Lent Day 13

 Praise and thanksgiving are essential in our spiritual life. Praise and thanksgiving bring us closer to God. They lift us into joy and they help us to focus on God’s goodness and His power. 

They are especially helpful when things are not going well, as well as when we are grateful or just want to acknowledge the wonder of God in our life. 

Praising aloud can take many forms, we may praise in tongues and in song or prayer. Praise always takes us away from our small selves to the bounty of God. Singing praise lifts us nearer to God, nearer to heaven and brings us closer to His angels who sing songs of love and praise and are constantly in God’s presence. Shouting aloud our thanks and our praise lifts us up. We feel lighter, happier, joyful, restored and strengthened knowing God is with us. 

It is good to give thanks for all the many blessings of the day, blessings that come from God in our lives. When we start thanking God we discover more and more how much we have to thank Him for. We appreciate alll the things we take for granted, we see God working in ways we may not have been presently aware of. 

Prayer of praise and thanksgiving then is always a wonderful thing in our lives because we find spiritual cleansing, upliftment, renewal. We come close to God and see things more clearly. We become more aware of how much love there is available to us. In every moment how much we are loved and how amazing it is that God does love us. 

Praise God indeed for 
all the many wonders He works in our midst.
Praise and thank God indeed !
Amen .

Lent Day 12

 

How do we make ourselves holy? 

This is the question? 

Perhaps we are made holy through our relationship with God. As we grow in right understanding with Him so we find healing and love filtering into all the places that feel unholy within us. 

Perhaps we are ashamed to come to God, perhaps guilt is persecuting us over past actions or wrong thoughts. Asking for healing, asking for forgiveness, asking for God to lead and guide us, these are some of the ways we can hopefully make ourselves holy - by listening out for God, by hearing His Word, by asking for mercy and being merciful in turn. 

We must not forget that we cannot make ourselves holy in the absence of God in our lives, because Holiness is of God. 

This then seems a call to acknowledge God in our lives and to move towards Him, to not be afraid or ashamed, but to remember that God is good and His love knows no bounds. A call to holiness then is perhaps a call to love - to love and be loved. To say yes to God and then to trust that your life will be blessed and become holy as you journey with Him. 

This then is the call for Lent.
Let us journey together with God.
Let us take a step closer.
Let our lives be filled with holiness
which flows from the love of God 
who is with us.
Amen.

Lent Day 11

 

It is incredibly reassuring to think that nothing is impossible to God, for with God all things are possible. It helps us to see that we need God, for He brings us to life. 

Ezekiel 37, reminds us of the Power of God to breathe new life in to us. Whatever part of ourselves feels old and dried up, dead and without life, that part can be touched by God, breathed into and brought to life again. We must therefore be encouraged, especially if we struggle with aspects of ourselves that seem not to be alive with the spirit; parts of ourselves that cannot find joy, feel unable to serve God, lack the energy to grow and change.

We must remind ourselves that God is our life and our strength and we can rely on Him to bring about newness of life and energy. We hold on to the hope that He can and will renew us with His Spirit. 

And when we feel fully alive, we will be utterly alive with God’s Spirit, joy indeed. And what will we not be able to do then? 

Therefore this is a message of hope and joy, a call to renewal in the life of God. 

Let us sing, dance and shout praise for the power and possibility 
God brings to us. 
Let us be renewed in His Spirit
and serve Him anew. Amen

Lent Day 10

 Lent can be a time of great difficulty and struggle, when things often seem to go wrong for us. It can feel like a real assault. It is important then, at such times, to turn to God and implore His help. Fear can often mask the way to God. Fear can make us feel very small, helpless and alone. It is at such times that we must remember God’s promise to be with us and save us. He gave us our own special prayer to pray; the prayer of the Our Father. 

Never forget also, the angels and Archangels. We have our own special Guardian Angels to protect and guide us, give us safe passage through the world. The Archangel Michael is a powerful protector and one who can help us and save us, through God’s good grace. 

Then we can know that we are never alone; that God will deliver us from all evil and His Light and goodness shine through every difficulty and nothing can stop this. 

We can give praise and glory to God for every outcome held in love. This is God’s victory that He sent His only begotten son to triumph over all evil. Therefore if we stay close to Him we are safe and we are secure. 

Let us remember God’s goodness
Let us remember we are safe
because we are held in His Power and His Love 
and Christ has triumphed for
ever and ever against all that is evil.
Amen.

Lent Day 9

This seems like an appropriate contemplative prayer for Lent, which is often a time of struggle and journey spiritually. Hopefully it will lift and strengthen, comfort and give hope and trust in the journey.

