Reflections

‘How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God…’ (Psalm 139:17)

Read Psalm 139 

For many, Psalm 139 is the greatest of all the Psalms. Within these verses we read so much about the omniscience of God, the omnipresence of God, the omnipotence of God and the judgement of God, and if we just pause for a moment every now and then as we read through the Psalm, we cannot help but being overwhelmed by a sense of the sheer glory and majesty of God.

Yet for all that is contained within these words, perhaps the one overwhelming sense we have when we read through them, is that no matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, no matter how dark things may have become in our lives, the Lord is with us – He is always with us.

Over the years some have suggested that this can be somewhat daunting, especially when we read words like, where can I flee from Your presence… But surely for those who have faith in our Lord these words bring such a sense of comfort and reassurance. There may be times in our lives when we do feel like ‘running away’ from everything, times when we just want to be completely on our own. Yet the reality is that we all need somebody in our lives – and so to know the Lord will always be with us, no matter what, is surely a source of comfort and joy.

Psalm 139 speaks volumes of the greatness of God but it also speaks volumes of the greatness of His love for us and if we are to take just one thing away from this wonderful Psalm, it is surely that.

Lord, we give You thanks that You love and care for us in such a way that You are with us at all times, something we are reminded of at this time of Pentecost as we celebrate the coming of Your Holy Spirit. So help us to look to You and to take comfort in knowing that wherever we go and whatever we do, You are indeed always with us. Amen.

Question Of The Day: Who was King Solomon’s Mother?

Read Luke 17:1-10

What do these three passages teach us about how we should live our lives of faith?

• We should never do anything that might cause others to sin. Might any of our actions or behaviour cause people to stumble in any way?
• Forgiveness should be part and parcel of our daily life – we should never refuse to forgive those who wrong us – in any way. How good are we at forgiving?
• We should strive to have real and genuine faith and not simply ‘go through the motions.’ What do we understand by real faith – and how do we exercise it?
• We should always be humble and remember that we are called to serve God – just as He came to serve us through the giving of Christ. How easily do we remember our calling to discipleship and do we seek to serve wherever and whenever we can?

Read Luke 17:11-19

What do we learn in these few verses?

• We should learn to give thanks to God and praise Him for all He has given and done for us. But do we do so as we should?
• We should also acknowledge our need for God to be in our lives? But do we?

Read Luke 17:20-37

What do we learn here about the Kingdom of God?

• That the coming of the Kingdom was a much discussed topic among the Jews. What is our understanding of the Kingdom of God?
• The Pharisees failed to see that in Jesus the Kingdom was upon them. Are we able to see glimpses of God’s Kingdom as we live our lives of faith?
• The disciples had accepted this truth and were now ready for further teaching on the Second Coming, which would be visible for all to see and be in no doubt of. How accepting are we of the teaching of Jesus – of all the teaching of Jesus.

‘May those who love you be secure…’ (Psalm 122:6)

Read Psalm 122

If Psalm 121 was all about the Lord watching over us at all times, this Psalm is about the joy and peace that we can find in that knowledge. Perhaps more than any other of the Songs of Ascent this Psalm is a song for pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate one of their feasts – although it is not clear which one. And note how joyful the Psalmist is at the beginning of the Psalm – he is thrilled and overjoyed to be able to take part in this wonderful celebration. There after he petitions all to come before the Lord in prayer that all may know His peace.

This short Psalm speaks to us in so many ways of the love of God, but it also challenges us in many ways too. Are we as thrilled and overjoyed when we come into the House of God? Do we fervently pray for others that they may know the peace of God? Do we pray for these things in our own lives? I hope and pray that we can say yes to all of these and that we too will be able to rest in the same joy and peace that the Psalmist did.

Lord, we praise You for the joy and peace You bring to our busy and often trouble lives and ask that You would help us to rest in that joy and peace whenever we can. And all this we ask in Jesus name.

Question Of The Day: Who defied her husband to provide food for David’s men in the wilderness?

