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Every Day with Jesus6th May 2023 - CoronationToday the world will observe King Charles III’s coronation in Westminster Abbey in a thousand-year-old ceremony. Charles will be anointed and acclaimed King by the gathered assembly with the words, ‘God save the King!’ 2023-05-0604 min
Every Day with Jesus21st Feb 2023 - Just Like YouWhen you are going through a trial it is enormously valuable to talk with someone who has been through what you are going through. This was the basis of the Paraclesis course which Trevor Partridge launched at Waverley Abbey Trust.2023-02-2103 minEvery Day with Jesus20th August 2022 - BasicsWaverley Abbey is built on Jesus’ summary of the Law and the Prophets, teaching us to see everyone through Jesus’ eyes. There’s no demand for anyone learning with us to have a faith- based approach to life. Only that they recognise our understanding grows from an ancient world view, evident throughout Scripture, offering a realistic and comprehensive understanding of who we are, why we’re here, what’s wrong with the world, and how this can be addressed.2022-08-2004 min
Every Day with Jesus23rd May 2022 - God's WillI love Andrew Murray’s book With Christ in the School of Prayer because prayer is the product of learning. It’s why I serve Waverley Abbey Trust’s mission of both helping everyone learn how to live every day with Jesus, and equipping people through practical courses with the skills to serve others. It’s taken time to discover how to pray within God’s will. In simple terms God’s will is self-evident for God desires that people turn to Christ and enjoy fullness of life (John 10:10).2022-05-2303 minEvery Day with Jesus23rd January 2022 - Read and PrayOur Farnham offices lie in the shadow of Waverley Abbey, the first Cistercian monastery in Britain. Following the Rule of St Benedict, the monks meditated on Scripture and prayed seven times a day, beginning with Vigils before dawn and concluding with Compline around 8pm. There is a growing interest in monastic communities today as Christians explore ways of living, learning and serving together built on Scripture and prayer.2022-01-2303 minEvery Day with Jesus11th December 2021 - ChosenLast August we opened Waverley Abbey’s Café at weekends. It was wonderful to welcome our local Farnham neighbours, and others, to enjoy the hospitality and renewal the House and Abbey afford.2021-12-1104 minEvery Day with Jesus8th December 2021 - HeritageHeritage lies at the heart of Waverley Abbey. The earliest mention of Farnham is in a 688 charter when Cædwalla, King of Wessex, gave land to two or three monks for a monastery. This became a ‘mother’ church for the area and recent work has revealed a small church under St Andrew’s parish church.2021-12-0804 minEvery Day with Jesus13th November 2021 - Peace With CircumstancesEveryone experiences both triumph and tragedy in their life. Circumstances invade uninvited, and often unwelcome. At Waverley Abbey we are contacted by many people looking for encouragement through difficult experiences that test faith. They can fuel spiritual growth; they also provide the rocks on which our faith may become shipwrecked for a season.2021-11-1304 minEvery Day with Jesus11th Sept 2021 - PartnershipEveryone praying and working at Waverley Abbey is encouraged to know we are not alone. Our global Every Day With Jesus readership is praying and working with us, which puts a spring in our step as we present the gospel. Together we serve as ambassadors of hope to a vulnerable, and often troubled, world.2021-09-1104 minEvery Day with Jesus2nd Aug 2021 - FocusSome say, ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’. The first person recorded as saying this was Bernard of Clairvaux, the leading Cistercian of the twelfth century. He declared, ‘l’enfer estplein de bonnes volontés et désirs’ or ‘hell is full of good wishes and desires’. Waverley Abbey, near Farnham in Surrey, where I write EDWJ, was the first Cistercian monastery in England and I ruminate on his words every time I pray walking around its ruins.2021-08-0204 minEvery Day with Jesus29th May 2021 - All WelcomeIn the past, I’ve made the mistake of assuming the Christian life about my personal development. Sadly, Christianity is no self-improvement programme. Remarkably, in an increasingly self-absorbed society, Christian discipleship can easily become an end in itself, rather than the path along which I travel ever deeper into God’s embrace.2021-05-2904 minEvery Day with Jesus28th May 2021 - Repent and Be BaptisedResponse is always a matter of our will. We are masters