Thursday 14th May 2026

“Where the word of a king is, there is power; And who may say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful; And a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, 6 Because for every matter there is a time and judgment, Though the misery of man increases greatly. 7 For he does not know what will happen; So who can tell him when it will occur? 8 No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, And no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war, And wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it. 9 All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: There is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt. 10 Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 8:6-9 NKJV

God of everything under the sun,

As the writer says we cannot know what will happen in the future. We cannot know why we were born into our family and not the son of a king. We cannot know a great many things and as the writer to Ecclesiastes says when he has no answer, it is like trying to grasp for the wind (1:14. 2:11 and 4:6).

Even the king who has power over other men has no control of death or his own spirit and he worries abut what he will be remembered for. It is good to hear of a good life well spent in Your service and it does encourage us. But in the long term, in a few generations, it will be forgotten. I know I want to be thought well of – isn’t that just normal humanity?

But really the most important thing is pleasing You God, and You knowing me, faults and all. And You do and always will (Psalm 139). You are not forgetful and yes You may give us all a new name (Revelation 2:17) but will still know everything about us. About everyone – but that is too much for me to comprehend. The difference is You, God remember it without condemnation, without judgement. We are not guilty and You see us cleansed and in the holiness of Jesus. I desire to do my best for God. Out of gratitude? Out of obedience? Out of love.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Thursday 14th May 2026

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea:
A great High Priest whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart.
I know that while in Heav’n he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see him there,
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the just is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me,
To look on him and pardon me.

Behold him there, the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with himself I cannot die;
My soul is purchased by his blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.

Lyrics: Charitie Lees Smith


Wednesday 13th May 2026

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king’s successor do than what has already been done? 13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. 14 The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. 15 Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself, “This too is meaningless.” 16 For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die!” Ecclesiastes 2:11-16 NKJV

God of eternity,

It is a subject many people grapple with. What happens to us when we die. I was a young mum when I asked Jesus into my life and finding out about heaven was a bonus. I had not worried about death I was too busy worrying about life! It is a question many people either avoid or hope it will be going to somewhere better to without wanting to know how to be sure they get there..

The writer to Ecclesiastes saw it as unfair that the foolish and the wise will have the same end. They trusted in You Yahweh their God in life and also in death. I wonder if Solomon would have struggled today knowing that You God, through Jesus, have enabled the wise and the foolish to have the same destination after death and share heaven with You God!? But not all of them.

It is all about having a repentant heart and nothing to do with the head. And You read hearts and always have done (1 Samuel 16:7). Thank You that it does not depend on us. I could never be good enough, never have given enough or done enough, never have had enough faith. It is all about Your mercy and grace freely given to us who choose Your Son Jesus as our Saviour.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Chorus
Jesus, lover of my soul
All consuming fire is in Your gaze
Jesus, I want You to know
I will follow You all my days
For no one else in history is like You
And history itself belongs to You
Alpha and Omega, You have loved me
And I will share eternity with You

It’s all about You, Jesus
And all this is for You
For Your glory and Your fame
It’s not about me
As if You should do things my way
You alone are God and I surrender
To Your ways

Lyrics: Paol Oakley

Tuesday 12th May 2026

““Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labors  at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:1-9 NKJV

God of wonders,

We are entering the gloom. It seems the writer (Solomon?) is looking down not into a half full glass or even half empty one. It is bone dry. To get no satisfaction from a job completed, from a new day rising, a glimpse of Your creation, trees blowing in the breeze, or a bubbling stream making its way to the sea.

The writer may be factually right. There is nothing new under the sun. People make the same mistakes in error or due to sin. Accidents happen. There may be people doing amazingly kind things every day, new discoveries . . . but it does not always make us feel better.

Sometimes, when you are down, you just miss everything. Sometimes a cheerful person is an irritation. The ‘dissess’ take over. Disappointment, distress, disillusionment . . .

But You are still God and your foot does not slip and You do not slumber of sleep (Psalm 121:33-4) You are our refuge (Psalm 46) and You do lift us up to once again find our joy in You. (Nehemiah 8:10).

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Tuesday 12th May 2026
Memories of school assemblies. . Cecil wrote this hymn to explain the phrase “Maker of heaven and earth” from the Apostles’ Creed in simple terms, emphasizing God’s creation of the natural world. She did it well.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.

Chorus

The purple headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

Chorus

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,−
He made them every one:

Chorus

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Lyrics: Cecil Frances Alexander