‘The Lord watches over you…’ (Psalm 121:5)

Read Psalm 121
The fifteen Psalms from 120 to 134 form a self-contained group and at one time may have been a ‘book’ in their own right. They are all called Songs of Ascent and in Old Testament times would probably have been sung by pilgrims of their way up to the Temple at Jerusalem. They are all short Psalms and each one illustrates a great sense of love and reverence for Zion and the Temple itself and a desire for peace and prosperity for Jerusalem and the people of Israel.
In the opening two verses the Psalmist asks the question of where his help will come from and then answers with hesitation that it will come from the Lord Himself. Then as the Psalm progresses we have this wonderful image of the Lord watching over us at all time. He will neither slumber nor sleep and will shield us at all times. From beginning to end, Psalm 121 speaks unashamedly of the Lord as our keeper, the One who watches over us.
As we go about our busy lives each day, with all its highs and lows, how good is it for us to know that we are never alone, that the Lord is watching over us at all times. And in this season of Pentecost as we think of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the One Jesus promised before He returned to His Father in Heaven we are reminded afresh of God’s continued presence with us – what a comfort and a joy.

Lord, we praise You for loving presence with us at all times, day and night, and for comfort we can experience knowing that You are always watching over us. Thank You, Lord…Amen.

Question Of The Day: Who spoke to the Israelites in Babylon and foretold their return home some day?

‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…’(Acts 2:4)

Today is Pentecost Sunday and we rejoice and give thanks for the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit given to us by God in Heaven. However, just as there were some who mocked and made fun of those Disciples back then, so there may be some who will do likewise today. Some who will accuse us of being sad people for believing that foolish nonsense. And that got me thinking, I wonder how many of us here this morning have ever thought of ourselves as being sad Christians…

Perhaps we’re sad because we think that our church is going through a difficult time and all we see before us is a period of uncertainty. Or perhaps we’re sad because we think that our own faith lives are going through a turbulent time. And maybe today in the midst of this pandemic such a feeling would be understandable. Or perhaps we’ve been sad because, notwithstanding what we are going through today, still we look at the world and seem to see so little evidence of God’s Kingdom breaking through. And so we become despondent and down hearted

I’ve no doubt there are times when we could all say that we have been sad Christians…

But what if we think of sad in another way and not that emotional state of mind that we would normally associate that word with. What if we think of sad as a state of being – both living and thriving. What if we think of sad not as a word but as three letters S A D. And what if these actually stood for Spiritually Activated Disciples. Now that puts a whole slant on that original question. So how many of us might consider ourselves as SAD Christians now.

We all know the story of the Day of Pentecost so well. We can perhaps imagine the sound of the wind was reminiscent of Ezekiel’s reassuring prophecy of the valley of dry bones. And as for the flames that rested on each head. They would have perhaps reminded the Disciples of the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites through the desert during the time of the exodus.

But what was the message of Pentecost…

The Pentecost moment was really about a new perception and experience of the presence and power of God’s Spirit…It was the moment these Disciples became spiritually activated. And as these phenomena opened them to the Spirit’s activity, they finally began to understand Jesus’ message of the Reign of God and the Reign of God that was manifest on that day was welcoming in the extreme.

Think back to the Old Testament to the story of the Tower of Babel. Back then arrogant human beings, seeking to put themselves on a par with God had ultimately been separated from one another by the confusion of their language. But here that has been reversed and all barriers are overcome. The people were hearing the same language, so to speak.

And the message is simple and clear – this Kingdom is for all…
Having now been Spiritually Activated, the time had come for these Disciples to go and do the work that Jesus had asked of them – had prepared them for – to take His message far and wide – to all people. But once they had caught this vision those Disciples began to do just that. They began to spread the message to the whole world, including women, slaves, gentiles, soldiers, revolutionaries, and outcasts – all who had previously been considered as outsiders.

