Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).

Welcome back to the daily proverb!

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Opening

Speak these words out loud:

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, says:
‘In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.’

from Isaiah 30.15

Today’s Proverb

Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.

Proverbs 14.5

What is your relationship to the truth? Another of the common themes in Proverbs is the importance of truth and reliability.

I suspect (hope!) that none of us would perjure ourselves by lying in court or misleading the authorities. But what about those sneaking little everyday lies we tell, when we play fast and loose with the truth – even in little things? What about those ‘little’ cheats ‘that don’t hurt anyone’, about which ‘no-one cares’, or ‘no-one will find out’?

This is not nit-picking; it is important, for four reasons. First, a key principle for Jesus’ teaching is that those who are faithful in little things will be trusted with much: in other words, the way we handle and treat mundane, little, everyday things matters.

Second, the more easily small lies slip off our tongue, the bigger they will get, and we will start to lie and cheat about things that really matter. Slowly, gradually, over time, we’ll find people start not to trust us or what we say. See how Solomon doesn’t simply say a false witness lies – they ‘pour out lies’, they ‘tell nothing but lies’. It rarely starts like that…

Third, the further we get from the truth, the less we realise we are even lying or cheating – and maybe even start to deny we are doing it. This is when we are in real danger, because when someone is convinced they are right, it’s very hard to change their mind.

Finally, Jesus is the truth. If we are to learn from him and be like him, do you think we should lie or cheat – in anything?

Prayers

Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.

Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:

Doug & Irene Dean, Patricia Wood

Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.

Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves, and buy only what they need.

Church Family Prayer

Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

Closing Prayer

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.

Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6

May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.