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Spreading Love & Hope...
Welcome to today's devotion created for your use at home during these trying times. With church gatherings suspended, we gather and share through telephone & technology. Staying connected during this time of Coronavirus is important for all of us. May this devotion and the links provided help you stay connected to God and the wider community.
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If you have items to share -- news, a prayer, song, Bible verse, reflection, photo -- please send it by email so we can share them. Thanks to Chris for the photo of her blossoming tree, a testimony to God's magnificence.
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Blessings & peace, Ana & Tod
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Children's Corner
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Consider memorizing a Bible verse this week. Here's an idea: ‘We have a chalkboard in our dining room that we will write the verse on so we can see it throughout the day. We won’t always memorize the whole verse but will memorize a portion.'
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You might start with 1 John 4:16
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those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
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Or...keep it simple and take only the first phrase, 'God is love.' Good luck.
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Music
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Music is Living Water for the soul
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and connects us to one another.
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Sit back and relax while you listen to some peaceful Bach. (Just click on the button.)
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Or clap and move to Zambian Gospel Praise – A collection of special praise songs lifting up the Zambian spirit
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Send in your favourite music links to share.
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Today's Reflection
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“Then Elijah was afraid; he got up and fled for his life…”
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He was urging a nation to recognize the power in fear, while simultaneously urging people to rise above that power. Anyone who has been profoundly afraid of something or someone knows the terror of being immobilized by the power of fear.
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Elijah is a prophet who strikes fear in the hearts of others. Yet when he becomes the target for the wrath of a queen whose prophets he has killed, he heads for the hills. On his escape route from life and responsibility he repeatedly falls asleep: exhausted by the overwhelming power of fear.
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In a series of tender interventions, angels approach Elijah on his flight. They give him food, encouraging words and the gift of accompaniment. Though Elijah is frightened out of his wits, and abandons his mission of justice, he is not abandoned by God.
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Through his interaction with mysterious messengers, and eventually with God, Elijah fulfills his prophetic calling. Stories like his declare that God is with us, and for us. Fear may make us feel isolated and desperate, but the power of faith can rally our spirits and give us firm ground upon which to stand. It can show us the way to that peace which passes all understanding.
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God of love, cast out our fear. Fill our hearts and minds with humble confidence, that centering our lives in you, we may live as bold ambassadors of your mercy; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Today's Prayers
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Join Christians around the world praying daily at 12:00 noon, making each day a World Day of Prayer.
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May our prayers today be for hope, patience, thoughtfulness and neighbourliness, for the homeless and those without means to stay clean, for everyone working to keep us fed and healthy, for members of Twelve Step Groups--such as Alcoholics Anonymous--who are finding new ways to hold their essential meetings.
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by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
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Gracious God, Champion of the Universe, we so often fluff ourselves up. Aren’t we the only creatures who compose masterpieces of music and art? Don’t we govern ourselves, enrich ourselves, promote ourselves? Can’t we dunk basketballs, bat baseballs, spike volleyballs? Aren’t some of us masters of comic irony? Other creatures don’t practice rocket science. We do.
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And yet. Here we are, frightened by a thing so small it can’t be seen under most microscopes. It’s not even an animal or a plant. It’s a virus, a mere parasite, dependent on our own living cells to replicate.
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And yet it has shuttered our schools, cancelled our flights, and emptied our churches. It has consumed the attention of our leading scientists, wrenched our politics out of shape, dominated our conversations, and scared the daylights out of us.
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We don’t want to get sick. And we don’t want to die.
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We are afraid, O God. Afraid of a microorganism. Afraid of each other.
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Great and quiet source of peace, quiet our fears. We are wary, uncertain, strung tight. Quiet our fears. We have no idea what the future will bring, but we do know you will be in our future to hold us there.
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We cannot quiet ourselves, O God. We cannot comfort ourselves, cannot heal ourselves, cannot help ourselves. All we can do is wash our hands and keep our distance. Our rocket science is no good to us for this threat.
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O God, great and quiet source of peace, quiet us, your anxious ones, and let us cling for comfort to your suffering Son, Jesus Christ. Gather us under his wings. Remind us that he suffers with us, but he’s also the great physician. In him, let us not be afraid. Please, let us not be afraid. Amen.
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Click on the blue button above 'Today's Bible Readings' to read all the Lectionary Readings designated for this week of Lent.
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Yesterdays' Daily Home Devotions
Missed a Daily Devotion? Find it here.
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In case you missed these...
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All the Hours God Gives
I work all the hours God gives.
I work. All the hours – God gives.
I work all the hours. God gives.
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God gives all the hours I work.
God gives. All the hours – I work.
God gives all. The hours? I work.
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The hours God gives, I work.
The hours! God gives, I work.
I give God all the work hours.
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The hours I give God all work.
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--from ‘I Was Only Asking’ © 2004 Lion Publishing
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Progressive Voices Magazine is full of thoughtful articles, poems and theological reflections for the thinking Christian. It is the regular publication of the Progressive Christian Network of Great Britain. Click on the button above to read the complete March edition. Look for the poem by Ana Gobledale (page 23).
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Subscribe to Daily Home Devotions
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To receive this Daily Home Devotion in your inbox, please click on this www icon and subscribe on the Salisbury United Reformed Church website.
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Contact us by email and visit (and join) Salisbury United Reformed Church on Facebook and our website.
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