All too often today all we seem to hear of is that secularism is on the increase and that people again and again question the very existence of God…And yet, there is no question that God’s Spirit is still very much active in human affairs – if not, the world would be in complete chaos…God’s Holy Spirit hasn’t gone anywhere…it still moves through God’s people…

So maybe what we really need is not so much an outpouring of the Spirit, but more an awakening to the Spirit’s power and presence in our lives and to the welcoming Reign of God. And as we come together on this Pentecost Sunday we must look deep within our hearts and souls and ask ourselves…

Are we willing to allow ourselves to be totally overwhelmed by a vision of God’s radically inclusive Kingdom. And to begin to live it out, through spirit-empowered and enabled acts of welcome, compassion, grace, and service…

Are we ready to have Jesus law of love written on our hearts. To have our way illumined by the spirit’s fire and to be blown into unexpected relationships by the wind of the Spirit. Are we willing to become Spiritually Activated Disciples.

If we can answer yes, even just a little, then be in no doubt, the Pentecost experience will come to us, and we will never be the same. And as always God will be present. Jesus Christ will be present. And the Holy Spirit will again be blowing among those gathered in each faith community. Listen again to the words of Jesus speak and just imagine He is speaking to you personally, “…Peace be with you…as the Father has sent me, so I send you….”

The question is, are we ready to go? Are we ready to go out into the world as a Spiritually Activated Disciple, equipped to be Christ’s hands and feet in this time and place. I hope and pray that we will, as one body, of one mind and in the same Spirit. That this Pentecost moment may indeed inspire and encourage to go and share with others the Good News of Jesus Christ……Amen.

Living God, we remember today how You transformed the lives of Your Apostles, how by Your Spirit you turned their fear and uncertainty into a confidence and faith which knew no bounds. And today we would ask that you would come to us now through that same Spirit. Take our weak and hesitant faith and fill us with unshakable trust in Your purpose for us. Take our oft stumbling discipleship and grant us energy, passion and enthusiasm to proclaim Your Gospel through word and deed.

Take away any fear and anxieties we may have and grant to us Your courage and peace which passes all understanding. That we might use the gifts and talents You have given us in the service of your Kingdom and to the glory and honour of Your name.
Keep us mindful of the part You would have us play in Your will and help us to remember today, not simply all You did once, long ago, but to rejoice in all that You are doing now, and all that you will continue to do, through your Holy Spirit. And pour Your Spirit today upon all who need you most at this time, especially those who are suffering and in pain and those who are bereaved or missing loved ones, both here in our own communities and also throughout your world. And all this we would ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Sunday evening – national call to prayer
As has been the case over the past few weeks, the leaders of all churches have come together to call us to prayer at 7.00pm this Sunday evening. Underneath is a prayer by the leaders of all churches that could be used to begin this time of prayer. The full statement can be found on the Church of Scotland website where it also lists all those leaders whom signed that statement.

We pray:
Almighty God, by your Spirit, you brought order from chaos.
By your brooding Spirit, hovering over the void, you spoke and there was … something rather than nothing.
Create and recreate in and through us, we pray.
Almighty God, by your Spirit, you equipped and gifted and led our ancestors to know you and to serve you and to glorify you.
Continue to equip and enable us, we pray.
And then, Almighty God, as promised by the prophets and as never before, you poured out your Spirit on these first believers – on men and women, on the old and the young; and they were transformed and made alive, as dry bones brought to life.
Pour out your Spirit on us, we pray.
Almighty God, in these turbulent and uncertain times, send us the Comforter, that we might know you to be near. Grant us your healing touch and help us to know the rest that comes from resting in you.
For the loving touch of your Spirit, we pray.
Almighty God, by what seemed as a rushing wind and as tongues of fire you brought your Church to life.
Come to your Church now, we pray, that by the same Spirit we might be renewed and refreshed and remade and revived.
Yes, Lord, grant us a fresh outpouring of your Spirit, we pray.
And all our prayers we offer in the name of our Lord and Saviour, none other than Jesus Christ. Amen.

