‘Freely you have received; freely give…’ (Matthew 10:8)
Do we share with others the love of Christ as we should? Do we share with them the Good News of salvation? Do we offer the same forgiveness the Lord offers to others? Do we show the same grace and mercy the Lord shows to us? ‘Freely you have received; freely give…’
‘Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name…’ ( Psalm 96:8)
According to the shorter catechism our chief aim is to glorify God. The question is, how do we do this? The short answer; by seeking as best we can to live our lives in the way He showed us to and offering care, compassion, love, kindness and forgiveness to all, to the glory and honour of His name.
‘Why are you afraid; have you still no faith…’ (Mark 4:40)
Is this a question our Lord could ask of us? If so, how might we reply?
‘Call to me and I will answer…’ (Jeremiah 33:3)
What a privilege and joy we have, to know that whenever we call on the Lord that He will hear and He will answer – what a comfort to know. However, we must never forget that the Lord may not always answer as we would wish – but always as He knows best for us. So why not take some time now to call on the Lord and share with Him all that is in your heart.
‘Behold, God is great…’ (Job 36:26)
How often, I wonder, do we stop to consider the greatness of God – His wisdom, His holiness, His might, His mercy, His love – yet still He loves and care for us so completely. Praise be to God!
‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do…’ (Luke 23:34)
Forgiveness lies at the very heart of the Gospel message. Through the sacrifice of our Lord we are all offered forgiveness, for the sins we have committed and are yet to commit, through faith in Him. Yet as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, we too are called to forgive those who sin against us. So ask the Lord today for His grace that we may act towards others as He would have us, showing grace, mercy, forgiveness and love to all – including those who have sinned against us.
We are now in level 1 in the Government’s Tier System which means that once all the appropriate Risk Assessments have been carried out we will be allowed to sing during worship. However, we still have to socially distance in church and we do still have to wear face coverings, even when singing. Both Kirk Sessions will be discussing this at their meetings next week and more will follow after this.
‘Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God…”‘ (Mark 11:22)
What is faith? What does it mean to say we have faith? Questions such as this have been pondered over and discussed by many over the years – and still are today. Hebrews chapter 11 talks of faith as being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see, before going on to give examples of Biblical characters who demonstrated such faith. But what does this mean for us as we live our lives each day?
‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever…’ (Psalm 89:1)
How often, I wonder, do we stop to consider each day just how great the Lord’s love for us is. A love so great that He would come and live among us, take our sins and sorrows upon Himself and offer up His life for us. Thank you Lord for love such as this and help us to share this with others in all we say and do.
‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest….'(Matt. 11:28)
We all, each and every one of us, have our burdens to bear and sometimes they weigh upon us so much that we stumble in our following of the Lord. But if we hold on to our faith and come to Him, Jesus can help bear that burden and give us some rest.
