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Friday 21st August 2021

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. ²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. ³For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place. ⁴Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored,
and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life. ⁵Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; ⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—⁷Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” Isaiah 43:1-7 NKJV

Lord God Almighty,

What a beautiful passage. Containing Your comfort, reminding them of Your divine ownership and promise of restoration. We are now adopted into God’s family (Ephesians 1:5) and so we look at this passage as it relates to ourselves. I have called you by your name. Abraham was given a new name by You. You got Moses attention by calling him by name from a burning, non burning up bush. You do not just see us as another person or a number but as an individual. We forget people’s names but You never forget.

How reassuring that You remember our name, our nature our very being. You understand us, what broke us, what encouraged us, what we fear. And our individual walk through problems, difficulties even death will never be alone, without You. Fear not. Two small words that we often need to hear from You. Did it give as much comfort to the first listeners as it has to the many since Jesus? It is sobering that being a Christian does not mean we are protected from life but You will be with us and will finally see us safely even through death itself.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Friday 21st August 2026

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”

Lyrics: R Keen

Thursday 20th August 2026

“Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. ²While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. ⁵In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ⁶Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.” Daniel 5:1-6 NKJV

Father and Lord God,

I love the details of Belshazzar’s troubled face and thoughts, loose hips and knees knocking against each other. Daniel again is called for because the Queen remembers him. He is no longer a young man and he must remember being called for by Nebuchadnezzar to interpret his dreams (Daniel 2 and 4). At least on this occasion he has some writing to interpret under Your revelation.

However it is not always wise to be so honest and upset an all powerful King! But Daniel has been here before and trusts You. He reminds the King that he, Daniel had spoken to his father Nebuchadnezzar who God warned warned and then had eaten gress till he humbled himself. Daniel told him he had done worse showing no humility whatsoever. He was now weighed and found guilty by the God who holds his breath in His hand and owns all his ways (Daniel 5:23). That night he was slain.

It is good to keep our account with You Lord short, that is, up to date. Not forgetting where our grace and forgiveness comes from. No room for self aggrandisement. And to keep our relations with others in good health!

In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Worship Thursday 20th August 2026
Thank God there is an endless ocean of boundless salvation for this imperfect child of God.

O boundless salvation! deep ocean of love,
O fulness of mercy, Christ brought from above,
The whole world redeeming, so rich and so free,
Now flowing for all men, come, roll over me!

My sins they are many, their stains are so deep,
And bitter the tears of remorse that I weep;
But useless is weeping; thou great crimson sea,
Thy waters can cleanse me, come, roll over me!

My tempers are fitful, my passions are strong,
They bind my poor soul and they force me to wrong;
Beneath thy blest billows deliverance I see,
O come, mighty ocean, and roll over me!

Now tossed with temptation, then haunted with fears,
My life has been joyless and useless for years;
I feel something better most surely would be
If once thy pure waters would roll over me.

O ocean of mercy, oft longing I’ve stood
On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood!
Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea,
I will not go back till it rolls over me.

The tide is now flowing, I’m touching the wave,
I hear the loud call of the mighty to save;
My faith’s growing bolder, delivered I’ll be;
I plunge ‘neath the waters, they roll over me.

And now, hallelujah! the rest of my days
Shall gladly be spent in promoting his praise
Who opened his bosom to pour out this sea
Of boundless salvation for you and for me.

Lyrics: General William Booth (Funder Salvation Army)

Wednesday 19th August 2026

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! ¹³For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ ¹⁵Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15

God Almighty,

This is one of those passages where I can see both sides of the suggested meanings. Lucifer could be translated as sining one or Day star and refer to the King of Babylon who sees himself in his own glory. Or it could be a reference to Lucifer who we read of in Revelation 12:9 and was hurled down with all his angels. It does come in Isaiah’s chapter on the fall of the King of Babylon. But with all prophetic scripture, sometimes they captured more than they know about the far future. Isaiah has many passages pointing so clearly to the birth of the Saviour.

So perhaps this is where I need to hold the two truths at the same time. Historically and futuristic. There is always more to Your word Lord God than we first realise. How often I have found a verse that speaks to me in my time as if You were saying it personally now Lord God. And I am so grateful that You gave us not a novel or a history book but Your Word inspired by Your Holy Spirit. When I open the Bible. please inspire me with its truth and, with what I need to know for today. You do bring down evil in Your time Lord. And Lucifer is just a fallen angel, angry, evil but not in control. Keep our eyes on You.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Wednesday 19th August 2026
Well I had to look it up as I like to know wha I am singing! A bulwark is a defensive wall, rampart, or any strong person, thing, or idea that provides protection, safety, or support against danger, loss, or harm. Wow.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing.
You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.

That Word above all earthly powers no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!

Lyrics: Martin Luther 1529
Translator: Frederic Henry Hedge 1852