‘Praise the Lord my soul…’(Ps104:1)

Read Psalm 104 

Like the previous Psalm, this one also begins with a call to praise the Lord but whilst Psalm 103 goes on to tell of God’s grace and goodness Psalm 104 depicts in beautiful language the greatness of God in all creation. It’s possible the author had the story of creation as found in Genesis in mind when he wrote this Psalm as it follows the same kind of order. Yet this Psalm is more than just a praise of nature and all that God has created.

What we can clearly take from these words is that God did not just simply create all things for the sake of doing so, He has created all things that He might reveal Himself to us. In His essential being God is invisible and is outwith time, space and all other parameters as we know and understand them. However, through His creation He has made Himself visible and known that the whole of creation might join in praise of and to Him. Indeed John Calvin once said that the Psalmist, ‘In comparing the light to a robe (v2) signifies that, though God is invisible, yet his glory is manifest’. Yet for all that still the Psalm reveals to us in such poetic language just how much God cares and provides for all that He has created.

For us today this Psalm reminds us that our God is a living active God who has not only created all life but who even now sustains and holds all life in the palm of His hands – and that includes us as human beings. It also provides us with the opportunity to answer those who might question the very existence of God. When we stop to consider all the beauty and glory of creation, the way in which all things have an order and a place, the miracle of new life – how can anyone deny the hand of the Lord in all of this.

As human beings we are the pinnacle of His creation and such was His love for us that He came to walk among us and to redeem us to Himself. So again we should look to join with the Psalmist in his exhortation, Praise the Lord, O my soul…

Lord, we do indeed praise You and lift our hearts and voices to You. May Your glory endure forever… Amen.

Question Of The Day: Which prophet preached to a valley of dry bones?

‘The Lord is compassionate and gracious…’ (Psalm 103:8)

Read Psalm 103

For the most part Psalm 103 speaks of the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God and is in many ways a reminder of all the blessings that we will come to know when we come to the Lord. It consists of three parts, beginning with a personal exhortation to worship, followed by a recalling of all God’s mercies to all His people and ending with a call to the whole of creation to come and praise the Lord. But there are also echoes of Psalm 90 here where we see the transience of our own human existence in comparison to the eternal glory of God. Yet it is perhaps the way in which this Psalm ‘speaks’ to us on so many levels that makes it such a wonderful Psalm.

Have a look at just a few ways in which these words might apply to us every single day of our lives. The Lord forgives our sins, He gracious and compassionate, He is slow to anger, He will not treat us as our sins deserve – only a few mentioned in these verses. Andy why might the Lord behave towards us in this way – because of the great love He has for us. A love revealed once and for all through our Lord and Saviour.

From beginning to end this Psalm speaks to us of the infinite grace of God and when we pause to consider this, surely we can do nothing but sing the words of the well-known hymn inspired by this Psalm, Praise my soul, the King of Heaven…

Lord, we join with all creation in lifting our hearts and voices in praise of You. Each day You pour Your blessings upon us in abundance and we thank You with all our being for Your grace, mercy and forgiveness and ask that You would help us to show these same qualities to all whom we know. In Jesus name…Amen.

Question Of The Day: Which prophet foretold of Israel’s captivity by Assyria.

‘For the Lord is good and His love endures forever…’ (Psalm 100:5)

Read Psalm 100

Psalm 100 is perhaps best known to us all in and through the words of the well know hymn, All People That On Earth Do Dwell. It’s a Psalm that unashamedly tells the whole world that the Lord is God and good and then calls upon us all to come before God in worship. It’s a Psalm that was most probably first sung by the people of Israel during certain aspects of Temple worship and is one of a group of eight often known ‘Royal Psalms’ because they celebrate the sovereignty of God – indeed it is often said that of these Royal Psalms, Psalm 100 is almost like a doxology.

