28th March 2020. Daily Devotion.

Good day everyone,

Tonight, the clocks will go forward and although we have officially been in Spring for a week since the equinox, it will begin to feel more so with the lengthening of the daylight into the evening. The grey skies have cleared, and the sunshine is illuminating the signs of Spring which are well established early this year. We are fortunate that nowadays we can enjoy flowers all winter. My mother, who died forty years ago on Monday, would have loved the winter pansies, primulas and hellebores. And imagine, camellias flowering outdoors in Scotland!

To relieve the tedium of the lockdown and to raise your spirits, go out into your garden if you have one; or go for a walk past neighbours gardens to admire the early tulips, the flowering currants and notice the first sheers of green on the hawthorn hedges. If you cannot, then watch a nature programme on television. I’d even put up with David Attenborough if I had to! The flowers are early, even so, they are a reminder of the glory of God’s creation. Rejoice in them and lift your soul above the care and anxiety about what is happening around us. Let these verses inspire your thoughts and prayers and with gratitude offer your prayers for the suffering of the world. Today, pray again for our own land, for those you may know who have the virus, and for the sad situation of millions in the USA who cannot afford healthcare and whose livelihoods are threatened.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Hebrews 11:3; See also Genesis 1:11, Isaiah 42:5, and many others.)

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17; See also 1 Corinthians 8:6)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.” (Psalm 19:1-6)

And Jesus Himself rejoiced in nature: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 5:28-29

Here is a hymn composed by Graham Leitch:

IN TIMES OF DANGER AND OF DOUBT

In times of danger and of doubt,
When trials multiply,
Lord, calm our fears and still our souls,
Remind us of your truths of old:
Help us on you rely.
Help us on you rely.

When changing our familiar ways,
Help us adapt to change;
Lord, give us persevering hearts,
A spirit fit to face the task
In comfort or in pain.
In comfort or in pain

Help us to see our neighbours’ need,
Our neighbours’ burden share;
To go for them that second mile,
To love and give and help and smile
In comfort or in pain.
In comfort or in pain.

Lord Jesus, you have suffered more,
Your pain has known no end;
You healed the sick, reclaimed the lame,
In pity share each sufferer’s pain,
On you we now depend.
On you we now depend.

28th March 2020. Daily Devotion.

Good day everyone,

Here is the tune “Repton” on YouTube.

More on this topic on Monday. Take care, stay safe and God bless you. Colin