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Monday 3rd August 2026

“Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.” ¹⁵Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” ¹⁶So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” ¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. ¹⁸But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.’ ” ¹⁹And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.” ²⁰But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.” Jeremiah 38:14-20 NKJV

Father and Lord,

Poor Zedekiah. He is between a rock and a hard place and the only person who will tell him the truth is Jeremiah who always says what he does not want to hear. Zedekiah just wants everything to be OK again and be safe in his little luxurious palace. I know how he feels. Especially those days when two, three or four things go wrong or break or are not fixable. Sometimes it is the little things that get us down! A puncture on a Sunday evening. The fridge defrosting itself . . . We need home to be our safe place even if not so luxurious.

It is an honest person who can admit they are afraid. Afraid of not being able to cope with a big situation or even a small one. Zedekiah admits his fear but does not want to do what is right and safest. So what he feared came upon Zedekiah and worse. (Jeremiah 39:1-8). All his sons were killed before him and he was blinded and taken to Babylon. Help us, when we are afraid, to seek You Lord and wise godly counsel. Not to leave ourselves isolated where the enemy can surround and terrorise us (1 Peter 5:8). To hear Your Holy Spirit’s guidance. To listen and follow His lead.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Monday 3rd August 2026
I thought I had used this this year – but have not. It is probably that I listen to it or sing the chorus when I need a faith hug.

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

He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast
For my Savior loves me so, 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
‘Til our faith is turned to sight
When he comes at last

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

Repeat chorus twice

Lyrics: Ada R. Habershon(1906) and modernised by Matt Merker (2013).

Sunday 2nd August 2026

“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. ¹⁸You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹You are great in counsel and mighty inwork, for Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. ²⁰You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day. ²¹You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²²You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ²³And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.” Jeremiah 32:16-19 NKJV

Lord God,

An honest man’s prayer. Jeremiah states that nothing is too difficult for You, God For You are Sovereign, Lord, all powerful and yet mercifully kind. You know every minor detail of everything every person does and you have revealed Yourself through miracles and signs. Yet Your people still have turned away from You, and You God are exiling them. Meanwhile You tell him to buy land and so his prayer is first remembering who You are and then seeking clarification, some way he can understand all this calamity.

He goes on to point out the siege mounds around Jerusalem, the inevitable defeat, so even he wonders why You God told him to buy the field (Jeremiah 32:24-25). I love Your answer Lord to Jeremiah, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3). The field was the future, hope and restoration.

It is encouraging, even though it is doubt raised. We can come to You with situations bigger than we can understand, We can give You all our concerns and doubts. No pretending. Lord in our world, our nation and even our own lives we have questions and doubts and confusion. So we can bring it all to You and trust You to work out the answers in Your way and Your time. You will show us what we need to see and wait for those mighty things You will do in Your time.

In Jesus name we pry, Amen.

Worship Sunday 2nd August 2026
This is one for listening worship – just 6 minutes.

Saturday 1st August 2026

“And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.”’ ⁸Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. ⁹So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. ¹¹So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; ¹²and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison. ¹³“Then I charged Baruch before them, saying, ¹⁴‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.” ¹⁵For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” ’” Jeremiah 32:6-15 NKJV

God who leads,

Jeremiah is in prison but still finding ways to prove he believes what You God are saying to him and Jerusalem. He is acting out his faith even wile in prison, the enemy breathing upon them and God not saving them on this occasion. . . . so why throw money away for land which will never be yours? But Jeremiah needs them to see that now is not forever. He knows You, God have sent his cousin Hanamel to sell him this land. They just want to liquidise their assets.

The answers from God sometimes can take many years. Our prayers are not like purchase requests on the promise of immediate postage. You God, know the timing for the right fulfillment. Jeremiah asks Baruch to keep the deeds in an earthen pot ensuring survival for some time, symbolic for those listening. The exile would not be ended or solved overnight! We do not know if Jeremiah ever got to live on his purchased land – as he was eventually taken to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:6,7.

Help us to see the things before us that we need to do. Help us to see when You show us what to do when things do not change. Help us to see that You are always with us, always listening and answering prayer, even if not as quickly or as we would want, right now.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Saturday 1st August 2026
Shawna wrote about this song, “One night I had an out-of-the-blue thought that I should write a song on prayer. I had a studio session scheduled in 3 days and wanted to record it then. I called my son Gary, he came over and stayed with me most of the night while we wrote this song together.”

If you need a steady hand to guide you
If it seems you’ve somehow lost your way
If you feel there’s no one you can turn to
Just look to God and pray

On your knees or standing at a crossroads
Late at night or in the light of day
In a crowd, a closet, or a chapel
Just look to God and pray

He is there when you’re searching for the answers
He is there when you need a little grace
Any time, anywhere you have a chance to
Seek the One who knows the way
Just pray

When His love continues to amaze you
When you feel your heart begin to change
When you know He gave his Son to save you
Just look to God and pray

Chorus

Bring your doubts, your worries and your faith
Share your hopes and dreams He is listening
There’s no time or distance in the way
The moment you begin, it’s just you and Him

He is there when you’re searching for the answers
He is there when you need a little grace
You’re His child and His love will never fail you
He is with you He will hear you He will stay
Just pray
Just pray

Lyrics: Shawna Edwards and Gary Edwards (2024)