of our personal choices. Poor choices can create habits and fears that cause dither and delay. Yet, I’m created for choices, which determine my life’s course.2021-05-2803 minEvery Day with Jesus27th May 2021 - ResurrectionJesus’ resurrection is the hinge of history. Killed on an executioner’s gibbet, this man, who was equally God, broke the curse of death and rose from the tomb. It’s remarkable that I feel embarrassed by what others might make of my Christian faith when humanity’s greatest fear, death, lies in abject defeat at the foot of the cross.2021-05-2704 minEvery Day with Jesus26th May 2021 - JesusMy reluctance to speak up for Jesus comes from my embarrassment. In a world where rationality rules, it’s hard to speak, and to be taken seriously, when describing that which lies beyond reason.2021-05-2603 minEvery Day with Jesus25th May 2021 - ListenI’ve worked twenty years as a professional mediator. Whilst my call is to prayer and nurturing faith, this provided my income for a long time. Mediation (working with people to resolve real conflict) requires a lot of active listening. In this context the word ‘listen’ means to hear, heed and obey; three actions.2021-05-2504 minEvery Day with Jesus24th May 2021 - ChangesIn both Old and New Testaments an encounter with God led to change. Here, the frightened, despondent disciples found a confidence and courage in God to describe the source of their faith. Over the years, the Church seems slowly to have lost its confidence and courage. It tends to answer questions no-one’s asking. Very different from that first Pentecost!2021-05-2403 minEvery Day with Jesus23rd May 2021- PentecostePentecost celebrates the birth of the Church. The angel told the disciples to gather in Jerusalem and there to wait and pray. After nine days the Holy Spirit hovered over them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.2021-05-2303 minEvery Day with Jesus22nd May 2021 - God's InstructionScripture records events that can appear quite strange. They lie outside our normal, everyday experiences. Here, Daniel is greeted by the Angel Gabriel – the same angel who carried the news to Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus.2021-05-2204 minEvery Day with Jesus21st May 2021 - Listen, Forgive, Hear and ActIn lockdown I discovered the wonder of Zoom. Through Christmas, Waverley Abbey Resources held Evening Prayer sessions on Zoom. It was wonderful as people participated from all around the world.2021-05-2103 minEvery Day with Jesus20th May 2021 - FavourReminding God to listen to our prayer requests is more a question of reassuring ourselves, because God has invited us to pray and promised to receive and respond. Yet, there’s often a certain uncertainty within the human heart that God actually listens to our prayers.2021-05-2004 minEvery Day with Jesus19th May 2021 - RestoreWe live in a world swamped with multiple 24/7 news feeds. That news is seldom good, or useful. What am I to do in the face of a severe earthquake or unprovoked attack on innocents? Information that I cannot process effectively and respond to with constructive action appears to me of little real value. I can empathise, but such empathy offers little comfort to the sufferer.2021-05-1904 minEvery Day with Jesus18th May 2021 - Pay AttentionDaniel 9:13–14 ‘Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favour of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.’ (v13)2021-05-1803 minEvery Day with Jesus17th May 2021 - MercyIt is a wonder my parents were capable of extending love towards me given my own love of disobedience and lying as a child. Only as I became a parent, adopted by a seven year old who was in our community, did I discover that a parent’s love never releases the object of its love.2021-05-1703 minEvery Day with Jesus16th May 2021 - ShameShame makes us feel uncomfortable. It speaks to all those actions and inner thoughts that we want to keep secret. It’s about our sense of guilt and dishonour, feelings we recognise but too often choose to ignore. It causes confusion and often causes us to blush, an outward sign of inner discomfort.2021-05-1604 minEvery Day with Jesus15th May 2021 - PenitencePenitence is both sorrow for sins committed and a choice made to amend our way of life. It’s repentance, a change of mind. My challenge is that I sincerely repent but then even as I rise from prayer my mind seizes hold of an impure thought or a criticism of someone else. How frustrating and tiresome! Yet what good news that God never tires of us returning to repent and extending complete forgiveness to us.2021-05-1504 minEvery Day with Jesus14th