Dear Friends
When I wrote in January, there was a spring in my step and all the optimism of the New Year. Whilst I remain optimistic about all that God will do in and through our church, I am also aware of the political turmoil around the world at this time. I don’t know what will happen in these coming months, what the gains and losses in the world will be. Yet I know that God would have us pray, to draw near to him and seek God himself, to know and love him in a deep and more profound way. God also calls us to intercede for the world around, to pray for his Kingdom to come, for his will to be done.
As the world continues its technological advancement, it continues to fail in areas of great importance; first to love God, and secondly, and like the first, to love our neighbour as ourselves. As the ‘powers’ make deals and sometimes step on or over the ‘small’ people of the world, we’re to do our bit and play our part, living out the Gospel values that Jesus teaches those who follow him.
Let us take the opportunity of this coming Lent to seek God, pray for others and learn to follow Jesus as best as we can. Maybe we can use the well known prayer by Richard of Chichester:
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits you have given me,
for all the pains and insults you have borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly, day by day.
Amen.
Every blessing
Gavin