 Put Out into the Deep

Put out into the deep, dear friend.

Put out deep and trust in the Lord

Immerse yourself in His Spirit

For you will then travel a new path,

You will find a new way,

Abundant with Love

Guided by Truth

Inspired by His Wisdom,

For, He says,

My Way is always Light.

My way is always True.

My Way is always Love

And above all, My Way is filled with Mercy.

Therefore feel safe as you journey.

Be of good peace in your heart.

Trust in that which is yet to come.

Be filled with compassion for each other.

My Love knows no bounds.

Remember that I am always with you

And thus, you cannot fail to find me.

So put out into the depth of your own heart, dear friend

And Know that I am with you.

Amen

Lent Day 8

 

Lent is a time to ask for forgiveness.

And when we call to God and ask him to forgive us, we know that He will hear us - for He is all mercy and all forgiving. This is such a wonderful aspect of God - that we can be forgiven. 

And forgiveness brings us freedom, freedom to be at peace, to be healed, to love and be loved. Solomon in all his wisdom knew how essential it is that we ask for and find forgiveness. Both are important and even more so is our need to be heard when we ask. 

How wonderful and amazing that God hears us, that He is listening to us and that He cares and is able to forgive us. 

How important then it is to try and act accordingly... 

...to listen to those who call to us and ask our forgiveness, however small the voice, may we be listening out for the request and may we too be able to find the mercy that leads to freedom and healing for us all. Amen.

Day 7

 

When things are difficult it is a great help to praise and worship God because it helps us remember His power and His faithfulnesss to us. 

It is wonderful to remember always that none is more powerful than God, therefore evil cannot triumph. When evil threatens us we need to call on God’s Holy Name to remind us of His Truth and to know that the power of Goodness is triumphant. This is fulfilled in the Gospels by the coming of Christ when He takes all sin upon Himself and even death itself and holds it all in His love and mercy that all may be saved and have life. Praise God indeed. 

It is clear that God’s will is to save and save He will when we call upon Him especially in faith and trust. 

God’s will is always love and mercy. What a comfort that His will is always to save each one of us. What a comfort to envision the Good Shepherd who saves all His sheep and will not leave one to stray without going after it to save it. 

Always again and again, we see the amazing way Jesus Christ fulfils the message of the Old Testament by a more personal way - the way of the Son of Man. The Living God comes to be with us and opens up new meaning, shows ever more wonderfully the fulfilment of the Word of Yahweh spoken in the Old Testament. 

What joy we must have when
we understand that God
loves us and wants us
to be safe with Him.
Glory to God indeed.

Lent Day 6

 Lent Day 6

The journey through Lent can often feel like a desert experience, especially this year as we are all living through a frightening Pandemic. Yet it is here, in such a barren place, that God speaks tenderly and mercifully to us. 

Difficulties and problems always seem to abound in our lives at this time of year. The sense of being in the wilderness is not new to us, though in truth it does not necessarily get easier to bear, the longer it goes on. Yes, if you have dwelled in total isolation for a while, there becomes a familiarity and a way of learning, to an extent, to cope with it, but in the desert, there is also hardship, there is emptiness, there is silence. 

Here we become totally open to God and reliant on His message of hope and perseverance. Here, we can become more aware of His goodness and mercy, we can rely upon Him to hear our need and speak to us and lead us on, for that is also what Christ did. In that He leads the way and reveals to us the importance of our spiritual lives to sustain us during the challenges and temptations that we may endure in the wilderness. 

It is here, in the bleakest of places, that we can hear Him most clearly and come to rely on Him totally. This is where trust and faith grow and expand. This is where we become fully alive in Spirit. This is where we worship God and find Him truly with us. This is where our relationship with the Trinity can grow and develop.

So no matter how hard the journey through Lent is and no matter how dire our own particular life is, we can know that God has called us, that He wants us to be reliant upon Him and that He will hear us clearly and respond lovingly. And when things are difficult, for it is not always easy in such a hard and barren wilderness, we can turn to God in prayer and contemplation and ask that His Will be done, for that Will is always Love and Mercy and thus it can be trusted.

Therefore do not be afraid to enter into the wilderness. Be not afraid of the seeming emptiness and disorientation that it can bring, but rely on the bounty of God who longs for you to be with Him and trust Him.

He will lead us. 

He will guide us.

He will hear us when we call,

for He has called us to know Him more.

Let us give glory to God then. Amen.

Lent Day 5

 

Lent Day 5

We do not need false idols, for we have the true presence of the living God, with us. God has made this very clear. He is our God, eternally present and available. We need nothing else, when we truly walk with God. He makes it a personal relationship that we can find in Him. He offers Himself to us, with open heart. How amazing is that? What more could we possibly want?