May 2021 - PerseveranceDiscovering I couldn’t have my own children was devastating. It drove me to prayer. Yet, it was a very self-interested prayer – God, sort out my problems! He responded and indicated a range of issues across my life that required my attention. But, still no conception. I had to conceive that God is no slot machine to service my felt needs.2021-05-1404 minEvery Day with Jesus13th May 2021 - Ascension DayAfter Jesus left, the disciples returned to Jerusalem to await the promised Spirit. They joined in continuous prayer for nine days from the Ascension to Pentecost. We know it was nine days because the Ascension happened forty days after the Resurrection, and Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover.2021-05-1303 minEvery Day with Jesus12th May 2021 - Prayer in ActionI consistently need to remind myself that I live to love and serve God. I’m too easily consumed by the moment, my aspirations and desires. Yet, I’ll never find fulfilment and self-realisation outside of Jesus, and God’s purpose for my life. My primary point of encounter with God is in prayer, reflecting on all God says through His Word.2021-05-1204 minEvery Day with Jesus11th May 2021 - God's Extraordinary WorkGod always reveals purpose through His activity. For some, revival is an end in itself. Hence the volume of literature detailing past revivals. Today we also find that there are many attempts to replicate past reawakenings as recorded in historical narratives.2021-05-1104 minEvery Day with Jesus10th May 2021 - ConversionRevival has drawn me for many years. I first met its reality when converted to Christianity. From an unchurched, cynical and critical background, I perceived Christianity as a refuge for the weak and vulnerable. But God intervened.2021-05-1004 minEvery Day with Jesus9th May 2021 - The Word of LifeWe have taken a week to consider God’s Word. It is a living Word for it is Jesus we hold when we handle Scripture. The Bible is called God’s Word and this is how Jesus is described. From before the foundation of the earth, God’s Word existed. That same Word is available to us every day as we open and read Scripture.2021-05-0903 minEvery Day with Jesus8th May 2021 - FruitfulnessWhen I competed as a cross country runner, there were a number of well-known songs that I would play in my head to manage my pace. These enabled me to ensure that I competed effectively, whilst giving me confidence no matter the opposition.2021-05-0804 minEvery Day with Jesus7th May 2021 - BenefitsFour key benefits for our enrichment and development as God’s friends are acquired by reading Scripture. First, Scripture refreshes the soul, that essential, immortal, part of us. The soul is that aspect that wonders about life’s meaning, whilst yearning for purpose and destiny. Unsettling, it stirred me to explore answers in my quest for meaning for life, which I found in Christ Jesus.2021-05-0703 minEvery Day with Jesus6th May 2021 - A Treasury of BlessingHope gives us a sense of expectation. It grows from a root of trust. Approaching Scripture, I anticipate finding something fresh
in my friendship with God. For it’s a treasury of blessing and
encouragement for all seeking instruction in making sense of and fully appreciating life.2021-05-0603 minEvery Day with Jesus5th May 2021 - CommissionedScripture is God’s complete and final Word for His disciples. Jesus’ final instruction to his disciples was to make Christian disciples who follow Jesus’ teachings; God’s way of life. To help us He left three tremendous gifts: His Word, His Spirit and each other.2021-05-0503 minEvery Day with Jesus4th May 2021 - Listen Up!The Bible is not one book, but a library of books. It has two testaments; the first, known as the Old Testament, records the laws, history and prophecies that preceded and foretold the ministry of Jesus. The second, known as the New Testament, reveals the life and teaching of Jesus, His passion, and the emergence of the Church made up of His disciples.2021-05-0403 minEvery Day with Jesus3rd May 2021 - God's WordI’m grateful for the emails I’ve received from Every Day with Jesus readers. One change I’m delighted to implement is additional scriptures so we can pursue further study related to our daily reading. The joy of Scripture is that it is the Word of God. Jesus, God’s Word, is embedded in every verse of Scripture.2021-05-0303 minEvery Day with Jesus2nd May 2021 - Present ProvisionThe promise that God watches over us is a great assurance for our faith. Having faith is to place complete confidence in an unseen, often unrealised promise. (Unrealised in as far as our