh oil? Are you looking up in readiness for the arrival of our Saviour?

Do you know him personally as your Saviour, if not make yourself ready by allowing him to come into your life as your Lord and Master, come to the cross and repent of your sin, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

A final point, the five foolish virgins could not use the oil that belonged to the five wise virgins. When it comes to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot depend on someone else’s relationship to get us into heaven! Each one of us needs to make a personal decision to trust him as Lord and Saviour.

We will have an old Sunday school classis as our song for today

Give me oil in my lamp,

Keep me burning,

Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.

Give me oil in my lamp,

Keep me burning,

Keep me burning

Till the break of day.

Sing Hosanna! sing hosanna!

Sing hosanna to the King of kings!

Sing Hosanna! sing hosanna!

Sing hosanna to the King!

Give me joy in my heart,

Keep me singing.

Give me joy in my heart, I pray.

Give me joy in my heart,

Keep me singing.

Keep me singing

Till the break of day.

Give me peace in my heart,

Keep me resting,

Give me peace In my heart, I pray.

Give me peace in my heart,

Keep me resting.

Keep me resting

Till the break of day.

Give me love in my heart,

Keep me serving.

Give me love in my heart, I pray.

Give me love in my heart,

Keep me serving.

Keep me serving

Till the break of day.

CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 11th

MONDAY 11th

Luke 10:25-36 – The Good Samaritan

When I decided to look at some of the parables during this week, I set about choosing which ones to look at, but then I had to make a decision on what to concentrate on for each one as it is far too easy to make a devotion into something that becomes an epistle! (Perhaps you already think that 😊)

With this parable it was the introduction to it that caught my attention. Whereas yesterday the parable came as a result to a crowd gathering around Jesus, today we discover this parable comes as an answer to a question an individual asks Jesus. The question was to test Jesus, but Jesus turns it around to bring a challenge to the challenger! The initial question is ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ To which Jesus responds, ‘What is written in the law? How do you read it?’

Who was it that came to Jesus with the question? The ESV says ‘a lawyer’, the KJV and NKJV ‘a certain lawyer’, the NIV and CSB ‘an expert in the law’, the NET and NLT ‘an expert in religious law’, the one who asked the question was an expert in religious law, he would have or should have known the Old Testament law inside out, every jot and tittle, therefore Jesus puts him to the test. ‘What is written in the law? How do you read it?’ The lawyer then answers by using Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 as his answer, ‘And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” (10:27) Jesus then tells him, ‘You have answered correctly, do this and you will live.’ But this wasn’t enough for the lawyer, he continues further, ‘Who is my neighbour.’  We then have the parable which Jesus gave to answer the question.

We know the parable, I remember having to learn it to be able recite it in Sunday school when I was a youngster, to my shame I would struggle to recall it to mind today, but I can still remember what it was all about. A man is on a journey from Jerusalem to Jericho, a journey of about 17 miles when he is attacked by robbers. Three people came along the road, the first two were a priest and a Levite – the third was a Samaritan. In those days, it was the first two who SHOULD have been the ones to have gone to the victim’s aid, but they chose to walk by, it was a Samaritan – an enemy of the Jew, who came to the victims aid. (John 4:9 ‘For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.’) And Jesus asks the ‘expert’ in the law, ‘Which of these three, do you think proved to be the neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?’  The ‘expert’ relies, ‘The one who showed mercy.’ The conclusion to the matter comes from Jesus, ‘You go, and do likewise.’

I wonder how the ‘expert’ felt afterwards? To be told that he would have to love his enemies if he wanted to inherit eternal life!

I commenced by saying that it was the introduction to this parable that caught my attention – ‘a lawyer’ or as the NIV puts it, ‘an expert in the law’ stood up to put him (Jesus) to the test. As an ‘expert’, he thought he had it all wrapped up in his ‘knowing’ the law, but Jesus ends the conversation by reminding him that it is the ‘doing’ that matters as well. Obviously, here in this parable Jesus isn’t teaching that good works will save us, he is saying that if we truly love the Lord our God, etc. which we know from comparing Scripture with Scripture is demonstrated by our yielding to him and obeying him, which includes the outworking of the Cross in our lives, then our faith and obedience will be demonstrated through our works. I wonder if James had this parable in mind when he wrote his epistle, especially chapter 2:22-25 ‘But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.’ And again in 2:14-17 ‘What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’

To sum it up, the ‘EXPERT’ needed to become an ‘EXAMPLE’. As Christians we can become ‘experts’ in many different things, in our knowledge of spiritual things, in our ministries and callings, but what we need to become is ‘examples’ and to ‘excel’ in living out the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Make me a channel of Your peace

Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love

Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord

And where there’s doubt, true faith in You

Make me a channel of Your peace

Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope

Where there is darkness, only light

And where there’s sadness, ever joy

Oh Master, grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of Your peace

It is pardoning that we are pardoned

In giving to all men that we receive

And in dying that we’re born to eternal life

Oh Master, grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of Your peace

Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope

Where there is darkness, only light

And where there’s sadness, ever joy

CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 10th

SUNDAY 10th

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23m- The Parable of the Sower

For some of this week, we will take a brief look at some of the parables of the Lord Jesus. The parable before us today is a well-known story, the sower and the seed. Jesus gave the parable to the crowd who were listening, (v2) but, it seems that he only gave the explanation to the disciples (v10-11).

Let’s set the scene, Jesus had gone to sit down by the sea, I can imagine him just listening to the gentle sound of the breaking waves, watching the sunlight glistening off the sea and the birds diving to catch the fish that swum too close to the surface. A moment of personal space, but not for long as the crowds arrived and so he got into a boat and began to speak to them in parables.

When I read this parable, I like to think (forgive my imagination) that Jesus was not only looking across the crowd, but out beyond them and in the distance he could see a man who had not joined them, he was too busy, he was one of the local farmers and he had work to do. He needed to get the fields planted to enable a harvest in a few months and so the inspiration comes for the parable.

In our modern age it is too easy to think in modern ways, but we need to remind ourselves that this farmer didn’t have a tractor and a seed drill that could cover a vast area each time he drove up and down the field. Back then it would have been an extremely hard day’s work, walking back and forth sowing the seed in the scorching sun. The sowing would have taken place by ‘broadcasting’, that is by taking a handful of seed from a sack or bag hanging from the shoulder and throwing it out across the soil. I remember when I was about 14 years of age, my dad saying to my brother (18 months younger) and I that we were going to spend a few days at a great uncle’s farm near Leominster. We assumed that we were having a few days holiday, but soon learned, not so, (we should have known better) our great uncle had some work that needed to be done and we were going there with the purpose of helping him out. We soon discovered that he needed a field to be planted with grass seed, and no, we weren’t going to be using a tractor and seed drill, we were going to have to do it the old fashioned way by walking in straight lines back and forth using a seed riddle. It was hard work, even for farmer’s boys!

And the sower in our story for today was working hard, up and down, back and forth, sowing the seed in readiness for a harvest.

We know the story well, some fell on the pathway and became food for the birds, some on the rocky ground where the seed had no soil to root, and so it withered and died, some fell among the thorns and thistles and as it began to grow it became tangled and choked, but some fell in the good soil and it rooted, grew and produced a harvest.

We could look at the farmer and think well why was he not a bit more careful with where he sowed? Why did he cast some seed on the pathway, why cast some seed among the rocky ground, why cast it among the weedy areas, why not be more careful? Well, we could ask these questions and never find any answers, but the one thing that is so important in this story is this – at least he sowed and at least out of what was sown he reaped a harvest, some a hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.

Can I use my imagination again? As I look back in my mind and see Jesus sitting in the boat, telling the parable to the crowd that were listening, and at the same time seeing this man sowing, even if some of the seed fell on the path, or in the rocks, or among the weeds, at least some of it fell in good soil and he got a harvest! Is it possible that we can become so content sitting at the feet of Jesus, coming into fellowship week after week, listening to sermon after sermon,(and yes I believe in the importance of and priority of preaching) that we forget to sow! We are wanting to be spiritually fed ourselves (and yes this is vitally important) while at the same time we can easily forget that outside there is a world full of people that are dying in their sin and heading to a lost eternity. I wonder how often we have heard it said, ‘God will bring them in,’ well although this may happen, the reality is God expects us to go and get! (Matthew 9:37-38 ‘Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”’)

We have the answer, it is the seed of the Word of God, the seed that was planted in our hearts however many years ago it may have been is producing fruit, but the same seed needs planting into the hearts of men and women around us. (1 Peter 1:22-25  ‘Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.’)

I have already mentioned that back in Jesus’ day, sowing wasn’t easy, and often we don’t find the task of sowing the seed of the gospel easy, but just as modern methods have made it easier for the farmer today, so modern methods make the sharing of the gospel so much easier today. We have easy accessibility to so many tools to help us in our ways of sharing the gospel.

May God help us individually and collectively to be willing to become sowers of the seed of the Word of God, looking for opportunity to share the good news of the gospel, yes, we may get rebuffed, we might come across stony hearts, or hearts that are full of weeds, but at the same time we will come across hearts that are ready to receive the seed as we plant it. Just remember this, no sowing, no harvest!