It is too easy to turn away from the spiritual, to make the things which seem immanent and important more important than God. Let us learn, then, to maintain our focus on God, to develop our spiritual insight to sense God’s presence here and present with us. This leads us to Trust, to Faith. This leads us to goodness.

Let us then turn to God who says, "I am", as Christ says to His Disciples in the New Testament, because "I am" is with us now and forever, in every moment and leads us all the way to heaven.

May we find peace in our hearts as we turn our thoughts and our contemplation more towards the living God this Lent. Let us reject all false idols and focus our spiritual eyes on the true Presence of the One who is God and who loves us all. Amen.

Lent Day 4

 

Lent Day 4

How often does God call to us? How often do we pass by and not know that God is calling us personally?

We can live close to God our whole lives and even do His will, even minister to him through our compassion and goodness, yet not necessarily recognise that that is what we are doing. 

We may be good, yet we do not know or realise that the source of that goodness is God. God therefore calls to each of us, bidding us to come closer, to open our spiritual eyes to what He wants to show us, to open our spiritual ears to hear Him speak. He wants us to open our hearts, to come to know him better. He wants us to draw close.

Perhaps we are not open to listening to God directly, yet God speaks to us in many ways, through Bible verse, spiritual direction, prayer answered, other people, a Word of Knowledge. Perhaps we think that He does not speak in a direct fashion, that visions are rare, compared to the days of The Old Testament .

Yet listen, faithfully and openly and you might hear Him call you. You can trust that the voice is of God, for God will always speak the truth. You will learn to feel and know its rightness in your whole being, if it speaks true, for a Word of God is pure love. So listen for His call.

Let your heart respond with joy that he is calling you. And indeed answer with love and faith and all your days will be blessed.

Come listen to God and especially this Lent let us listen intently to his call and draw closer.

For he speaks indeed and calls us by our names.

Day 3 of Lent

 

Lent Day 3

What is  truly amazing and comforting for us, is to know that God has allowed us to draw near, for He has chosen us. How amazing that we, so small and often helpless creatures, are loved by God and chosen to know Him. For we are all chosen, because Christ chooses us, as he affirmed when he said, ‘you did not choose me, no I chose you’ John 15:16

How wonderful it feels to recognise this choosing by God. How precious we must each be to Him!

What strength and reassurance we can gain from this knowledge, for even if we feel not good enough or battered by life or the way ahead seems unclear, we can hold on to that truth that God knows us, loves us and chooses us. As we enter another Lent, we can hold this message in our heart's so that on difficult days and in struggling moments, we can keep this truth alight, somewhere in our hearts and find the hope and blessing it brings us, in order to keep going forward on our own unique holy path.

How powerful a message is that?

We are all bid to come close to God. We all have the gift of life waiting to be received.

What an amazing gift beyond words and joy to know that God consecrates us all by His beloved Son's actions and presence and allows us all to be one with the Father and the Son, through the power of the Trinity.

Let us then step closer to God, to know by God's grace that we are chosen and we are loved.

Praise God indeed.

The Second day of Lent

Christ brings life to all. This is His promise and our hope.

Yet first we must seek him. The choice is ours. God speaks to us. He gifts us this promise of life if only we seek him. And Lent is the perfect time to journey deep into seeking God. And as we seek, so we shall find, for this is also promised by Christ himself in the Gospels.

And what greater gift will we find than the gift of life, which is fulfiled and given freely through the path of seeking. As we seek we grow in understanding of the way to life. As we seek God we find Jesus, his Son, waiting with outstretched arms to love us and heal us and give us the Light of Life. 

He leads us on a mystery entering ever more deeply into relationship with the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we move towards and through the Passion and Resurrection, life is more and more truly revealed to us.

What a gift we receive by choosing to say Yes to God's offer. All we need do is seek.

Ash Wednesday

 Ash Wednesday: The first day of Lent

Can we ever be happy if we cannot feel Christ’s light in our lives? When we feel cut off from it, we are limited, our perceptions and knowledge are limited, we can feel lost and alone. This is when we need to seek Christ’s light shining within us, in order to remember the truth that He is with us always, despite our ability to always feel this is so.

True happiness comes then, from trusting in His light and from following God, where He leads us, even if that is unknown. God will always bless us and help us especially if we trust in him.

So let us never accept a life where Christ’s light does not shine, yet if darkness, difficulties and fear seem to obscure our view, then is the time for courage. Courage begets hope and hope begets trust. Let us always trust then, that we will hold steadfastly to trust in God's aid in all circumstances; in the possibilities we cannot always see.