circumstances are concerned.)2021-05-0203 minEvery Day with Jesus1st May 2021 - Practical FaithPassing through turbulent financial waters can make the present uncomfortable; the future uncertain. Yet, I refuse to nurse and rehearse anxiety. I choose faith over fear and despondency. Life may trigger a ‘counsel of despair’, but wisdom says, ‘Wait on the Lord.’2021-05-0100 minEvery Day with Jesus30th April 2021 - DiscernmentDiscernment is essential in following Jesus. It’s distinguishing between reality and personal preference. Often, what I discern is not as appetising as what I’d like. So for me, following Jesus did not include experiencing personal emotional and psychological pain. Yet, on reflection this yielded a richer experience of God’s presence and reality.2021-04-3004 minEvery Day with Jesus29th April 2021 - CooperationI don’t know if you have ever tried lifting someone who doesn’t enjoy control over their muscles and limbs? I have when working as a carer. Because they could not cooperate with my attempts to lift them, I was lifting a ‘dead weight’. It was an impossible task. The psalmist reminds me that I have to cooperate with God rather than assume that God will deliver me from discomforting situations.2021-04-2904 minEvery Day with Jesus28th April 2021 - EternityConsidering eternity, I’m challenged by the quote, ‘Many long for eternity, when they don’t know what to do on a wet Sunday afternoon’. I can quickly grow bored but pursuing a prayerful life has, with twists and turns, brought me into a space where I can’t remember experiencing boredom. 2021-04-2804 minEvery Day with Jesus27th April 2021 - God With UsIn our home, I love our garden. The autumn presents a stunning display, a plethora of colours. The bare boughs of winter, stark against the bleak skies, contrasts with the bud and fresh flowers of springtime. Always alive, it declares God’s unsearchable character. We run a retreat called ‘Eyes Wide Open’. It offers an opportunity to find God’s presence in the sights and sounds of nature. As St. Paul reminds us, ‘... all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.’2021-04-2704 minEvery Day with Jesus26th April 2021 - Faith and FearChristianity is about learning to stay true to one’s decision to follow Jesus. Life has its ways of testing our resolve. There is good precedent since all the disciples abandoned Jesus at His arrest. This abandonment wasn’t a reflection of their love, rather an acknowledgment of their fear and uncertainty. Faith will always have a shadow of fear to accompany it. 2021-04-2604 minEvery Day with Jesus25th April 2021 - GratitudeOne of my most challenging experiences was to visit refugee camps. I met people who had nothing, completely dependent on the goodwill of others. Their human spirit revealed itself in the ways they managed their daily lives. Yet some grew despondent, seeing daily life as a fruitless distraction from their responsibility in securing their family’s future safety.2021-04-2503 minEvery Day with Jesus24th April 2021 - Non-performanceChristianity is not a performance industry. God has no interest in our performance, which is something we manufacture for some purpose we perceive is beneficial to us. Performance measures how well I do something. This is not the measure God applies. Our friendship with God is only possible because of what Jesus has won for us on Calvary.2021-04-2404 minEvery Day with Jesus23rd April 2021 - PerseveranceLife is a marathon not a sprint. I’ve a friend who, as a child, wondered why adults always walked. In contrast she joyfully ran everywhere and promised herself she’d continue running once an adult. Sadly the ageing process had its way, and childhood pledges made way for adult realities.2021-04-2303 minEvery Day with Jesus22nd April 2021 - Being ChristianThe earliest Christian writings emphasise human behaviour. Ignatius of Antioch writes, ‘It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians’. worthy of the Lord, our daily challenge.2021-04-2204 minEvery Day with Jesus21st April 2021 - HopeHere in St Cuthbert’s Oratory, a home of prayer, our three watchwords are hospitality, hope and healing – three gospel gifts we receive. God’s hospitality welcomes us to our salvation banquet. What’s more, He promised to feed us with bread for both stomach and spirit.2021-04-2104 minEvery Day with Jesus20th April 2021 - Faith and LoveIn reading the few surviving Christian texts from the second century, I’m struck by the importance of two small words: faith and love. St Ignatius of Antioch related them to the Eucharist and they were associated with the disciple’s way of life.2021-04-2004 minEvery Day with Jesus19th April 2021 - Christian MaturityWe have taken a week exploring Spiritual Formation, or how to grow up into maturity in Christ. It is the goal of every follower of Jesus to become more like him and to pray the words of St. Richard of Chichester daily, ‘My Lord Jesus Christ, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day’. 