[Wednesday's Devotional] - Following Jesus

Following Jesus There's a testimony in '40 Stories of Hope' of someone involved in the Rwandan genocide who was imprisoned for six years before becoming involved in a community justice programme focused on restoring the nation. He writes powerfully about the reconciliation he has experienced – on a personal level, with those in his community and between himself and God. He did the Alpha course and learnt about the forgiveness we receive through Jesus and he in turn has forgiven others. The Rich and the Kingdom of God As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. 'Good teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'  'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good – except God alone.  You know the commandments: "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother."' 'Teacher,' he declared, 'all these I have kept since I was a boy.' Jesus looked at him and loved him. 'One thing you lack,' he said. 'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'  At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Mark 10:17-22 [NIV] In the story Jesus tells the young man that he lets his wealth get between him and God. In the testimony from Rwanda it is his lack of forgiveness that initially comes between him and God. Is there anything in your life that comes between you and God?   Emma Higgins Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Saved

Saved In one of the testimonies shared in "40 Stories of Hope" an ex-offender writes about how his life of crime began aged 8, led to his first prison sentence aged 17, his first child aged 18 and becoming heavily addicted to drugs. He spent the next 15 years in and out of prison but he writes that 'God has given me hope and a new future.' Jesus Walks on Water  Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.  Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.  He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, 'Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid.'  Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed. Mark 6:45-51 [NIV] Sometimes Jesus does things that seem humanly impossible. For the ex-offender above, it seemed inevitable that his life would tragically end prematurely but through an encounter with Jesus his life was changed. Where do you need to ask God to give you the courage to believe he can overcome a situation in your life?   Emma Higgins    Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Monday's Devotional] - A New Purpose

A New Purpose Throughout Lent most of the Connect Groups at m2o will be working through the Prison Hope book, '40 Stories of Hope' (see more here http://www.prisonhope.org.uk/resources/). This collection of 40 testimonies of hope from prisoners, ex-offenders and prison chaplains has been put together for use during Lent. For every book bought a free copy will be given to a prisoner. Each day there's a story to read and there are weekly Bible studies to go alongside. These devotionals will give you a flavour of what's to come over Lent for those of you who have the book, and it's not too late to buy a copy!   Jesus calls his first disciples   As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.'  At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.  Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:16-20 [NIV] One of the stories shared is that of Mary Kay, one of the most notorious criminals in the US. She encountered God in prison and turned her life around and subsequently began the Angel Tree project (a Prison Fellowship programme which has provided over ten million children with a Christmas present from their parent in prison). Jesus called ordinary people to follow him and still does today. Today think about Jesus' simple invitation 'Come and follow me'. Find out more about Angel Tree here https://www.prisonfellowship.org.uk/what-we-do/angel-tree/   Emma Higgins    Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Friday's Devotional] - We need more…Love

We need more…Love And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love 1 Corinthians 13: 13 [NIV] Why did I leave love until Friday?  Perhaps it would have made sense to start with the greatest – but I decided to leave it to the end.  Everything in the law and the prophets can be summarised as loving God and loving our neighbours – if we are unloving we need to first get back into a right relationship with God. 1 Corinthians 13 is perhaps the most commonly chosen passage in the wedding service. Paul talks about love in terms of "love is…" and "love isn't…".  Jesus also talks about the relationship of the bride and groom being like that of God and his church. God loves you so much, he sent his only son to die for you.  Take a moment to reflect on that.  Although we may have learned John 3:16 by heart, we need to take a fresh look at it. I find that looking in a different bible version opens up new understanding, here is how it is paraphrased in The Message bible: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3: 16-18 [MSG] Lord, thank you that you loved me so much, help me to overflow with your love that I may love others more.  Amen   Dave MacLellan   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Thursday's Devotional] - We need more…Self-awareness

We need more…Self-awareness   Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8: 34-37 [NIV] It is easy to get tangled in the web of self-absorption.  The notion of denying self is not very fashionable – we need to "look after No.1" as we say.  How can we be self-aware without being self-centred? Jesus teaches that we need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow his example.  This doesn't mean that we are to face the same death as he did, rather that we need to "put to death" the idol of self – and be prepared to follow the path Jesus trod, dedicated to the service of others and putting our self-satisfaction below everything that matters. I know that I can be guilty of spending too much time thinking about myself and my well-being.  Taking time to listen to others is a good antidote to this. Jesus dedicated his life to others: to teaching, preaching, healing and interceding.  He also spent time on his own away from the crowds – not to relax and have a holiday, but to pray. Lord, I pray that you will help me to be aware of myself and my tendency to think more about me than about you. Help me to follow you today. Amen. Dave MacLellan   Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!