In John’s gospel, after Jesus met with the woman at the well, we read of him saying to the disciples, (John 4:35) ‘Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.’ During this difficult few months with the pandemic, hearts have become troubled, people have realised not only how fragile life is but also how precious it is, we need to be praying that one of the outcomes will be that hearts will also be ready to receive the seed of the word of God, that will bring to them hope not only for the here and now, but hope that will last into eternity.

I do not ever remember going back a few months later to see how successful my brother and I had been in sowing the field with grass seed. Our great uncle did not come looking for us so I assume it must have been okay! (and we went back to help him again) The point here, we had sowed but he (our uncle) got the benefit. We may sow but never see the benefit, we may sow and as the seed grows the individual may end up going somewhere else, what matters is that we have sowed. 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So, neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labour. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.’

To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,

Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;

With the might of His power our strength to renew,

Let us do by His grace what He calls us to do.

Work for Him by His grace;

Work thru Him for His praise;

Work with Him all the days;

And work in Him in many ways.

To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;

To the fountain of life let the thirsty be led;

In the cross and its vict’ry our glory shall be,

While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”

To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,

By the pow’r of His Name, with the light of His Word,

All the slaves of the darkness of Satan set free

And His riches of grace in His glory we’ll see.

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 9th

Saturday 9th – Isaiah 40:21-31

We come today to the last verses in Isaiah 40, and today I will bring the devotion from verses 28-31 ‘Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.’

These verses commence with two question, ‘Have you not known?’ and ‘Have you not heard’? Known and heard what? That ‘the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.’ That is good, but listen further, ‘He does not faint or grow weary.’

I want us to think sheep and Shepherd again, and when it says ‘The LORD is . . .’   think ‘The SHEPHERD is and then consider what it says about this Shepherd. ‘He does not faint or grow weary’

You can ask any farmer who works alone during the lambing season and they will tell you that it is hard work and it can be very tiring because you have to be available to watch the flock day and night, it is a 24 / 7 job. And the first night or two are not so bad, but then you begin to get faint and weary through lack of sleep, through toil and hard work and through the demands of needing to give the sheep your full attention. NOT SO WITH OUR SHEPHERD! He does not faint or grow weary and imagine the size of his flock! Imagine also how awkward and time demanding some of the sheep might be and yet he looks after the flock with his full and undivided attention.

Continue the picture of these verses referring to the Lord as our Shepherd, and it tells us that not only does he not grow tired and weary but that he gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength. Taking Thursday’s thought, he sees us when we are like the weak helpless lambs and he is willing to nurture us back to strength and to revive our cold hearts. Without wanting to seem irreverent with my illustrative mind, there have been many times when the Shepherd has needed to wrap me in a hessian sack and warm me up, and bottle feed me till I have gained strength again. Maybe that is where you are today, feeling weak and helpless, maybe low in spirit, allow the Shepherd to nurse you back to strength again, to revive your faint heart and to reinvigorate you in your weariness.

See, there is not one of us who can say we never feel like this, verse 30 says ‘EVEN the youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted.’ We all know periods of weakness and lacking in power or strength spiritually, but our Shepherd in his care for us comes to renew.

The final verse is so well known, ‘but they who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength’ – there is no doubt about it – we need to know what it is to come and to wait in the Shepherd’s presence, come into his ‘farmhouse’, come into the warmth of his love and care and know what it is to mount up again with wings like an eagle, to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.’

Thou Shepherd of Israel, and mine,

The joy and desire of my heart,

For closer communion I pine,

I long to reside where thou art.

The pastures I languish to find

Where all who their shepherd obey

Are fed, on thy bosom reclined,

And screened from the heat of the day.

Ah! show me that happiest place,

The place of thy people’s abode,

Where saints in true happiness gaze

And hang on a crucified God.

Thy love for a sinner declare,

Thy passion and death on the tree;

My spirit to Calvary bear,

To suffer and triumph with thee.

‘Tis there, with the lambs of thy flock,

There only, I covet to rest,

To lie at the foot of the rock,

Or rise to be hid in thy breast.

‘Tis there I would always abide,

And never a moment depart,

Concealed in the cleft of thy side,

Eternally held in thy heart.

How good is the God we adore,

Our faithful, unchangeable friend,

Whose love is as great as his power,

And knows neither measure nor end.

‘Tis Jesus the first and the last,

Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home,

We’ll praise him for all that is past,

And trust him for all that’s to come.

Charles Wesley CCLI 788682