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“I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭34‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let us pray.

Lord of all hope may You shine Your grace upon us so that we will not lose sight of Your in our emptiness.
Our hearts and minds are tired and need renewal and rest.
The struggles of others, the manipulations and fears flowing in fresh waters in the society around us is wearing the faithful thin.
Strivings to be honour grow tired in what seems like a waste land of everyday monotony.
Weariness and anxiety overflow into the place that You Lord of made for Yourself in our hearts.
Wash over us with Your life giving Spirit that we may pause and breathe in the freshness of Your faithfulness,
That we might know once again the warm embrace of Your love for us,
That the peace that You have promised would have new life in our tired, stress filled bodies.
We ask for the water of life to quench our thirsty souls so that we might live and love those around us and most of all to love You as we loved You before.
Lord of hope fill us and renew us, breathe Your breath of live into our lives once again.
We pray this in the Holy name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, You see us the hurt that others can’t see.
You see the wounds that haphazard words have caused in the guise of freedom, in the cloak of honour.
You see the actions of love and care that bring hearts to life.
You see the volumes of lives that tell the stories of truth, and shadows of lies.
You hear the whispers carried on the wind of what souls never want to be heard.
You have touched the untouchable and brought undreamt of healing.
You have called us into community even in our broken, pride riddled selves.
Lord, You are our only help and salvation.
Speak to us through our desperation and ground us in Your faith filled life
so that we might have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a life that humbly thrives in You.
We pray this in Your holy name. Amen.

“From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What do you have to offer as a blessing?

For Martha it was her home and her ability to be hospitable and provide for the needs of her guests. It wasn’t flashy, it was honest and needed. Jesus willing accepted the blessing that Martha was offering which if we think about this a little closer, was strange because Jesus was able to give what His disciples needed. What Jesus did was to invite more people into the circle of care and the outward gift of grace. Jesus didn’t have to be there but He was and it changed their lives.

We see this change in a backward sort of way. Martha realizes, backhandedly admits that she can’t do it herself. She needs help. She expects help from Jesus but not exactly as Martha intended. She wanted Jesus to tell Mary to help but Jesus changed it around and said that Martha should sit down. When Jesus said that Mary chose what was better, it was an invitation to take a break and listen to Jesus.

When we come into Jesus’ presence we don’t always know why we came here but we will leave changed.

When we come to ask Jesus for help, He sees deeper into our souls to what we truly need help with.

When we come to Jesus, He gives us the rest and renewal we need to share His blessing with others.

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How would you see yourself in the presence of Jesus?

Would you sit at His feet and listen?

Would you sit there and try and argue with Him?

Would you try to do everything you could to avoid being too close to Him so He won’t be able see who you really are?

Or maybe you would do everything you could to buy Jesus’ approval, show Him what you have to offer, and miss Jesus?

You can see examples of each of these people in the Bible. In Luke 10:38-42 we have clear examples of the first and the last, Mary and Martha. Mary saw Jesus and wanted to be with Jesus and learn from Jesus and Jesus took taught her. Martha felt privileged to have Jesus and His disciples in her house that she didn’t see Jesus. She saw all that needed to get done to please Jesus. It was almost as she didn’t feel worthy enough to be in Jesus’ presence. She was trying to make everything perfect by her own strength and was falling short. The help that she wanted from Jesus was to put her sister in her place. What Martha found out was that Mary was in the place that Jesus had prepared for her. Jesus was not going to send her away. If we look closely at this short section we realize that Jesus didn’t send Martha away either.

We don’t have an ah hah moment like Zacheius had, but it also wasn’t a blatant disregard for Jesus like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son had for his father. Martha isn’t told that what she is doing is wrong or bad but just that it is important to see Jesus, to be in Jesus’ presence and to allow Him to truly speak in to your life. Listening to Jesus starts to reorient people’s lives away from the busyness of trying to please or appease, to being loved and loving.

During this Lenten season are you taking time to be with Jesus or are you trying to do everything you can to please Jesus by avoiding Him? Doing the work that Jesus has given us to do is not bad, unless we are using it as an excuse to avoid letting Jesus into our lives. Don’t just live for Jesus, live with Jesus each day.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let us pray.

Lord of life help us to find Your joy that restores life and hope into broken hearts.
Lord in the morning light the beauty of Your light falls on dull eyes tired from the meaningless of strivings.
Help us to redefine our focus to see the true light of what are lives are to be,
To reach out to our neighbours on the journey of life,
To walk with strangers on the journey of faith,
And fellow sinners seeking grace and forgiveness.
Lord enliven our fragile lives to see again or maybe to truly see for the first time,
The intricate beauties of shared life and grace,
Of renewed breath from deadened lives.
Your faithfulness guides our steps, our sight, our ears, our souls,
Redeeming us from the baseness of our sin drenched hearts,
Raising us to righteous acts of grace.
In You we place our hope, our hearts, our lives.
We pray this in Your name, Amen.

