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Tuesday 8th April 2025

“ The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’ 3 Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. 4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.” 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.” Judges 7:2-8 NIV

Lord our Saviour,

Twenty two thousand men were honest and not up for a fight. I cannot judge them, to be truthful I think I would have been in their number. Honesty is best. You, God know anyway.

Seven hundred were head down slurpers and three hundred kept alert and looking about as they drank. Who knows which I would have done as I would have gone home already. The three hundred must have had a few concerns, for one they had to carry all the provisions themselves and were outnumbered. And we read later in the story they needed to take everything, lights, jars, trumpets and all!

You showed young Gideon from the smallest tribe of Benjamin that even in war You only need the few with faith to follow and obey Your leading God and the war is won. This must encourage us in prayer warfare, battling the tide of world opinion against Christian faith and standing for holy clean living. Whatever we consider we might have done if part of Gideon’s Army, help us remember You are our God. Help us to be brave, stay true and trust You to see us through trouble, trauma even war. And we are on the winning side – death has been vanquished. Not by us but by You through Your Son. Hallelujah.

Worship Tuesday 8th April 2025
In His strength . . . not our own

 I’ll go in the strength of the Lord,
in paths he has marked for my feet:
I’ll follow the light of his word,
nor shrink from the dangers I meet.
His presence my steps shall attend,
his fullness my wants shall supply;
on him, till my journey shall end,
my unwavering faith will rely.

I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go in the strength,
I’ll go in the strength of the Lord.
I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go in the strength,
I’ll go in the strength of the Lord.

I’ll go in the strength of the Lord,
to work he appoints me to do;
in joy which his smile doth afford
my soul shall its vigor renew.
His wisdom shall guard me from harm,
his power my sufficiency prove;
I’ll trust his omnipotent arm,
and prove his unchangeable love.

I’ll go in the strength of the Lord,
to conflicts which faith will require;
his grace, as my shield and reward,
my courage and zeal shall inspire.
Since he gives the word of command
to meet and encounter the foe,
with his sword of truth in my hand
to suffer and triumph I’ll go.

Lyrics: Edward Turney

Monday 7th April 2025

“Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. 35 He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. 36 Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, 37 prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” 38 And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” 40 So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.” Judges 6:33-40 NLT

God of reassurance,

Your Word here says You clothed Gideon with power. But he was not super human he still had doubts about himself getting it wrong. So he asked for another two assurances, putting out fleeces. I like Gideon. He still has his weakness amidst his obedience. It encourages me. I have not laid out sheep fleeces but I have been unsure and You have told me the same thing, often three times, at different occasions to raise my faith and encourage me. Sometimes using someone else to say why don’t you do this or through a Bible verse, an inner prompt or even something I see which speaks to me.

Thank You that You know our weaknesses and instead of punishing us You encourage us, so we can grow in faith and trust. Help us to persevere and open our spiritual ears even when You have to repeat Yourself. And thank you for Your patience.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Monday 7th April 2025

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of your holy word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfil in us
All Your purposes, for Your glory.

Teach us Lord full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise
Cause our eyes to see,
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ’til your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ’til your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

Lyrics: Stuart Townend

Sunday 6th April 2025

“Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” 13 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” 15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” 16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”” Judges 6:11-16 NLT

God of the strong and the weakest,

The book of Judges again shows us how You choose the inexperienced, the weak, the scared to show Your mighty love. A nobody hiding in the bottom of a winepress trying to hide grain. He calls himself the least of the least, and he is not trying to be humble.

Many Bible scholars think that the angel of the Lord here was an appearance of Jesus. Whether it was or whether it was an angel, it reminds me that You often speak when we are not spending time listening in particular. When we are not expecting it. When we are about the ordinary or the necessary. It was the last thing Gideon expected. I love that You often break into our thoughts with an idea or something we need to do or a direction. And we know it did not come from our thoughts.

Help us to recognise and not miss those moments but acknowledge them and look if we need to do something in response. And You often confirm it by speaking to someone else about the same thing. or someone tells us that we are an answer to their prayers.

Help us to take time to listen, yes but help us hear Your voice in the middle of our daily tasks. As Gideon did.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Sunday 6th April 2025
verse 3 a beautiful prayer . . . .

O Jesus, I have promised
To serve you to the end;
Be thou forever near me,
My Master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If Thou wilt be my guide.

Oh, let me feel Thee near me;
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
The tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me,
Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
And shield my soul from sin.

Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion, 
The murmurs of self-will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
To hasten, or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
 Thou Guardian of my soul.

O Jesus, Thou hast promised
 To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
 To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend.

Lyrics: John Ernest Bode

This hymn was written by John Ernest Bode (13 February 1816 – 6 October 1874) an Anglican priest, educator, poet, and hymnist on the occasion of the confirmation of his own two sons and daughter at Castle Camps village in 1869. It was not put to music until 1881.