Lent Reflections
Daily Notes to inspire and encourage over the Lent period.
Week 3
Thursday 4 March – Wednesday 10 March 2021
Written by Emmanuel church members
Each week over the 40 days of Lent, we are adding a new set of reflections to encourage and inspire.
Here are the third set of reflections.
REFLECTION 16 - 4 MARCH
He Cares for You
written by NP
1 PETER 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
REFLECTION:
We might be feeling we are wasting our lives right now and either not being able to or just not making the right choices. Perhaps we feel we need rewarding for our efforts otherwise we may seem worthless. This is a reminder that God’s reward is the one to seek. We are also encouraged to give him all of our worries as he cares for us, which is wonderful, both to pass on worries and to know someone loves us even when we have anxieties.
PRAYER:
I pray that I remember to ask for help from you and this does not mean I am worthless. Enable me to serve you humbly and remember that you care for me.
Amen
REFLECTION 17 - 5 MARCH
Spacious Place
written by CB
PSALM 18:19
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
REFLECTION:
Chitty’s Common in Stoughton is where as a child I fell in love with natural history. I am now in a volunteer team that is improving the habitat there through clearing scrub, opening up tracks and improving a stream that now flows freely.
As I reflected on this, it made me realise the importance of allowing God to show me what needs to be cut back and pruned, which pathways need clearing and what needs to be unblocked to allow the Holy Spirit to flow unimpeded in my life.
PRAYER:
Dear God, lead me into a spacious place.
Amen
REFLECTION 18 - 6 MARCH
Security
written by DB
PSALM 11
In the Lord I take refuge…
The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth…
REFLECTION:
Lent! What can we give up? ‘Please Lord, not this year. We have given up so much already.’
Psalm 11 comes to our rescue. So many of our foundations have been dismantled and, like the Psalmist, we cry: ‘What can we do?’ We assert that God still reigns. This is not his first Pandemic and he will see us through. Then we resist the temptation to run for cover but instead trust ourselves to the one whose eyes of love rest upon us. Finally we are ready to live upright lives before a watching world
PRAYER:
Lord, this day, deny us safety but grant us security,
Amen
REFLECTION 19 - 7 MARCH
Resurrection Power
written by TR
PHILIPPIANS 3:16
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
REFLECTION:
What an incredible prayer by Paul recorded in his letter to the church at Philippi. I wonder what courage it took to pray it.
As we prepare for Easter perhaps we might be bold enough to pray this for ourselves, those we know and our church.
PRAYER:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Amen
REFLECTION 20 - 8 MARCH
Rekindled
written by RM
MATTHEW 12:20
A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory
(referring to the prophecy in Isaiah 42:3) .
REFLECTION:
As I looked into the ash and unburned wood from a fire we had enjoyed the previous evening, all appeared to be dead. But as I looked more carefully, I noticed a small patch of redness in the ash. I placed a piece of paper next to it and gently blew upon it. Gradually, the patch grew redder and brighter, the paper began to smoke and soon a small flame appeared. The flame gathered in size and spread to consume the unburned wood, sending out warmth and brightness into the dark room.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, my faith so often seems weak especially in these days of lockdown. May the breath of your Holy Spirit come afresh into my life, rekindling my love for you and for all those around me, bringing hope and faith in you. Amen
REFLECTION 21 - 9 MARCH
Welcome
written by CL
ROMANS 15:7
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God
REFLECTION:
For much of the past year most of us have been unable to welcome visitors into our church or even family into our homes. In the streets, parks and shops, we have been keeping our distance – the further the better! How then can we be welcoming to others? And in person, not just ‘on screen’. We can use this time, as the vaccine programme continues apace and we approach Easter, to think how we can ‘recharge’ so as to have a truly welcoming attitude to all, however we encounter them.
PRAYER:
I pray that our hearts can be welcoming, even though we cannot show this in more overt ways, just as Christ welcomed us, for the glory of God.
Amen.
REFLECTION 22 - 10 MARCH
Hope in the Lord
written by IC
PSALM 131
I have stilled and quieted my soul… put your hope in the Lord both now and for evermore.
REFLECTION:
Lent is often a time for self-denial, giving up things and introspection. In the past year most have had plenty of time for all three. Perhaps this Lent we can embrace the forced solitude and take time to be still in God’s presence and to quiet our soul, when many of us have been stressed and anxious. Let us look forward to the end of Lent, and to the joys of Holy Week.
PRAYER:
Lord, this Lent help us to put our hope in the redemption work of Good Friday and the resurrection joy of Easter Sunday.
Amen
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
Revelation 21:3