2021-04-1903 minEvery Day with Jesus18th April 2021 - Christ is AllIf ever life overwhelms me I stop to consider those Christians who have gone before me. It was the great Christian survivor of the Ravensbruck concentration camp, who said, ‘Today I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work he will give us to do.’2021-04-1804 minEvery Day with Jesus17th April 2021 - Confidence in GodIve found it’s all too easy to lose sight of God in life’s many twists and turns. I remember going shopping with mum as a child. I’d get distracted by everything around me and lose sight of her. Then my heart beat faster, lost and alone amidst a sea of legs and arms.2021-04-1704 minEvery Day with Jesus16th April 2021 - Following GodGrowing up I was of the opinion that God was something of a spoil sport. I assumed that God was a cosmic police chief issuing a long list of restrictions that impacted my personal freedom. Only as I got to know God did I discover that in fact I enjoyed the greatest of freedom.2021-04-1603 minEvery Day with Jesus15th April 2021 - Serving GodLove is an indefinable quality. We can describe it, yet can never capture its true essence. This can only be encountered through experience. What’s more, love is never static. It is either growing or dying. 2021-04-1504 minEvery Day with Jesus14th April 2021 - Knowing GodAs a teenager I turned up at university with little idea as to what I wanted in life. No career aspirations and little motivation above personal enjoyment. It was to my great surprise that I encountered Jesus within just a few weeks. More surprising was my willingness to commit to following in His footsteps. 2021-04-1404 minEvery Day with Jesus13th April 2021 - WellbeingThe Covid-19 pandemic made us all conscious of our mortal fragility. It spotlights a deep, underlying concern that impacts all of society; health and wellbeing. This is reflected in the huge sums invested by drug companies right through to the pressure placed on GP surgeries as we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. However, we are far more than physical beings. There is within everyone of us a longing for meaning.2021-04-1304 minEvery Day with Jesus12th April 2021 - Loving GodThis week we shall explore spiritual formation, the heartbeat of discipleship. This is Waverley Abbey’s core mission: seeking to live every day with Jesus. It is a journey on which we deliberately and consciously open up our lives for a deeper connectedness with God.2021-04-1204 minEvery Day with Jesus11th April 2021 - Believe With LegsUnderstanding and belief are different. Belief is the acceptance that something is true without proof. Belief is faith and offers understanding with legs on. Faith carries us somewhere, whilst understanding leaves us motionless. The first disciples understood Jesus as risen, they had tangible evidence, yet they needed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, born of obedience and prayer, to believe.2021-04-1104 minEvery Day with Jesus10th April 2021 - Do You Love MeGrace is the remarkable gift we discover in Jesus. Peter, so confident in his faith, stumbled when denying Jesus at his arrest. Now, embarrassed by his betrayal, he returns to fishing, his hopes dashed, his spirit broken. However, the great news is that his friends stuck with him. We live in a time when many are aware of their fragility. 2021-04-1004 minEvery Day with Jesus9th April 2021 - AcknowledgementThomas is forever associated with doubt, when in fact he was full of belief. He did demand to place his finger in the wounds to establish this was really Jesus, but when he encountered Christ he immediately acknowledged him as Lord and God.2021-04-0904 minEvery Day with Jesus8th April 2021 - PeaceFor a second time Jesus speaks peace over the disciples. When something is repeated in scripture, it is a clear assurance of its truth. We see this throughout the psalms, and it strengthens faith. This peace is confirmed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. This third person of the Trinity, who is God, resides within us to lead us into all truth.2021-04-0804 minEvery Day with Jesus7th April 2021 - PresenceWhen confronted by our fear we often find comfort in the companionship of friends. We are