Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.
Matthew 10: 26-31 ‘Whom to Fear’
26 ’So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Our Lord often told his disciples not to be afraid. He was well aware of the concerns and worries that come to us as we live in this imperfect world; that we will often find ourselves in situations which trouble us, and he reassures us that our Heavenly Father knows and understands. Luke’s gospel records this saying of Jesus as “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?” (Did we imagine that special offers were invented in our time by supermarket bosses?!)
Underlining his point, Jesus added that the very hairs of our heads are all numbered. Amazing hyperbole! God, creator of all the vast expanses of universes known and unknown to us; the Lord of time and eternity, has each and every one of us in his care. It matters to him about YOU. In a catchphrase of a few years ago ‘how about that then’!
This Margaret Rizza hymn expresses this beautifully:
In our hearts and in our thinking,
in the longing and the dreaming,
in the yearning of our heartbeat,
Creator God, you are there.
In the love for one another,
in the sharing of our being,
in receiving and forgiving,
Creator God, you are there.
In our joys, our hopes, our healing,
in awakening to revealing,
in your call and our responding,
Creator God, you are there.
In our prayer and in our service,
in our praise and in our worship,
in your love that is eternal,
Creator God, you are there.
Prayer:
In the name of Jesus who taught us that we are precious in your sight,
we commend to your loving care all in need of reassurance today,
and all in special need of your blessing.
Thank you, Lord. Amen.
Address and Prayer © 2020 Hazel Blake.
Image from www.freebibleimages.org a Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing.
Hymn words quoted are Words and Music by Margaret Rizza © 1999 Kevin Mayhew Ltd, Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW.
A printable version of this Daily Devotional can be downloaded from here
All material within this order of worship is reproduced by permission under CCL 1226356