Sue O’Donnell. 13.03.21
“The reason why God’s servants love creatures so much is that they see how much Christ loves them, and it is one of the properties of love to love what is loved by the person we love.” (St Catherine of Siena)
Forgive us, Lord.
Forgive our failure to:
Love sincerely;
share, to reach out;
help those in need;
support the sick;
visit prisoners;
feed the hungry;
encourage those who seek to know Jesus;
offer a home to refugees;
communicate with the stranger;
live selflessly;
be generous when called for;
forgive offences;
forget the harm done to us;
let go of resentment;
accept those fallen from grace;
pray daily;
offer thanks for daily blessings;
worship on a Sunday especially;
support charities;
be inconvenienced;
strive after holiness;
support any in need;
comfort the bereaved;
repent of our failures;
make good spiritual progress.
“May You be blessed and revered, Lord, God of our ancestors, may Your name be held glorious forever.” (Daniel 3 v 26 TNJB)
Deny ourselves to benefit others;
fight spiritual battles;
encourage each other;
love as we like to be loved and respected;
find joy in daily life;
pursue peace.
Forgive our failure to:
support Christian faith by word and deed;
seek renewal of our life style through Christ Jesus;
call on the Holy Spirit, abiding by His will;
love, honour and delight You, our Father;
persevere to overcome faults;
feel sorrow for all sinfulness, ours and the worlds;
seek mercy;
live by forgiveness;
failure to support others in whatever way we can;
share the world’s rich resources;
pray for each other for the urgent needs of the world;
offer congratulations for success merited;
seek grace in all its forms;
speak out in support of our faith;
compromise which takes us off faith’s track;
share Your wonders and marvels, Lord;
enrich each other’s life by being watchful, hopeful and joyful;
be empowered by the Holy Spirit;
safeguarded and guided by the Holy Spirit;
respect the Holy Spirit as Advocate, Paraclete and Helper;
remaining alert and receptive to the Holy Spirit;
Foregoing the power of prayer.
“Surely the LORD’s mercies are not over, His deeds of faithful love not exhausted; every morning they are renewed, great is His faithfulness! The LORD is all I have I say to myself; and so I shall put my hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3 v 22, 23, 24 TNJB)
“Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, since wisdom and power are His alone. It is He who controls the procession of times and seasons...who confers wisdom on the wise and knowledge on those with discernment...” (Daniel 2 v 20, 21, 22 TNJB)
“May You be blessed and revered, Lord, God of our ancestors, may Your name be held glorious forever,” (Daniel 3 v 26 TNJB) for You are ever mercifully kind, forgiving and loving.
“For You are upright in all You have done for us, all Your deeds are true, all Your ways right, all Your judgments true.” ( v 27)
How mercifully You look upon us, not judging us as failures because of our sinfulness, but having redeemed us by the blood of Christ Jesus, shed for us.
Your plan of salvation at the † is truly most wondrous. The price of our sinfulness paid, atonement made by our holy Brother, You now consider us as made righteous.
You have not treated us as our sins deserve, not meted out an eternal punishment, the hell of being separated from You, a condition of eternal sorrow and suffering.
“Yes, we have sinned and committed a crime by deserting You, yes we have greatly sinned; we have not listened to Your commandments, we have not observed them, we have not done what You commanded us to do for our own good.” (v 29, 30)
I am truly sorry for my part in this and I ask forgiveness. I feel saddened by the sins of the world in general as we have become an increasingly secular and hedonistic society. I ask forgiveness. Our history of failure is serious.
It is so serious, it took the holiness of Christ Jesus being sacrificed, the shedding of His blood as punishment, to redeem us and restore us to favour. How truly merciful You are, thank You. How understanding, tolerant and patient in the face of our countless failures. And yet still You love us.
We bring such shame and dishonour upon ourselves, we must be such a disappointment to You. “Do not abandon us for ever, for the sake of Your name, do not repudiate Your covenant, do not withdraw Your favour from us.” (v 34, 35)
We dare to ask this in the highest, holiest name of the Lord Jesus, Your living and abiding Word of love, offer of mercy, the One who put the record straight for us. Thank You for gifting us a Saviour, and as a Brother, we can readily recognise Him and turn to Him.
You send us Your Saviour Son and grace us the Holy Spirit as Purifier, new life Giver, Sanctifier, yet still we sin. “Lord, we have become the least of nations,” (v 37) thoughtless, careless, disobedient, irreverent.
