Holiday inspiration

As dolphins glide and leap,
As seals swim,
So my heart is struck in awe and wonder,
At you God almighty.

As I look at ancient,
High hills,
Massive mountains,
So my hear is struck in awe and wonder,
At you God almighty.

I stand in awe, at you Lord God.
You who created starry hosts,
You who counts the grains of sand on the seashore.
You who stood before ancient hills.
You who knows me,
Who loves me,
Who cares for me,
Who calls me into your open arms.

I stand overwhelmed,
Considering the hills, so big,
And me so small.
Yet you are the God,
Of all creation.
Of all times,
Of all places.

Reflection of the seashore

Whilst away on holiday, I was walking along one of the beaches of the black isle- above was the scene.
And I was inspired to write the following;

As I look around the shore of the isle,
I see bright blue skies,
I see stormy skies.
So I reflect on the sunny days of life,
The picturesque days of life.
I reflect too on the stormy days of life,
The days that are hard.

As I reflect on the view before me,
I realise that the stormy skies and the bright skies
Sit side by side,
Slowly they merge.

I think of the glory of sunshine, bright days,
I think of the hope of bright tomorrows in dark days.
I think of your promises, your faithfulness O Lord.

Your promises:
“"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God.”

I hear those great words of Paul:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

How amazing are your promises?
How faithful is your love?
How amazing are you?

For you Lord are faithful,
You Lord are the God who merges,
stormy skies and bright skies.
You Lord, merge heaven and earth.
You Lord merge humanity and divinity.

“O Lord how Majestic is your name!”
In all times and in all places.

God says "come back"

“Come back” I call to you.
My arms are open,
Waiting to embrace you,
To hold you.
Come back to me,
I’m calling you,
Yes, you by name.
Come back to me,
I’m your creator, sustainer.

I’m waiting for you,
I’m here,
I’ve never left, I’ve always been here for you.
Come back to me, come home.

I’m not waiting to tell you off.
I’m waiting to tell you, that I love you.
I’m waiting,
whispering and shouting to you of my love.

Yes, I know you may have wandered.
You may have been tempted by the world.
You may have gone for a walk on your own,
in your own direction.
But I’ve still been with you,
I’m longing for you to come home.
Hear me call your name.

I love you, yes you,
Wherever you’ve been,
whatever you’ve been up to.
I love you, I forgive you.
Please come home.
I’m waiting- my arms are open.

I am the God, who created you,
I know your heart, mind and your ways.
I know your longings and your joys.
I know I love you,
just accept my love for you.
Hear these words,
I love you- as you are.
My love to you is unfailing, it won’t run out.

Please come to me,
Come home,
I’m waiting and will wait,
Let’s sit down together,
I’m ready when you are.

I’m ready with my love and grace.
I’ve loved you,
I love you now,
I’ll love you for eternity.
Just let me love you.

In my love we can talk,
In my love we can walk,
In my love we can begin again.
In my love we can work together.

I’m ready, waiting.
Are you coming?
Don’t wait till you think you’re sorted and ready.

Come now.
Bring your struggles,
Bring your joy,
Bring your sorrows,
Bring your laughter.

Come now as you are,
In brokenness,
In strength and weakness.

Come, talk to me,
and hear my whisper to you.
“I love you,
I forgive you,
I am with you.”

a reflection and prayer

Holy God,
Creating the world,
With potential and possibility,
You took a risk.

Coming to earth as a human,
You didn’t take the easy route.
You came, helpless as a baby,
In vulnerability and fragility.

You didn’t take the easy route,
You spoke out against injustice,
You challenged people,
Not speaking just what they wanted,
or doing what they wanted.
You sought to do the will of God the Father.

You didn’t take the way of living for self,
But you took the way of self denial,
Seeking to serve others and loving them.

You didn’t take the easy route,
Comfortable and pain free.
But you took the way of suffering and pain,
The path you walked was hard.

So as disciples today, we make choices and decisions.
May we seek to respond not just to our own wishes and desires.
May we seek to do the will of you God.

Remind us that you too took a risk- so sometimes too we need to risk.
Help us to remember, that you took the path of vulnerability and weakness.
Help us to remember that the call to follow Jesus is not easy, but that you promise to be with us.
Help us to remember that we are parts of the body of Christ. May we look to do what is best for the body- in developing the kingdom.
Help us to know- whatever decisions we make we are children of God, held by God and loved by God.

God of adventure,
You call people to adventure and journey with you.
A journey that may seem crazy or impossible.
May I know that you are Immanuel- God with us.
Help me as a follower of Jesus, as a pilgrim to follow where you call.
Knowing that where I am- you are too.
Help me to know- to seek and do your will.
In Jesus’ name, who walked the path of humanity as we do.
AMEN

“Who do people say I am?”

To Simon and Andrew, the fishermen.
Jesus was the man who called them to follow him and he would make them fish for people.

To the paralytic man brought to Jesus on his mat.
Jesus was the man who forgave his sin and told him to get up and take his mat home.

To the Phoenician woman who pleaded with Jesus to heal her daughter.
Jesus was the challenger, challenging the barriers within the society.

To Jarius’ daughter who was dead.
Jesus was the hope and life, calling her back to life.

To the boy in the crowd at the feeding of the 5,000.
Jesus was the acceptor, accepting what he could offer and transforming it.

To the deaf and mute man.
Jesus was the liberator, enabling him to hear and speak.

To the children brought to Jesus.
Jesus was the acceptor in accepting who they were, as they were

To Zachaeus the tax collector.
Jesus was the only person who would be his friend.

To all Jesus made a difference and was significant.
Today Jesus can make a difference in our lives and the lives of those around us, will we help demonstrate the significance of Jesus today?

They all came

A call to worship I wrote a while ago, but thought I'd share it here.

“The Bible is full of stories and narrative where people came to Jesus for different things, to be healed, to be fed, to be taught. This mornings theme is thinking about coming to God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Coming to God from where we are to share with God the way we are feeling and where we are at. I want us to begin just by hearing some words, reflecting on the scene at the feeding of the 5,000. It was here that people had to come to hear the words of Jesus and were fed spiritually and physically. “


They all came,
Flocking in their thousands.

They all came,
Young and old.
Men and women.

They all came,
Looking up to Jesus.
An example,
A way to live.

They all came,
To listen,
To learn.

They all came,
To be taught,
To be challenged.

They all came,
To be comforted,
To confront.

They came as they were.
They offered what they had.

They came, they were fed.
They came, they were filled.

They came sharing in fellowship,
They cared for each other.

They came in their thousands,
They left changed people.

They all came,
They were fed,
Fed spiritually,
Fed physically.

They came to see Jesus,
Jesus met them there.

We now come,
Old and young.
Men and women.

We now come,
Looking for Jesus,
An example,
A way of life.

We now come,
To listen,
To learn.

We now come,
To be fed,
To be nurtured.

We now come,
To share,
To care.

We now come as we are,
To offer what we have.
That it might be transformed.

We now come,
Jesus meets us here.