22nd. June. 2020. Daily Devotion.

Peter Millar’s message this week picks up on the subject of birds. Yesterday we thought of the sparrows, but before we read his contribution on magpies, let us hear from Jesus:

25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

28 ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

Magpies:

Thank you for all the messages about the article on ravens by Jim Perrin. Here Jim writes about magpies…in the midst of everything going on in the world his words redirect our thoughts in a great way!…….For several years the ivy bush by my window has been home to a pair of magpies, whose calls one eminent ornithologist unkindly compared to the sound of machine-gun fire. They have a greater range than that. Their chirruping and chuckling are amiably tuneful. I am at a loss to understand why magpies are so widely disliked. For me, they are among the most beautiful of birds. Whoever held the palette when creating their plumage was one of the great artists. If you think of them merely as noisy monochrome crows, look again. Green, bronze, purple, touches of azure, hints of red, iridescence – all add depth and complexity to that overall piebald patterning. But I actually love all crows – magpies and ravens especially. Their intelligence is striking. Years ago, I encountered an old gamekeeper I knew. At the edge of a wood a magpie flew out. He threw up his gun and brought the bird down. “I will put that on the gibbet later on,” he commented, and walked off to feed his pheasant poults. I counted five magpies flying towards the shot bird. They landed, hopped round crooning softly, prodding it with their beaks, laying grass on it. Say I am anthropomorphising if you will, but there was concern, grief even, in their behaviour. After they had dispersed, I walked back, picked up the limp corpse, carried it into the wood and laid it to rest under moss and leaves, respectfully.

Words of hope:

This week I read these words by Bishop Ken Untener at the funeral of a close friend Dr Runa Mackay, one of the great women of Scotland who died recently at 98. Runa who had given her life as a medic to the Palestinian people liked these words which were also valued by Archbishop Romero of El Salvador:

It helps now and then, to step back and take the long view. The Kingdom of God is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. That is what we are about. We plant the seeds that will one day grow. We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realising that. This enables us to do something and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results. We are ministers not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

Prayers. “God has no use for the prayers of people who won’t listen to Him.” Proverbs 28:9

Lord, the newness of this day calls me to an untried way; Let me gladly take the road,
Give me strength to bear my load. Thou my guide and helper be — I will travel through with Thee. Amen.

Lord, when I see how the world is changing, sometimes I begin to feel unsure. Please help me not to embrace anything that is forbidden by you, but to measure all things by your divine yardstick. What used to be commonplace truth is frowned upon and new standards are being espoused, standards that you did not set out for us. Let me follow only your way. Let me hear only your voice, not the voices of those who do not believe in your teachings. Let me celebrate and rejoice with those who do believe in you.

Help me to stand firm always, and gain my strength through faith, prayer, study of your Word, and worship. Let me turn my head from things that destroy or weaken me. Let me say no to the forbidden that lasts for a short moment in time, looking ahead to the pleasures you have waiting for all who follow your path to eternal glory. Thank you, Lord, for the wisdom to say no to man’s constant, changing lifestyles that steal me away from you. Keep my eyes fixed on you. I ask this in the name your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Here is a prayer by Michael Leunig a well-known Australian cartoonist, contributed by Isabel Whyte:

Dear God,
Give comfort and peace to those who are separated
from loved ones. May the ache in their hearts be
the strengthening of their hearts. May their longing
bring resolve to their lives, conviction and purity
To their love. Teach them to embrace their sadness
Lest it turn to despair. Transform their yearning
Into wisdom. Let their hearts grow fonder. Amen.

Almighty and merciful Father, who shows your love to all your creation.
We come before you, asking for a quick control of the Coronavirus currently ravaging our world.
Hear graciously the prayers we make for those affected by the virus in various parts of the world.
Grant healing to the sick, eternal life to the dead and consolation to the bereaved families.
We pray that an effective medicine to combat the sickness be speedily found.
We pray for the relevant governments and health authorities that they take appropriate steps for the good of the people.
Look upon us in your mercy and forgive us our failings. Amen.