“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, what is our small sacrifice compared to the sacrifice that You have given to us for our very lives?
Your love draws us out of the darkness of our sin tainted souls.
Our riches are shadowed by our brokenness.
We hear You calling to us through the distractions that tempt us, that cloud our judgement.
The ears of our souls strain to guide us back to the sweetness of life that You offer us everyday.
Our outward lives are masks that try to hide our distraught and fleeing hearts.
Our souls earn for You, our lives thirst for the living water,
Sin cannot hold us from Your calling voice, Your words of freedom against the weighing bondage of sin.
The richness of Your grace given through Your sacrifice of life and love.
Lord Jesus, our redeemer, our saviour, the one who frees us to live in this life and the life to come.
Thank-you. We pray all this in Your holy name, the name that is above all names, the name that saves us. Amen.

“Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, to make his mighty power known.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭106‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How often do we lose sight of the love that Jesus has for you because wee are seeking after power, after understanding, we are seeking after ourselves. God’s act of love and salvation is to bring life and to share life. When we look at God making His power known, we see the beauty of His desire to create, to invite people into relationship. Fear is not God’s first course of action. In Genesis God is trying to bring Adam and Eve into relationship, Abraham and Sarah, and countless other.

God’s mighty power is displayed in the baby in Bethlehem, not in the mighty conquest of countries but in what would be the biggest declaration against the brokenness of sin the world has ever heard and seen. Healings, community creating, grace showing, live giving love being shared. Yes God knows how to destroy, yes God can conquer but over and over again we are confronted the reality of God’s love for all of His people and all of creation, and you are part of that too.

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As the church, how do we see ourselves in light of Jesus Christ? We can think very highly of ourselves but we struggle to trust in the power that Jesus has placed in His church. All around us, we see Jesus’ church struggling in many different ways. When we see these struggles, we can start to allow fear into our hearts and wonder if what we have to offer is worth what we think it is. The Gospel we have been given is being challenged by many quarters and some struggle to respond with a message that will be heard. The old methods seem to be falling on deaf ears.

The method’s are changing but the message to be proclaimed is still as valuable and as important today as it was than. The message of God’s love for His people is as important today in a world where there is hatred, human trafficking, homelessness, abuse, belittling, fear, sicknesses, empty promises, and so many others. The message of hope that is given unashamedly to anyone who would listen no matter social standing.

Jesus didn’t limit God’s grace. He instructed His disciples to share it. To help to share hope to hearts that have been darkened by the cancer of sin cracking the world at its seams. what we too often forget is that this message that we are given to proclaim comes with the power of Jesus. It isn’t power that can be harnessed for our personal benefit to be used for our personal gain, it is a power that opens us up to God’s divine grace and life. It leads us in the direction of righteousness and right living with the God of life.

We have this to offer and Jesus has given us the power to share it. Do we value Jesus? Do we value the Gospel? Do we value ourselves enough to realize the deep blessing that we have been given to share and to trust in.

“and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Who has authority over you?

We like to think that we have authority over our own lives and to some extent we do but we need to think about who has authority over us. The authority we have over our lives has, I believe, been given to us by God. Ultimately I believe that God has authority over our lives. This is a hard belief for some people because they see it as limiting their freedom and self determination. Yet when we accept this truth we are opening our selves up to do what Jesus can do through us.

In Luke chapter 9, Jesus gives the disciples authority over much of our natural existence and even the spiritual aspects of our existence. They had trusted Jesus with their lives and was willing to follow Jesus. The gift of authority because they allowed Jesus to have authority over their lives. He then trusted them with something life giving and life changing. They were given even greater freedom because they relinquished their freedom to Jesus.

Whether it is as small and insignificant as bread and fish or a broken life seeking healing, Jesus can take it and do miracles. We are amazed at the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 plus people because of the sheer difference in the numbers but we have to remember that Jesus didn’t take the 5 loaves and 2 fish and turn it into a gourmet meal. He gave people what they needed in that moment, not necessary everything they wanted.

When we allow Jesus to have the authority over our lives that He really already has, it is not about going from rags to riches, it is about living in the reality of faith and the power of God, trusting in Him and giving thanks. What little you have to offer is the beginning of the miracle that Jesus is going to do.

“and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

Let us pray.

Lord of the journey of life, help us to live in the reality of life. Lord we don’t always get what we really want. We live with and create disappointment for ourselves, and for others. The strivings and weaknesses of our living. We have hopes that we too often lose and cannot give up on, yet we struggling to be true to You. In this time of sacrifice, help us to give to You our disappointments. Not to ignore our realities but to trust You to go beyond our limited faith and our focus on ourselves. Lord grant us hope so that we can see beyond our limited experiences to be open relying on You more and more each day. Our disappointments are not the limitings of Your creation but of our focus. When we start to focus on You and the greater picture of what is truly around us. May we see more to life than our limiting perspectives and see the blessings that You have always placed all around us, but our disappointments too often have stolen our focus from You and from the fullness of Your blessing in this beautifully messed up world. We pray this in Your name, Amen.