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With My WholeHeart - Psalm 78:9, 37, 73
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 78:9, 37, 73
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 78:9, 37, 73 This psalm is a saga of the heart. Read it all to get the full and turbulent story of one heart in pursuit of the other, the divine and the human. It spans generations. It shows that the faithlessness of one generation does not mean that God will abandon the ne…
Simply Jesus - Stories that explain and a message that transforms
Simply Jesus - Stories that explain and a message that transforms
by SPCK - N T Wright
Stories that explain and a message that transforms Jesus, as we saw, had one particular method of explaining what was going on. As part of his campaign, he told stories. Not just any old stories. These stories were, for the most part, not ‘illustrations’, preachers’ tricks to dec…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 33:11, 14, 20
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 33:11, 14, 20
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 33:11, 14, 20 This psalm comes to a crescendo with a psalm of praise to the heart of God. His word is true, his works are faithful, he loves justice, he’s made the earth full of goodness and oceans full of treasure. These are just some of the signs of the providence that fl…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 34:1, 18
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 34:1, 18
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 34:1, 18 Contrition comes in many guises. A bogus one is betrayed by the little word ‘if ’, for example, ‘I’m sorry if you feel so upset.’ This apology is qualified. It transfers responsibility away from the culprit and on to the victim. Instead of taking the weight of the …
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 32:12
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 32:12
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 32:12 This psalm with its final verse offers hope to us all because the ‘true of heart’ at the end of the song are none other than the unrighteous at the beginning! When we become aware of the call of God to commit our life or to give ourselves more wholeheartedly we can ho…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 27:15-16
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 27:15-16
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 27:15-16 With these words I began to come to terms with the news that I was to have major heart surgery. All of us have our own stories of confronting something we dread, and then feeling faint. Ever since doing biology at school I had been squeamish and nervous about the i…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 7:10-11
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 7:10-11
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 7:10-11 For the righteous God: trieth the very hearts and reins. My help cometh of God: who preserveth them that are true of heart. The character of God feels to me at times as if it were kept under a soundproof blanket. Just as well! He shudders in indignation at the unjus…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119: 10-11
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119: 10-11
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119. 10, 11 It is one thing to think a thought, it is quite another to bury it and hide it in the heart. Years ago people would learn verses of the Bible off by heart; sadly this is no longer in vogue educationally. Pity! We deprive ourselves. Memorizing a verse, meditating…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:111-112
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:111-112
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119:111, 112 The word of God comes to us in several ways. Supremely in Jesus who was ‘the Word made flesh’ (cf. John 1.14). Without the Bible Jesus is a contentless word. It is Scripture that gives substance and meaning to his life, death and resurrection. Jesus’ own atti…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 94:15, 19
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 94:15, 19
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 94:15, 19 The heart is scarred by sorrow when we see the casualties of injustice. Righteousness is both personal and social. It speaks of and to an individual’s dealings with others; it also refers to structures and systems that emerge from and affect the whole of society. …
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 105:3, 25
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 105:3, 25
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 105:3, 25 Heart versus heart. The heart can fill up with love or hatred. The greatest challenge for the heart filling up with love is to encounter another whose empty heart fills up with hatred, especially when the focus of the bitterness is love itself...
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 102:4
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 102:4
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 102:4 A pelican in the wilderness, an owl in the desert, a sole sparrow sitting on the rooftop, these are the pictures that tell of a soul out of sorts. There’s little doubt here that the plight of the smitten heart is the work of God. ‘For thou hast taken me up, and cast m…
LWPT Meditations - Fourth Sunday of Lent - Year A
LWPT Meditations - Fourth Sunday of Lent - Year A
by Susan Thorne
Meditation – Fourth Sunday in Lent Year A 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Psalm 23 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 I once resigned from a church because of its practice of shutting out God’s good daylight, especially the sunshine, and holding the services by the inferior light of fluorescent strip…
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Proper 24 Year C
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Proper 24 Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 24 Luke 18: 1-8 Gaze on all the people in this world who have lost heart. It won’t be obvious who they are, for we are good at hiding the signs, but everyone at some time in their life will be in danger of losing heart. Then gaze on this widow, who is demanding justice. Wh…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - The Second Sunday Before Lent Year A