made for relationships, and perhaps the hardest test to endure is being robbed of those we love and trust. Last October, having lived separated from her family for seven months, my mum succumbed to her 95 years and died. I am left wondering, if normal visitation had been allowed whether she might have continued longer?2021-04-0704 minEvery Day with Jesus6th April 2021 - DiscoveryIt’s said that ‘seeing is believing’. The inexplicable must be seen for what others say can’t be trusted. We need tangible proof. Yet here Peter and John reach the tomb and believe on the basis of what they can’t see, Jesus’ body. There is the evidence of the carefully folded shroud, but it required faith to accept Jesus is risen.2021-04-0604 minEvery Day with Jesus5th April 2021 - DespondencyI have discovered that Jesus often surprises me. Despondent because of apparently unanswered prayers or engaged in challenging life circumstances, I assume that Jesus is nowhere to be found. My initial thoughts are to abandon my confidence in Christ and look to my own resources to get me out of a difficult spot.2021-04-0504 minEvery Day with Jesus4th April 2021 - ResurrectionImagine the scene. There is a deep calm all around. It’s early, the day hardly started. The turbulent events of Holy Week have passed. I recall my own childhood when Sunday was a day of rest, and the quiet so loud you could almost hear it.2021-04-0405 minEvery Day with Jesus3rd April 2021 - BurialTaken from the cross and prepared for burial, Jesus is laid to rest in a stranger’s tomb. Despised by those who killed him, after death He is treated with dignity and respect by His friends. Here, emerging from the shadows not for the first time, we meet Nicodemus again. 2021-04-0304 minEvery Day with Jesus2nd April 2021 - CrucifixionWe are familiar with Jesus’ crucifixion, yet we must never grow comfortable with it. Whilst it grants humanity the opportunity for personal encounter with God, the price of forgiveness, both to God and to all responding to God’s offer, weighs heavily in the balance.2021-04-0204 minEvery Day with Jesus1st April 2021 - AbandonmentToday is the day of Jesus’ betrayal. He is deliberately exposed to harm through a trusted friend’s actions. There is perhaps no more bitter a pill to swallow than a friend’s disloyalty. Our safe space is destroyed and we must face unexpected consequences. 2021-04-0104 minEvery Day with Jesus31st March 2021 - AuthorityThe word ‘authority’ raises the issue of permission. Buried within it is the word ‘author’, the one who creates the narrative. In our democratic societies we have become accustomed to looking to the people to permission our politicians through an election. Yet, who gives Jesus His permission to make the promises He does?2021-03-3104 minEvery Day with Jesus30th March 2021 - God's PlanThis is an interesting story in the Scripture. Some assume Jesus was angry, yet the Bible never says that He was. But why does he feel the necessity to overturn tables and expel the money changers? The issue is most likely that Jewish coins were mixed with the Roman coins. The latter bore the image of Caesar, and Jesus made a clear distinction about giving to Caesar, or the world system, what it is owed whilst giving to God what is owed to Him.2021-03-3003 minEvery Day with Jesus29th March 2021 - Self-absorbedToday we begin our walk with Jesus towards His crucifixion. Following his triumphal entry into the city, whose name means ‘foundation of peace’, Jesus laments the upcoming rebellion of the city and its people. Only faith in Christ can bring true peace; in rejecting Jesus we create conflict and chaos.2021-03-2903 minEvery Day with Jesus28th March 2021 - Palm SundayToday is Palm Sunday. It marks the start of Jesus’ journey to the Cross. Exuberant celebrations greet His arrival into Jerusalem only to give way to angry demands for his execution. So often the distance between exultation and despair is wafer thin.2021-03-2803 minEvery Day with Jesus27th March 2021 - ShieldingWhilst we may not be familiar with using a traditional shield to ward off fiery arrows, we’ve become used to the concept of shielding ourselves. Covid-19 introduced the language and my wife was told to ‘shield’ herself due to underlying health conditions.2021-03-2704 minEvery Day with Jesus26th March 2021 - Peace MakersThe best shoes offer comfort and protection, something that can prove hard to find. I like walking boots as I know they’ll tackle any terrain. And there’s one brand that’s exceptionally comfortable. Warfare by its very nature is fuelled by violence. It quickly escalates disagreement and before we know it, despite our best efforts, the core issue is lost and replaced. My desire is now to obliterate my opponent. This isn’t only on the battlefield but, all too frequently, in my daily interactions with others.2021-03-2604 minEvery Day with Jesus25th March 2021 - Stand StrongThe greatest challenge in my Christian life are the three words, ‘Stand your ground’. Both in keeping my faith among my peers and acting with integrity, I confess to having lost ground to the devil more times than I like to admit. Often it’s simply a nudge in the wrong direction. Suddenly I’m sliding down a bank of my own confusion ending up in a heap of humiliation. Of course I can climb back. But it takes time, commitment and effort. Often I’ve just wallowed in self pity.2021-03-2504 minEvery Day with Jesus24th March 2021 - Be PreparedIt’s essential that when we get dressed for a job we put on all that we need to protect ourselves. When I first ventured into using a chainsaw I discovered that cut resistant trousers, a helmet, visor, boots and cut resistant gloves were recommended. Chainsaws have a habit of kicking back and injuring the user if they hit a knot in the branch.2021-03-2404 minEvery Day with Jesus23rd March 2021 - Armour of GodArmour appears an antiquated word. We think of medieval knights riding to war, on horseback. In reality the word is still current as in the body armour police wear, offering them protection against assault. Paul invites us to take our discipleship seriously. The devil has one purpose which is to destabilise and misdirect us from our chosen goal: to follow Jesus. It’s the reason we are so easily distracted from our good intentions to pray. Here we enter the shallows of the warfare to which we are called by God.2021-03-2303 minEvery Day with Jesus22nd March 2021 - Beyond ImaginationIn our technological age of reason, such verses can strike a discordant note. Am I expected to believe in a world beyond the one I experience with my mind? My answer is a definite yes.2021-03-2203 minEvery Day with Jesus21st March 2021 - Glimpsing GodThe final words of the psalm repeat its opening. The key difference is that we have discovered more of God and ourselves through its verses. We no longer simply look to the wonder of our natural world to catch a glimpse of God.2021-03-2103 minEvery Day with Jesus20th March 2021 - Global ImbalanceMany anguish over global imbalances. For some the inequality on our planet and in our society provides enough evidence to reject God. Yet, God has entrusted the world to our care. In other words I live in a society that is the product of human effort. Where there’s injustice it’s a product of human decision making. We’re asked to accept responsibility for the state of the world we live in.2021-03-2003 minEvery Day with Jesus19th March 2021 - FriendshipMaslow, in his hierarchy of needs, places care as priorities 1–3. They include our physiological and safety needs along with our need to be loved. Data detailing peoples’ greatest fears highlight an inability to purchase food or provide a home, followed by a need for active relationships.2021-03-1903 minEvery Day with Jesus18th March 2021 - God's ImageGod’s concerned for the entire human race. Yet, remarkably, each of us can know and enjoy personal friendship with God. Only God has this capacity to include everyone and be intimately involved with each of us.2021-03-1803 minEvery Day with Jesus17th March 2021 - Change is EssentialIt was the cries of the infant Moses floating in a reed basket that won Pharaoh’s daughter’s heart. She didn’t realise this helpless baby would indeed silence the might of Egypt. Similarly, Jesus was dismissed with Nathaniel’s declaration, ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’* Then he became Jesus’ disciple. Never judge a book by its cover.2021-03-1703 minEvery Day with Jesus16th March 2021 - Embrace God's PromiseI note the word ‘glory’ is of uncertain origin. This is fitting for something that lies beyond our reach and comprehension as the heavens themselves. Glory indicates honour, splendour and fame. All of
