2026 will again be through the Bible chronologically selecting verses which attract my attention or questions or encourage me on the day. I pray it blesses whoever reads . . . My theological background is Salvation Army College and now Church of England. I love all Christian denominations.
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. Forgive me and help me turn from everything I know is wrong. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay the price and set me free from my sin. Please come into my life, fill me with your Holy Spirit and be with me forever. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”
“Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:1-4 NKJV
Father of new mornings,
Thank you that every morning is new with fresh hope and love and Your mercy. Even though here we are again with the children of Israel paused at a river wondering how they would get across. Perhaps they remembered the story their parents told them about crossing another different river when they left Egypt? Only two people would actually remember that – Caleb and Joshua.
But You do not need to do things the same way Lord. You are creative and show Your power though another water parting miracle! With Moses the staff represented Your command through Moses for the water to part. Here the ark of the covenant – the symbol of Your presence with them went first And the water itself drew back before You God.. They were to follow a little behind. How symbolic. Following You carefully not trying to rush ahead or assume the way. They had to wait, look and follow. Then they had their own testimony of Your miraculous power and provision of a dry crossing..
I can think of no better lesson Lord. Whatever life throws at us, whatever deep water is to be passed through, or mountain climbed,. We should look for You, wait upon You and follow where You lead. We too will see and have our own miracles to attest to Your provision and way forward. Thank You that You are with us always as we too have not passed this way before.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Wednesday 4th March 2026 I limit this hymn to about once a year – but sometimes a rousing familiar hymn is needed to lift us to praise.
Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but you are mighty; hold me with Thy powerful hand. Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more, feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing waters flow. Let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through. Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer, be Thou still my strength and shield, be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside. Death of death, and hell’s Destruction, land me safe on Canaan’s side. Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to Thee, I will ever give to Thee.
Lyrics: William Williams translated by Peter Williams
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 3 You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. 5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: 6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. 8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. 9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. 14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. 16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. 17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90 NKJV
Father and Our God and Lord,
This Psalm is attributed to Moses though I am not sure how they can date these Psalms for sure. But it certainly seems to fit with Moses. It acknowledges You as God and Your unchangeable judgement balanced with mercy. It sounds like it was written on a tough day when he was carrying the weight of all the problems the children of Israel were moaning about.
But like Moses, the writer remembers that You have compassion and mercy and calls upon You to change the day and ley Your beauty be upon them.
What a wonderful way to change the day from under the circumstances to working away at the day, by asking for Your beauty to be upon us and the day’s work being established as valuable. That Moses could still see the Your beauty God after 40 years of moaning multitudes in the dessert is a miracle. Help us to not just see Your Beauty but have it rest upon us and in us and with us as the Psalmist prays.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Tuesday 3rd March 2026 An old chorus with new verses and new tune. And I could grow to like this for those quieter moments.
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me All His wondrous compassion and purity; O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine ‘Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.
“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. 3 For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. 4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
5 “They have corrupted themselves; They are not His children, Because of their blemish: A perverse and crooked generation. 6 Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?
Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you: 8 When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel. 9 For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.
10 “He found him in a desert land And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. 11 As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, 2 So the Lord alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him.” Deuteronomy 32:1-12 NKJV
Lord God,
Moses spoke this song to the children of Israel at the end of his life. I smile because it is a long song and nowhere in scripture is it mentioned that Moses sang well or sang at all. So I will read it aloud too as perhaps it was meant to be spoken. Joshua is to be their next leader but Moses wanted to remind them of their parents history. A history Moses did not want them to repeat. They are the ones to go into the promised land. And he calls them the apple of Your eye Lord.
Not a reminder of the forbidden fruit (which we do not know was an apple!) from the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden. But perhaps a reminder of the fruit of the tree of life also in that same garden? (Genesis 2:9).
Moses wants then to learn from their history. This is only a quarter of the song. A clear lesson is that You God ares their Rock. they must not even consider a foreign god. Small ‘g’ because You are he only God . Foreign gods cannot provide peace or joy or hope – they leave you chasing it.
You Lord also found me in a wasteland, without a God and enfolded me in Your love, acceptance and forgiveness. You gave me the water and the bread of life and a place in Your family. Vigilant now to have no foreign god.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Worship Monday 2nd March 2026
Two worship hymns which spring from speaking out the words of Moses (and remembering Isaiah 40:31 rising on eagles wings also).
Lyrics: Peter West, Mary Kirkbride, Mary Lou King
Come live in me all my life, take over Come breathe in me I will rise on eagle’s wings Come live in me all my life, take over Come breathe in me I will rise on eagle’s wings
Here I am waiting Abide in me I pray Here I am longing for You Hide me in Your love Bring me to my knees May I know Jesus more and more
Come live in me all my life, take over Come breathe in me I will rise on eagle’s wings Come live in me all my life, take over Come breathe in me I will rise on eagle’s wings Come live in me all my life, take over Come breathe in me I will rise on eagle’s wings