God will always lift us and help us, in some way. And remember that God has also given us an angel to guide and protect us. God's angel gives us courage to say "Yes. I will follow Him. "

Trust in the Lord; His mercy and His love. 

Let us always seek the light even if it is temporarily obscured. The inner light of God is always there. Amen

 Spiritual Refiections: Living the Holy Way through Lent

We hope to publish reflections through Lent, starting with Shrove Tuesday.

Entering into Lent: Shrove Tuesday

Lent is a time where God bids us look at our relationship with Him. It is easy to talk about God, to say His name and to appear to observe ritual and obey God’s law.....

....yet Lent is a time to truly examine our hearts, to see how much we have really allowed Christ to enter within, whether we have allowed love to fully take seed and grow in us; whether our practice is congruent and true to the living Light of the World or whether we pay more lip service to God’s Word, than being fully alive in the love of the Awesome Mighty Trinity?

This is a time when we can reflect upon how closely we have allowed Jesus to be with us, in our daily lives? Have we let Him in? Can we let Him come closer and do we dare to take the risk of being truly seen. Are we afraid that He might find us wanting, sometimes petty, shallow, insincere or ineffective, grieving, angry, hurt, despairing, fearful or lost in self-importance?

Yet if we dare to take another step toward Him, even if we are not as perfect as we would like to be and even if He finds these things hidden within us, yet still He will make His home with us and He will let His light shine on the truth of our loveliness. For He has told us so and that that is the truth at the centre of our being; we are lovely, for He has made us so and His light will shine on all hurt and all untruth within us and without us, until it is vanished and love alone remains.

Then our worship will be true and then we too will shine in the world for Him, for He will be close indeed and nothing will separate us from that Love. Joy indeed. Praise God for the journey of Lent.

Let us dare to look and see the Truth, that we are loved by Him and we are lovely! Amen

I ask for Wisdom

I ask for wisdom and knowledge, gifts of the Spirit to help me know the Truth in all aspects of my life :

Truth that is radiant

Truth that is pure

Truth that brings hope

Truth that brings joy

This is what I ask today. That I can see and know the truth of things both of the world and spiritually; between the relative truth of things and His Absolute Truth and the wisdom to discern the difference.

Truth is knowing God. God brings us to a place of clear sight. He helps us to feel the goodness that emanates from Truth. He asks us to live in a more congruent way through the validity of truth. He helps us to speak the truth, to stand up for Truth, even if it makes us uncomfortable. In truth to live without it , is a far more uncomfortable, unpleasant place to be.

I ask to shine the Truth today and to speak out. I ask to flow in all goodness that emanates from this knowledge and to be strengthened by my stand.

A reassuring message

At this time of struggle, with so many difficult issues to deal with especially the threat of catching a life-threatening, invisible  virus, it is important to try and hold on to hope. Praying can be a comfort, though we do not always know how those prayers are answered or necessarily have confidence that they have been heard. It is reassuring at such times of doubt or stress or great need, that you can turn to the messages Jesus himself gave us whilst on the Earth.

We trust in His Word, for it is wholly good and lifts our hearts. He tells us to pray in His name. He reassures us that He had to leave us on Earth so that the Holy Spirit can come and be with us and bring us His messages (John 16) and He reassures us that if we pray in His name the Father will give us what we ask for. What hope we have when the Holy Spirit comes to be with us and inspires us in our prayer. What trust we have that we are surrounded by the love of the Father. What grace is upon us if we pray in absolute faith in the Name of Jesus.

So what does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?  This is surely something to contemplate deeply.

We believe it is to truly enter into the energy and love of Christ; to be in oneness with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to come from spiritual discernment in prayer, to be humble of heart and flow with love not fear. It may take us a life time to truly learn how to pray in His name, allowing the power and love of all Three to flow through us and touch the situation or person we pray for. 

It is surely a journey of discovery, how to truly pray in the name of Jesus and allow your own self to be open fully to the Heart of Love as you pray. All pride and ownership must be let go of then, for it is truly God with you, working through you, bringing the miraculous to the the impossible, to the hopelessness, to the helplessness of our lives.

We must each find our own way to live in Christ, to immerse ourselves in the Trinity, to pray not as we want, but as He is. Amen

The Grace Charity for ME, sharing our prayers

 https://www.thegracecharityforme.org/prayer/

We are delighted that the Grace Charity continue to use our prayers in their monthly prayer service. See the above link for this months prayer service. We are also so grateful for their ongoing prayers for healing and protection.

You are gone - a poem

You Are Gone

You are gone

Yet not gone

Not here

Yet present

Dust

Yet spirit

Dead

Yet light

I do not feel

You as gone

I sense your 

strength

I see your

Light

I am comforted

By your

Love

Therefore 

To me

You are more here 

Than not here.

