Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).
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Opening
Speak these words out loud:
As for God, his way is perfect: the Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
from 2 Samuel 22.31
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.
Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a dish of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred. (NIV)
Better to be poor and fear the Lord than to be rich and in trouble. Better to eat vegetables with people you love than to eat the finest meat where there is hate. (GNB)
Proverbs 15.16-17
The double-play continues today. And, apologies to non-meat-eaters… for Solomon even eating vegetables is better than dining in a room filled with hate…!
Solomon continues the theme from verse 15. True happiness / content / joy comes, not from great wealth or possessions, but life with God at the centre: love one another and ‘fear the Lord’ (i.e. ‘respect and revere’ him, not ‘be afraid of’ him).
Our culture teaches us that we never have enough. Decades of advertising have bred in us a dissatisfaction with what we have – distracting us from the things we should be dissatisfied with: the way things are, our character, injustice, and so on.
When it comes down to it, what do you really value most? Would you be happy to give all that Bible / faith / prayer / church stuff a miss, if you had to choose between losing that, or losing your house?
I wonder… mercifully God doesn’t call most of us to give all that up, but he does call all of his people to put his kingdom and his righteousness first. This is the way he made us to live our lives, and it is the only way to true contentment and joy – not the accumulation of more stuff (even steak).
Do you dare believe that?
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:
Roger Myring, JoAnne Griffin, Joyce Madeley
Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.
We also pray for: Knit & Natter
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.
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.