Have thine own way Lord – Start The Day

Sunday 29th March 2026

“After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. ⁶Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. ⁷And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. ⁸You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.” 1 Samuel 10:5-8

“And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²²Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”” 1 Samuel 10:20-23 NKJV

Lord God,

Two men by Rachels tomb with news of the donkeys. Then by the terebinth tree of Tabor three men carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. Who will give Saul two loaves of bread. Then as they come to the city a musical group that Saul will prophesy with! How many exact signs you give Saul to know this is God’s will and provision?!

And yet when Samuel comes, Saul is hiding. Scared, unwilling, doubtful? Perhaps looking for lost donkeys was the only responsibility this good looking young man wanted (1 Samuel 9:2).

Father, You do not often give us that many signs when we feel You are asking us, calling us to take up some task or responsibility. But Saul could not deny Your call. Help us not to be found hiding when You are calling us to a task, pretending we have not heard or making excuses. You do provide and teach and enable us. And help us to bide Your time not rush and panic like Saul, and push to do something before time (1 Samuel 13:11,12) . Even if we have lost an hour with the clock going forward!

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Sunday 29th March 2026
Only a month since we had this hymn but it is worth repeating. Who would guess it was written 120 years ago!

Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is thine!
Touch me and heal me, Saviour divine!

Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!

Lyrics: Adelaide A Pollard

Saturday 14th February 2026

“Then Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!” ⁴¹And Moses said, “Now why do you transgress the command of the Lord? For this will not succeed. ⁴²Do not go up, lest you be defeated by your enemies, for the Lord is not among you. ⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.” Numbers 14:39-45 NKJV

Loving Father,

This brought to mind the saying two wrongs don’t make a right! Its not from Your Word but it seems to fit the Israelites behaviour. Spies had been sent out into the promised land (Numbers 13). Only Joshua and Caleb came back with faith to take the land that You had promised them . The others only saw defeat and did not trust You yet again.

You were angry and yet Moses dared to negotiate with You for their lives. You remembered Your promises and told Moses to tell them they would not enter the land but the next generation would. (Numbers 14:20-25). So the next thing they decide is to go and try and take the land on their own to put things right? But it was disobedience again and they took a bad attack. Defeated spiritually and physically.

These were Your people and yet they refused to believe what You promised them. The care You held for them, theylove You had showed them up to this time. Their story from Abraham is Your story. You, Lord God, keeping faith with them even when they did not with You. Two wrongs and You had to start winning their trust again.

Lest I become proud and judge them and think I am all right – humble me under Your mighty hand God, that I may be lifted up in due time (1 Peter 5:6-7). Help me to recognise and submit to Your divine authority, and trust You for the right timing and care.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Worship Saturday 14th February 2026

Have thine own way, Lord!
Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
after thy will,
while I am waiting,
yielded and still.

Have thine own way, Lord!
Have thine own way!
Search me and try me,
Savior today!
Wash me just now, Lord,
wash me just now,
as in thy presence
humbly I bow.

Have thine own way, Lord!
Have thine own way!
Wounded and weary,
help me I pray!
Power, all power,
surely is thine!
Touch me and heal me,
Savior divine!

Have thine own way, Lord!
Have thine own way!
Hold o’er my being
absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit
till all shall see
Christ only, always,
living in me!

Lyrics: Adelaide A Pollard

Wednesday 20th August 2025

“During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ²The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.”
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. ⁴“Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon ⁵The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. ⁶Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. ⁷The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.

⁸But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. ⁹Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. ¹⁰But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” ¹¹Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹²“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. ¹³“At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”
Daniel 1:1-13 NLT

Lord God,

These young men were indeed wise. Knowing they had no choice, they made the best of it but kept their identities even though their names were changed. Many use this passage to promote becoming vegetarians or abstaining from alcohol. On pondering this Lord I tried to stand in Daniels shoes for a moment.

Daniel wanted to show they were followers of You, Yahweh, without seeming rebellious or self righteous. So they declined to eat meat which had been offered to Babylonian idols and not slaughtered as You God demanded. The drink may have also been dedicated to one of their idols or false gods. They showed that You, God were able to keep them healthy. And they could control their appetites and flourished.

There are times when You ask us to control our appetite (not just for food). And sin has no great and small, just bigger consequences? Thank You that you care enough to strive with us for good. The verse in Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus Your Son, learned obedience from the things he suffered. He never sinned. If he needed to learn how much more do I.

As You God say, “My child, don’t make light of My discipline, and don’t give up when I, the Lord correct you. For I discipline those I love, and I punishes each one I accepts as My child.” (Hebrews 5:5b-6)

In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Worship Wednesday 20th August 2025
Two choices. One from 1909 and one from 1997. Both challenge me . . .

Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still.

2 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
as in thy presence humbly I bow.

3 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

4 Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!

Lyrics: Adelaide A Pollard (1909)

Lyrics: Darlene Zschech