Death of a friend

 It is always a massive loss when a long term friend dies. The days are filled with odd memories and flashes of images and conversations, long forgotten, suddenly important once more. Sadness can overwhelm you at unexpected moments.Though we believe that the person who dies is held lovingly in the Heart of the Trinity, it is still necessary to grieve the physical loss. It is here that we turn to God in moments of grief or despair, trusting in His unfailing Love to sustain us and carry us through, believing that His Light will remind us of all that is good still remaining in the world to bless our days.

What can I do

When all is taken from me,

Even hope?

I can wait.

I can trust.

I can remain open

To goodness

And a perfect way forward,

Within the darkness,

Set aside only for me,

That will ignite a tiny flicker of light

In my heart

And set me surely on a new path 

forward.

Amen

May every blessing ever made

Reach you in your distress 

May every blessing sent to you

Curl round you in a loving embrace

May every blessing ever spoken

Whisper words of love and strength

To carry you through the bleakest days

May every blessing bless you now!

Confidence in prayer in desperate moments

 

The one thing I hold on to, even though I may feel like despairing, like everything is hopeless and the way through a difficult moment or situation is hidden or feels completely out of reach, is prayer.

Prayer may be desperate. It may be spoken in agony. It even be uttered in doubt. It may be whispered or shouted, angry, hurt or hopeful. Whatever the circumstance and however dire things seem, it is my experience through 27 years of continuous, profound suffering, that prayer will bring comfort and a spark of light, no matter how tiny, can be ignited in your heart and mind once more. For Christ has said He will be with us till the end of time. He has said before Abraham ever was, I am. What a powerful, awesome affirmation of his constancy and His presence with us.

And so I cry out, deep in the night, in the pain of paralysis, in the  desolation fear can wreak upon me and I find His Light is there, ever gentle, ever strong, ever true.

When I pray for myself, I know, deep down that He hears me., that  something will shift, that hope will reignite, that comfort or consolation will somehow come, that I will get through the most desolate of moments.

When I pray for others, I feel the Power of the Holy Spirit flowing through me. The prayer is tangible, real, light-filled, strengthening. I know it is heard and that somehow that energy of caring has touched them. We can never know what will happen, how prayer will be answered, yet my sense of  His presence gives me confidence that His Light has entered the situation.

When I pray with my husband, I have confidence in the promise God spoke: when two or three are gathered together, He is with us. Together we reach out in love through prayer to touch the whole world, we listen for His Word, we hear Him speak in our hearts and are reassured of His Way, immersed in the Love of the Trinity.

A prayer from a friend lifted us up

 

When things are tough and everything seems to be extra stressful and nothing is going quite right, it is wonderful to receive kind words of comfort and support from someone sending you a sincere and deeply moving prayer.

Today our lives were brightened by the kindness and thoughtfulness of one man, a kind friend,  hearing our need and reaching out with a personal prayer. 

Father God, I pray that you will wrap your loving arms around Linda and all those who are suffering in the same way she is.

Jesus, shepherd of our souls, the one in whom is all healing power, reach out and touch each one and let them know your healing flowing through them.

Spirit of comfort, comfort Linda and those who are suffering like her.

Lord, I ask you to strengthen Greg and all those who care for their loved ones who are suffering. Give them your patience, kindness and wisdom. Strengthen them when they feel weak and don't know what to do. Be the Rock they can lean on. Comfort them and give them hope.

Amen.

And so perhaps we can all be inspired similarly to reach out with unexpected kindness . You never know the difference that you will make.

Broken in pieces

 Broken in pieces

This is a song based on a poem my wife wrote about how continual repeated paralysis affects her. Called, broken in pieces, it may be that others can better relate to the words, too, for life is broken and altered by the Pandemic and much feels lost. Sometimes it helps to express the loss and the impact of such things. Always we hope that God is watching and will lift us up and heal and guide us. Amen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAPPKN3Ngxw

When we struggle

 What do we do when we are struggling? It is so easy when things keep going wrong or nothing seems to change for the better  or circumstances worsen unbearably, to feel helpless, hopeless, despairing. This then is the time to turn to the Lord and ask for His help. Call His Holy name. Pray to the Spirit to come in Power, lift up your spiritual eyes to see Him more clearly. Banish all fear and hopelessness and place your heart in trust in God to bless you and come to your aid. 

Focusing on fear and negative imaginings only worsens your sense of disempowerment and abandonment. Focusing on goodness, light, love and the presence of God with you must surely touch your heart in a new way and give you strength. Amen.