“We are put to shame today throughout the world, because of our sins.” (Cont) Great Britain no longer has a good reputation. We are no longer a properly Christian country. We claim the name, but fail to live up to its standards.
Thankfully, being an Easter people; redeemed and restored by grace to favour, we do not have to say “We have no Leader, no prophet, no prince...” (v 38) for we have a Prophet, Prince of Peace and King of Glory in Christ Jesus, the Victor in salvation’s true story.
He has won forgiveness for us, applying to Your manifold mercy. The result is “We can make offerings to You and win Your favour.” (v 39) I ask that our hearts and minds are so impacted upon, influenced by the Holy Spirit’s teaching regarding Jesus as Saviour, we will dare to plead for mercy.
“May the contrite soul, the humbled spirit, be as acceptable to You” (v 39 cont) as we can sincerely make it. “Let our sacrifice be to You today, and may it please You that we follow You wholeheartedly and those who trust in You will not be shamed.” (v 40)
It is when we learn to love You through loving each other, because we know the Lord Jesus is alive in us, dwells within us by the Holy Spirit, that we can “Put our whole heart into following You, into fearing You and seeking Your face once more.” (v 41)
Thank You that this fear need not be one of fearing to face You, being frightened of condemnation and separation. It is the love of the Lord Jesus active with us by the Spirit, which casts out this fear. The fear we offer is one of offending and disappointing You.
You are our Deliverer, Christ Jesus our Redeemer and the Holy Spirit, a Lord of true love. We have no reason at all to be worried. The mercies of Your love surround us daily, thank You. We praise You, exalt and esteem You.
“Do not abandon us to shame but treat us in accordance with Your gentleness, in accordance with the greatness of Your mercy. Rescue us in accordance with Your wonderful deeds and in fresh glory of Your name, O Lord.” (v 42, 43)
The world needs to re-learn of Your existence, feel Your power at work - is that why there is a Pandemic – and turn to prayer, consulting with You daily, respectfully, reverently. May the Holy Spirit of faith help with this ideal.
“Confusion seize all who ill treat Your servants, may they be covered with shame, deprived of their power and may their strength be broken” (v 44) that they think again.
“Let them learn that You alone are God and Lord, glorious over the whole world,” (v 45) One God in Three Persons, a perfect unity of love, of concern for us, of mercy, of forgiveness. You are the source of all true love, our replenishment.
Because of Your love, Your mercy, Your kindness, Your grace, Your favour, Your forgiveness, “May You be blessed, Lord, God of our ancestors, be praised and extolled for ever. Blessed be Your glorious and holy name,” (v 52) Father, Son and Holy Spirit, “Praised and extolled forever.” (Cont)
“Bless the Lord, faithful, humble hearted people,” (v 87) able to own up to our faults and failings, praying for mercy, asking for forgiveness with a truly contrite heart, prayerfully repentant and resolved to lead a more holy life in the future.
Let us now in these last weeks of Lent firmly resolve to do so, to lead clean and innocent lives, fully restored to every grace and favour won for us at the †, by Christ Jesus, firmly placed beneath the safeguarding watch of the Holy Spirit, that we can offer praise and glorify the Trinity daily.
Let us bless You Lord, praise and glorify Your forever for all You have done to rescue us from evil and the suffering sin causes. As an all loving, most merciful Trinity You act to benefit us.
“He has rescued us from the Underworld, He has saved us from the hand of Death, He has snatched us from the burning fiery furnace,” our concept of hell, “He has drawn us from the heart of the flame!” (v 88)
Let us then offer You all praise and “Give thanks to You Lord, for You are good, for Your love is everlasting.” (based on v 89) This is the personal experience of all who turn to Christ Jesus as Saviour, returning to Him having repented of wrongdoing.
“Bless the Lord,” (v 90) all peoples of Christian hope, of heartfelt prayer, of sincere repentance and solid resolve to become more like the Lord Jesus, upright in all circumstances. We receive a blessing to become a blessing. Let us set to work on this.
“ ‘Do not be afraid, only have faith and she (or he) will be saved’,” (Luke 8 v 50 TNJB) the Lord Jesus wishes to say to each of us. Now it is up to us to do our part, repentant in all sincerity of heart for all our offences.
Then restored to the power of holy love through mercy, we should offer all praise and thanks to You, dearest Father, beloved Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Lord, invaluable to our daily life seeking holiness. May our faith’s journey through Lent make a lasting difference to us, a full blessing. I know it can be. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
MERCY
PRAYER
