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Wednesday 12th August 2026

“And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has been captured!” ²²Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.²³Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴“Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’ ²⁵“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You eat meat with blood, you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land? ²⁶You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’” Ezekiel 33:21-26 NKJV

Lord God and Creator,

In the beginning the world was without form and void. And You spoke beauty, colour, life, and order to it. And as long as Your order was followed all was well. It did not last long. When down through history You choose Abraham and his people, You showed them Your order, Your laws, and offered protection, provision and blessing. It did not last long. But You were, are faithful. Ezekiel reminds them why they are in a mess, chaos all around. They left You, God. But You never left them.

We know You then began again with another man. Not a father of nations, not a priest, not a prophet, though he was all those things too . . . You sent the Law in person so we could see what it looked, sounded and acted like in person. Your character and nature in the person of Your Son Jesus Christ. He brought peace to the demon possessed (Mark 5:1-20), healing to the sick, life to the dead (Mark 5:21-43), He gave forgiveness freely (Luke 7:48) and life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

And yet today, all around me, I see people offending You. Doing what Ezekiel condemns. But then I see the church spreading Your message and trying to turn them to You. It seems a huge task. But every single person who finds You is a miracle. And one day it will be sorted. I know not how. But it will. Until then Lord, amidst a messy, sinful, fallen world, bless and protect Your people, give us a harvest of souls and deliver us from evil. A big prayer – but You are a big God, Lord.

In Jesus name wee pay, Amen.

Worship Wednesday 12th August 2026
I considered putting a hymn about the call to find the lost – but then the greatest miracle to me is that he saved me! It’s what inspires me to tell others . . .

I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.

But “I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”

I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.

Chorus

I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.

Chorus

I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.

Chorus twice.

Lyrics:Daniel W Whittle

Tuesday 11th August 2026

“Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, ¹²“Take him and look after him, and do him no harm; but do to him just as he says to you.” ¹³So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers; ¹⁴then they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.” Jeremiah 39:11-14 NKJV

“And it happened after ten days that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, ⁹and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: ¹⁰‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you. ¹¹Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.” Jeremiah 42:7-11 NKJV

Father and Guide,

Jeremiah has consistently given them Your best way forward in very complicated circumstances, Enemies on every side coming and going. Then Israel being taken off into exile by Assyria and Judah by Babylon. Jeremiah told his people whether in Babylon or Judah to settle and get on with life. But do they? No of course not. Ishmael of the royal family and ten of his officers murder Gedaliah, who had been made governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 41:2). Then they are in fear of reprisal.

Jeremiah we see gains his freedom. Nebuchadnezzar perhaps saw him as someone speaking peace and against any rebellion so not only frees him but gives him provisions and a gift (Jeremiah 40:5-6). You did not overlook your servant. So he continues to speak out and warn against going to Egypt. So what do they do? They go to Egypt and take Jeremiah with them! But Jeremiah is not threatened by imprisonment, exile or by being a refugee . . . he continues to speak. And we moan at a little discomfort? I am sure he was not a perfect man – no one is. You gave him what he needed, not what he wanted and he was faithful. He was free to do Your will whether in prison or not. We are not all called to be a Jeremiah but keep us faithful.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Worship Tuesday 11th August 2026
A free heart to follow and a fabulous worship hymn to rejoice.

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Lyrics: Charles Wesley

Monday 10th August 2026

“You, O Lord, remain forever;
Your throne from generation to generation.
²⁰Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?
²¹Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored;
Renew our days as of old,
²²Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!” Lamentations 5:19-22 NKJV

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12

O God,

The writer to Lamentations though not responsible for all the sin in Judah – knows the only way to approach You, God to ask for help is admitting he needs to turn back to You and be restored first. just as David prayed through His Psalm 51.

There is nothing we can do to change anything. We cannot persuade you, cajolle you, do good deeds for You, donate time and money to You. We need a repentant heart. You to humble us and bring us to where we can be restored. Nothing is too difficult for You, as Jeremiah reminded us in 32:17. Then following restoration will come renewed days and joy. The writer to Lamentations however is in deep distress and recognises that God may still be angry because they deserve it.

None of us deserve the full love, forgiveness and blessing of God. But we receive them because of Jesus who died and rose again (John 1:29). He is no longer angry with us. He is not the judge sitting on a cloud waiting for us to do wrong. He is the loving Father with us, helping us, guiding us, encouraging us, chastising us, forgiving us all the way home. Our hearts and minds always with Him.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Monday 10th August 2026
Yes another I try and sneak in regularly because for me it is one of those profound, private and honest worship songs.

There comes a time in each believer’s life
When problems crowd around
And in the darkness, hands outstretched
We reach to touch You once again
And oh, the joy that’s found

Slip off your shoes and leave your doubts outside
You won’t be using the walk of the world in His presence
You’ll only need your repentant heart

Now it may seem funny
But if you use the word too much
The meaning flies away
Sorry doesn’t mean a lot
Unless you understand the cost
And how the price was paid

Chorus

So come and sit by your Father’s side
Tell Him what’s on your heart
Give your worries to Him
Every problem, every sin
And make a brand new, come on
Make a brand new start

Chorus

And that’s a start
Slip off your shoes

Lyrics: John Pantry