which are due to God. Yet, we discover God is never one to pursue self promotion. God’s promises are revealed through the pages of Scripture, and ultimately in Jesus.2021-03-1604 minEvery Day with Jesus15th March 2021 - MajesticThe name of God is majestic; both beautiful and powerful. It commands our admiration, and while this is easily said, it’s not always evident in our lived experience. God’s majesty must be found. No wonder the Magi chose an arduous journey in search of the promised Messiah, the majesty of God. It’s only by panning through much river dirt that one can find a gold nugget.2021-03-1504 minEvery Day with Jesus14th March 2021 - WorkLiving with the consequences of poor decisions can prove challenging. Yet it requires the same mindset that we need for every one of life’s eventualities: looking at my situation from God’s perspective rather than my own.2021-03-1403 minEvery Day with Jesus13th March 2021 - Making DecisionsOur popular image of right and wrong leads us to imagine right being rewarded and wrong punished. Yet, God doesn’t operate on this polarity. Certainly there are consequences from bad decisions, yet these are less a punishment than a simple reality. King David’s poor decision making had dire consequences, yet God still loved and blessed him with the title, a man after God’s own heart.2021-03-1304 minEvery Day with Jesus12th March 2021 - Birth PangsWithin life there is a source of perpetual hope. While life is contested in so many ways, life is itself irrepressible. The circle of birth, life and death endlessly repeats providing chapter upon chapter of the invincible nature of the human spirit.2021-03-1203 minEvery Day with Jesus11th March 2021 - StrugglesLife is a struggle. Finding work to provide both a home and food consumes the largest percentage of our time. Without an income, life quickly collapses toward chaos. We fear financial instability for it threatens the very fabric of our identity.2021-03-1103 minEvery Day with Jesus10th March 2021 - Civil WarIt was St. Paul who helpfully pointed out that we each struggle to do what we positively intend to do: ‘For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing’. There's a civil war waging within us!2021-03-1004 minEvery Day with Jesus9th March 2021 - Lift Up Your VoiceEarlier this year Jayne, my wife, had Covid-19. No temperature and no cough, but a loss of voice. Directed to A & E, Coronavirus was confirmed and she was sent home. She was aware she was unwell before symptoms and diagnosis but couldn’t precisely say what the problem was.2021-03-0903 minEvery Day with Jesus8th March 2021 - Pray to ObeyRivers of ink have been spilt writing about prayer. Yet, we remain uncertain in our prayers. Do I pray enough? Why doesn’t God answer me? Isn’t it better to do something than to pray something.2021-03-0803 minEvery Day with Jesus7th March 2021 - New StartLike Nicodemus, everyone is searching to satisfy an inner angst. So much is demanded of us from life that it’s easy to lose touch with the ‘real me’ within. The popular TV programme Escape Down Under tells of families seeking a better life. They assume sun and sea offer them this opportunity. Yet, half return within a few years.2021-03-0703 minEvery Day with Jesus6th March 2021 - Life in a Limitless WorldOne thing’s certain: life’s full of questions. It’s the basis for all learning. Knowledge is the fruit of our questions. So my questions reveal I’m an active disciple, or learner – the meaning of the word. Through meeting Jesus, Nicodemus decides to follow Jesus. Initial exasperation gives birth to fascination. One question leads to another. Satisfactory answers are in short supply but he’s beginning a Christian walk.2021-03-0604 minEvery Day with Jesus5th March 2021 - UnpredictableWeather is unpredictable. Sun gives way to rain without warning. However we plan, we must always be prepared to be caught out.2021-03-0504 minEvery Day with Jesus4th March 2021 - Crossing the BoundaryIsrael faced an impenetrable boundary to escape captivity in Egypt, the Red Sea. I’ve discovered it’s an experience we all must face if we’re to make progress in our Christian life. I must confront my fear of the unknown. Crossing from the comfort to the learning zone awakens my fears and insecurities.2021-03-0404 minEvery Day with Jesus3rd March 2021 - MysteryMystery lies at the heart of faith. It presents an obstacle to belief. How can I believe something I cannot comprehend? Nicodemus’ reaction reveals the intense frustration that burns in his heart. He hears, yet does not understand.2021-03-0304 minEvery Day with Jesus2nd March 2021 - WellnessWellness products cry out for my attention today. They all share one promise: changing my life for the better. Yet, why am I drawn to such promises? Well, we’re continually looking outside ourselves for meaning, and in response there’s been an explosion of courses offering self improvement to realise full potential.2021-03-0204 minEvery Day with Jesus1st March 2021 - Night VisitorWaking in the dead of night is awful. Here we’re confronted with our darkest thoughts. I note it was a sleepless Nicodemus who visited Jesus at night.2021-03-0104 min