Sue O’Donnell. 04.02.21
“ ‘ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’.” (Mark 1 v 15)
†
“ ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.” (1 Peter 1 v 15)
Look up to heaven, the promise.
Look down to your earthly existence.
How do they marry up?
Look to one way, the past.
Look to the other way, pointing forwards.
What do you see?
Has faith made any difference?
Or are we still worldly?
Where is God leading us?
How does He do this?
Who is Jesus?
“ ‘You are the Christ’.” (Mark 8 v 29)
What is His purpose?
Do you know Him as Brother,
Saviour, Friend, Redeemer?
What about His Spirit?
Are you under His influence?
Do you welcome the pruning?
Do you greet each day as opportunity?
Do you look back with gratitude for forgiveness gifted?
Do you look at the † and find grace?
What is the message of mercy?
“It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Philippians 2 v 13 NIV)
For undoubtedly if you allow this,
The †is a signpost for life.
A new life, a true life,
A life under the impact of the Holy Spirit,
A Spirit of graciousness, developing our holiness.
A life ever blessed by Jesus,
Past errors forgiven, forgotten.
We have been remade anew,
Through the One whose perfect holiness
Was offered up for us upon the †.
Our discipleship is formed in Jesus.
“ ‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men’.” (Mark 1 v 17)
He must now daily be our faith’s focus.
In Jesus, we entrust ourselves to God’s loving care,
To His protection, to His guidance,
Our life an offering of prayer based reverence.
The signpost of the †will always point to Jesus,
Jesus living God’s way.
Jesus speaking God’s truth.
Jesus offering us God’s life, a life of unfailing love.
What hope we have in Jesus!
“ ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’.” (Matthew 4 v 17)
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold, that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1 v 18, 19 NIV)
O Lord, striving to love, honour, serve You, how horribly easy it is to get sucked into the ways of the world and compromise our standards. For any time I have done this even unwittingly, I ask forgiveness and a fresh
start in Jesus.
Let the purpose of the Christian mind ever be to honour You without any deviation. For this we must pray and call upon Your sanctifying Spirit, His support in correcting and cleansing us.
Please ever let the Spirit of sanctity impact upon us, revealing the great honour of the salvation gifted in Jesus. May we all become the sons and daughters You call us to be.
Lord, throughout the year, with a particular emphasis during Lent, You invite us to holiness. By Your Spirit, be our strong salvation in Jesus. Guard and guide us as we rely upon You.
May our joy in You ever increase as we discover the peace You offer us in Jesus, the One delivered from death that we too, are delivered from the deepest sorrow of death. Jesus on the †is our salvation.
Let us embrace the † as a message of hope in forgiveness. Only in Jesus’ righteousness can we claim holiness, a virtue to offer You. May the Spirit of Jesus deal with all our rebelliousness.
Lord, in Jesus, by the Spirit, rescue us from all that is wicked that Your world is as You intended, our life spent in love of each other, so honouring Your love for us. We need Your grace and strength in all things.
Keep us praying asking for help sufficient for the day.
Let not our faith be tested beyond our strength, our commitment, our dedication, our development under the mighty hand of Your Spirit. May we clearly be Your people expectant in hope, guided into the ways of peace Jesus showed us.
Lord, You test us to refine us. May we willingly accept this. Make our Spirit strong in faith’s trust, in love, in commitment to Jesus, ever desirous of sharing in His holiness. May we all see His †, as a signpost.
Lord, our world seems to be increasingly troubled because of our strife, hatred, intolerance and indifference.
Forgive any lack lustre ways n which we approach You. Help us amidst trials. Comfort us in tribulation.
Turn Your face towards us Lord, that we may see Your look of love, that desire to prosper us as we seek and follow Jesus’ way of holiness, the true life, an ever loving life. May the love of Jesus overcome our troubled
existence.
Let us not condemn ourselves by failing to turn to Jesus as Redeemer, putting right all our wrongs, as Saviour, freeing us from satan’s bondage, as Restorer, our access to Your every grace and favour.
May our faith be a serious promise of commitment to following Jesus’ example of self-giving, living in perfect obedience as best we can, making Jesus our reverence, His Spirit our Sanctifier.
Thank You for making the † a noble symbol pointing to the new life offered us. Let us ever pray to partake readily, easily, joyfully in this life, Jesus our personal truth of Your mercy, the blessing of inner peace.
It is an incontrovertible fact to which the †gives witness, that we “...once were not a people but are now Your people, Lord God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” (based on 1
Peter 2 v 10) Thank You for salvation.
We are considered holy because Jesus is holy. We can become holy because His and Your cleansing Spirit enables this. May the church, the Lord Jesus’ body on earth strive towards holiness.
Please, in claiming the † of Jesus, continue to sanctify us in Him, through Him, by His zealous Spirit. Make us entirely the people You desire us to be, open daily to conversion, renewal, reform.
May the † silently call out to us, a call to penitence, penance and the blessed forgiveness which results in our reformation as brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Let us look to the Spirit for help, guidance, encouragement, for the resolved strength to live a good and holy life committed to Your service, Father, under the Lordship of Jesus.
Let us pray and invite Him to be Lord over us today and every day. Come, Lord Jesus, come, take every human life into Your hands and prepare us now for heaven. For as You who call us is holy, so we are asked to be holy in all we do.
In prayer You help us to be reflective so as to be able to correct the errors of our ways. Lord, keep us praying and calling upon Your mercy. In the silence of personal prayer please develop our faith’s understanding,
development, appreciation.
As Jesus bore our sins, please help us in the spiritual works of mercy, whereby we may be called upon to suffer wrongs which could harm us. Let us pray and leave the justice to You, not taking the law into our own
hands.
If called to endure any suffering, grant us the patience of the Lord Jesus, an outcome of His love for You and us. Let no evil overcome us as it seeks to grind our faith into the ground.
As we spend time in reflective silence, let us ever look to love of Jesus as our model, our inspiration, our dedication to His service Spirit strengthened. May I, we learn to tolerate ill will without complaint or
striking back.
Let all that is wrong within us, around us, about our way of action and reaction, be influenced at the †, a symbol of hope, of restoration to a freshly formed life. “ ‘Bless those who curse you’,” (Luke 6 v 28) is a
lesson we must learn at the †.
Let us kneel before You, Lord, for You are our God and we the people under Your care, Your providence, Your offer of heaven, the † a signpost in our journey. Please accept all the prayers we offer in Jesus.
Thank You that in Jesus, according to the †of mercy, You judge us in righteousness and in truth. “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song...all the earth,” (Psalm 96 v 1) each and everyone of us so blessed in Jesus.
“Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people,” (Psalm 96 v 2, 3) for it is great indeed. The † is the signpost. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
UNDERSTANDING
