Author: admin

Wednesday 27th August 2025

“In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: 5 ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.” Jeremiah 27:1-6 NKJV

“Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. I have given him the beasts of the field also.” Jeremiah 28:10-14 NKJV

God who will not be mocked,

Hananiah fell into the hands of the God he served but did not listen to. He served in his own strength and understanding. He said what the people wanted to hear maybe and what he hoped would happen. He even stood against the truth when he heard it from Jeremiah. I wonder that he perhaps thought You, God would not punish him for saying nice things. A kind of don’t worry it will be alright.

But it can’t be alright if we ignore Your warnings or mock you. It may not happen straight way but Hananiah, we are told, died in the seventh month of that year as Jeremiah said he would. As the writer to the Hebrews says,” Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of You God, the living God.”(Deuteronomy 32:35) (Hebrews 10:30,31) How eternally grateful are we that we are new creations in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can repent turn from our sin and be forgiven. Help us to choose Your way, hear Your direction and correction even when it is hard.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Wednesday 27th August 2025

Your will be done, my God and Father
As in Heaven, so on Earth
My heart is drawn to self-exalting
Help me seek Your kingdom first
As Jesus walked, so I shall walk
Held by Your same unchanging love
Be still my soul, O lift your voice and pray
“Father, not my will but Yours be done”

How in that Garden He persisted
I may never fully know
The fearful weight of true obedience
It was held by Him alone
What wondrous faith to bear that cross
To bear my sin, what wondrous love
My hope was sure, when there my Saviour prayed
“Father, not my will but Yours be done”

When I am lost, when I am broken
In the night of fear and doubt
Still, I will trust in my good Father
Yes, to one great King I bow
As Jesus rose, so I shall rise
In ransomed glory at the throne
My heart restored With all Your saints, I sing
“Father, not my will but Yours be done”

As we go forth, our God and Father
Lead us daily in the fight
That all the world might see Your glory
And Your Name be lifted high
And in this Name we overcome
For You shall see us safely home
Now as Your church, we lift our voice and pray
“Father, not my will but Yours be done”

And in this Name we overcome
For You shall see us safely home
Now as Your church, we lift our voice and pray
“Father, not my will but Yours be done”

Father, not my will but Yours be done
Father, not my will but Yours be done

Lyrics: Rich Thompson, Jonny Robinson

Tuesday 26th August 2025

“Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8 Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.” Jeremiah 38:7-13 NKJV

Lord of kindness,

Ebed-Melech was not just thoughtful in asking for Jeremiah to be lifted from the cistern dungeon he was also risking his own position. I love that this incident is recorded in the narration its so personal. It was a kindness worth recording. They could have just put ropes down and hoisted Jeremiah up – but he was weak and thin. He could have got rope burns, dislocated his shoulders . . .

But Eded-Melech had not just thought about doing the right thing he had thought about how to do it. Thoughtfulness. Kindness. He did it the best way possible for Jeremiah. Sometimes we rush in to do good and forget the feelings and situation of those we are trying to help. Sometimes we need to think first. Be thoughtful and ask ourselves if this is the kindest way?

Sometimes it means doing something incognito. The men who fetched the rags are unnamed but essential. We need to remember that we do it for You and You know the best way if we ask. Jumble, old clothes served You on this occasion. The men pull him gently and easily up and ensured no-tried to stop them. We know no more about Ebed-Melech except that he was worthy of remembrance to You, in Your Word, Father. One kind deed noted for all eternity.Help us leave a trail of kind deeds.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Tuesday 26th August 2025
Another new song to me written in 2022.

We’ve built our stained-glass castles
Reaching to the sky
At our best to show Your glory
At our worst to show our pride
We’ve raised our hands in worship
And our fist to stake our claim
We’ve done so much good and so much harm
All in Your great name

But when I think about what has
The power to change the world
It could all be said with just one word
Kindness

And what if we lived with a heart of kindness?
What if we loved like we’ve been loved?
If that’s all that we’re remembered for
Well, lеt that be enough
So when thеy stand and tell the stories
Of who we are and what we’ve done
Of a thousand things that we could leave behind us
If they say just one word, well, let that word be kindness

Let our hearts be quick to listen
And our lips be slow to speak
Let us wrap ourselves in mercy
Compassion and humility
We’re reaching past the lines
That words like us and them have drawn (Us and them have drawn)
Knowing we’ll find common ground
Together at the cross

Chorus

Kindness
I can forgive because I’ve been forgiven
And I can show mercy
‘Cause it’s mercy I’ve received
It’s the kindness of my Father
That brought me back to life
And it’s His kindness that still brings me to my knees

I wanna live with a heart of kindness
I wanna love like I’ve been loved
If that’s all that I’m remembered for
Well, let that be enough
And I wanna stand and tell the story
Of who You are and what You’ve done
How Your amazing love would bring You here to find us
To rescue and redeem us in Your kindness
Let my life be a reflection of Your kindness

Change the world with kindness . . . .

Lyrics: Steve Curtis Chapman

Monday 25th August 2025

“Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property among the people there.  But when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!” “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.” Jeremiah 37:11-16 NIV

“Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’ 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” 4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.” 5 “He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.” Jeremiah 38:1-11 NIV

God of truth,

Jeremiah was just going to slide away from the trouble in Jerusalem to a more peaceful territory. Alas, he was too well known and too outspoken and was spotted. He was wrongly accused of deserting to Babylonia and imprisoned in the secretaries house with others who had been arrested. There was little food and little water and little room! Am I easily spotted as someone who speaks Your message? Do I ever do anything that makes me look like I am deserting?

And no doubt Jeremiah prayed. He has opportunity to speak to the King about being wrongly imprisoned so he gets a small reprieve. He is moved to the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers until all the bread in the city was gone. I sometimes complain about being hungry and I am terrible at fasting . . . perhaps I should consider how blessed I am.

But then it gets even worse. He is lowered into a cistern in the yard. Thankfully empty of water but still muddy at the bottom. Where he grew weak. Sometimes things happen and we pray and it gets a bit better and then sometimes it gets worse. You never promised us it would be easy. Jesus said we must take up our cross . . . (Luke 9:23). Perhaps like Jeremiah in our weakness we just need to wait and trust. You saved Jeremiah from the mud and You saved me from sinking in sin.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Monday 25th August 2025
Again this song just keeps wrapping me up in the love of God and keeping me worshipping.

When I fear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast
When the tempter would prevail
He will hold me fast
I could never keep my hold
Through life’s fearful path
For my love is often cold
He must hold me fast

He will hold me fast
He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so
He will hold me fast

Those He saves are His delight
Christ will hold me fast
Precious in His holy sight
He will hold me fast
He’ll not let my soul be lost
His promises shall last
Bought by Him at such a cost
He will hold me fast

For my life He bled and died
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
Till our faith is turned to sight
When he comes at last

Lyrics: Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Selah 2020.