When we look at the Psalm we see that it speaks of two characteristics of what true worship actually involves. The first of these is that worship should be joyful and secondly, it should be universal for we are all God’s people, ‘…it is He who made us…’ and we are all called to worship him, ‘Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, serve the Lord with gladness, come before Him with joyful songs…’ If we acknowledge and confess that God is our Lord and King, if we embrace His one and only Son as our Saviour, how can we approach Him with anything but joy in our hearts?

Of course we will all face dark and difficult days, we will all have days when we feel weighed down with many burdens, but even then, if we remember the words of our Lord, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give your rest…,  then we can some to the Lord knowing that we are His people and that His love endures forever.

But ultimately, we are all called to worship and praise the Lord, not just because He created us and has taken us to Himself to be His own, but because He will always stay with us – and in a few days we will be reminded of this again when we recall the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Disciples at Pentecost, that same Holy Spirit who is with us today. Praise indeed be to the Lord!

Lord we worship and praise You because You alone are worthy of such praise. We give You thanks for Your enduring love and continued presence with us and ask that You would help us to share this love with others wherever we are and at all times. And all this we ask in Jesus name…Amen.

Question Of The Day: What are the eight ‘Royal Psalms’?

Luke 15:1-10

What prompted Jesus to tell these two parables? 

• Was it because Jesus was associating with ‘sinners’ and He saw this as an opportunity to reach out to them?
• Or was it purely in response to the mutterings of the Pharisees?

What was His main message within these two parables?

• Rejoice when you find something that is lost?

What do these verses say to us in terms of our own faith life?

Luke 15:11-31

Why did Jesus continue with this third parable after the first two?

• Was it for the benefit of the Pharisees?
• Or was it for someone ‘closer to home’?

How exactly was the younger son lost?

And what about the attitude of the older son?

• Was it understandable and fair?
• Or was it harsh and unkind?
• Did he respond in love or was he envious or jealous of his brother?

Which of the two sons was really lost?
How we would have behaved in the position of both these sons?
Which son would we say we were most like?
And how does all of this relate to those mentioned in the opening two verses?

Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel is often described as one of, if not, the most joyous chapter in the whole of the Bible. These ‘Lost and Found’ parables in chapter fifteen say everything about the love of God. They highlight that when people are separated from God they are spiritually dead – yet still God’s loves and cares for them, and still He wants nothing more than to ‘find’ them and bring them to Him once again. The story of the Lost Son in particular tells of all the things that can separate us from God, greed, the desire for the worldly things in life, pride, stubbornness and envy, to name but a few. Yet even still, God’s love for us is such that He will willingly welcome us back with open arms, if we would but come before Him in repentance.

‘Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth…’ (Psalm 98:4)

Read Psalm 98

When we look at this Psalm it seems evident that it was written in celebration of some kind of victory by the people of Israel over some enemy, yet there is no certainty as to when that may have been. It may have been a victory over the Egyptians, the Babylonians or some other enemy. Either way it is clear that this victory was achieved by the power of the Lord and prompts the people to sing a new song to the Lord.

However, when we look at the Psalm more closely we see that there are a number of three-fold themes that run through it. The first of these is the idea of God the Saviour, God the King and God the Judge. The people are invited, called upon even, to sing for joy to God their Saviour, to worship Him as their King, and along with all creation pay homage to Him as the coming Judge of all the earth.

Also, the Psalmist’s call to praise here is not just because of God’s mighty acts in the past, they are also evidence of the present on-going reign of God and serve as a pledge that one day His righteousness will be established in all the earth. Indeed, whilst this is not perhaps a Messianic Psalm as such, there are words found here, ‘ all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God…’ that are very similar to those in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 52:10) which would ultimately be fulfilled with the coming of Jesus. And in the final verse we even perhaps catch a glimpse of what will happen when Christ comes again in all His glory.

Lord we praise You that You are Lord of all time and space, and that You are Lord and King over all creation. We too sing for joy with gladness in our hearts for all You have given and done for us and ask that You would help us to walk with You each and every day. And all this we ask in Jesus name…Amen.

Question Of The Day: Which prophet prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem?