Daily Prayer
Holy God,
Unsearchable ‘I AM’,
Hidden within a bush aflame
And revealed within the dark storm cloud,
We turn aside to meet with you today.
Show us your glory.
Amen
Daily Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17
Find the above scripture in your bible and read slowly – you might want to read it out loud. You can read it here.
Lenten Reflection
How do we read these 10 commandments? Do we read through the lens of love where we see Gods desire for us, or through the lens of rules and regulations where there’s failure and punishment?
God loves, He blesses, He provides. He provided Moses as a deliverer to bring the children of Israel through to a safe place, where they could live well.
Exodus 20:20 paradoxically says ‘do not fear, God has come to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin!’ It appears that there is a healthy and an unhealthy fear of God. It appears that a healthy fear of God keeps us from sin, whilst an unhealthy fear of God keeps us from him. Sin separates and God wants us close.
We have Jesus the true mediator, and in that love there is constant forgiveness and grace. I have come more and more to see repentance as a gift, a gift that brings us back to love. Lets’ not be afraid of repentance, no shame, just love. From the beginning of creation Gods heart was to bless and it still is. He doesn’t change.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever!
Lenten Quotes
‘Underneath all other desire is a desire for God, for love, for the true belonging’
| Ruth Haley Barton
“We formed a new religion
| Kanye West
No sins as long as there’s permission”
Lenten Song: The Blessing
Closing Blessing
Having been liberated from the shackles of sin,
set free from satanic slave masters,
and bypassed by the forces of Death,
may you now be held fast
by the unbreakable bonds of God’s faithfulness.
May you know the guidance of his Spirit
during both the brightness of the day
and the darkness of the night,
Until you arrive safely at the borders
of the Promised Land.
Amen
Evening Zoom Reflection at 9pm
We will be meeting tonight on Zoom to reflect on this together. You would be most welcome to join us. We start at 9pm and finish at 9:20pm. Maybe bring a Bible and a journal if you have them.
We are usually on a few moments before for a chat. Click here to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84743926286
We would love to make this a shared learning experience as much as possible so therefore please consider adding any thoughts, questions and insights that might arise for you in the comments section below. We would love to hear what God is up to in this time!
9 Comments on “Lent Week 3 | WEDNESDAY”
I found Pete’s reflections on God’s commandments so helpful today, and was struck by how they resonate with the recent words of the Pope, which I happened to come across this morning:
THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
When I go to confession, it is in order to be healed, to heal my soul.
To leave with greater spiritual health. To pass from misery to mercy.
The center of confession is not the sins we declare, but the divine love we receive, of which we are always in need.
The center of confession is Jesus who waits for us, who listens to us and forgives us.
Remember this: In the heart of God, we come before our mistakes.
And let us pray that we may experience the sacrament of reconciliation with renewed depth, to taste the forgiveness and infinite mercy of God. And let us pray that God may give his Church merciful priests and not torturers.
I would like to be able to take credit for today’s reflection but it came from the hand of my mother, the wonderful Jenny Moore!
Thank you Jenny!
“a healthy fear of God keeps us from sin, whilst an unhealthy fear of God keeps us from him.
Sin separates and God wants us close.”
Amen! Repentance is not Gods pointing finger but Abba’s open hand, his invitation to get close, to connect, to find our source of strength. We can often miss that open hand because we’re too ashamed to even look at the Father, all the while he’s sees us with affection.
And the closer we get to God, the easier it is stay away from sin. Repentance is that big beautiful gate way in our hearts that lead us to Jesus.
I used to see the ten commandments as constraining and limiting dictats, which coloured my understanding of God. I have come to see them as Gods way of defining the scope of our freedom. They are liberating. There is so much to explore, so much to enjoy, so much to experience which is good for us as we live in this freedom. God is for us and with us. What a powerful song of blessing. I have been playing it and joining in the amen, as a prayer over my family, my colleagues, and myself, to enjoy the liberating freedom that God has given us.
Powerful stuff this morning. I was praying earlier for our community as a police raid was going on just across the road, three police vans parked up out of the way, like a scene from a reality show. I was praying for salvation, reconciliation and deliverance. Then I I partook of this mornings Lent reflection and that song of blessing rang out over our nation, I wanted to blast it out to the neighbourhood. It expressed my heart for our community perfectly. Great timing dad.
Beautiful engagement tonight on the evening Zoom – reflecting on and wondering at the deep mercy of God and the gift of repentance and confession.
Soooo so good to read these. Thank you!
The bible verse re. Creation …struck by, “God Rests….. so we are like him if we rest too? “….wow!
Some rambling thoughts…
The Scriptures had me wondering whether in the commandments ….God was sharing his own “moral code” and whether confession brings us into alignment with His original blueprint for us – Close! -that we become what we were always meant to be – like our Father God. –
Confession helps me find the Father’s Grace for myself (sometimes the hardest to love) and subsequently then for others too.
So good, thank you Judy! Love the thought that God’s original blueprint for us was ‘Close!’