Thoughts for the Day

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

In these 'Thoughts' I restrict my choice of Bible readings to those in Lectionary for that day. They might be set for Morning or Evening Prayer or for the Communion Service. The Lectionary is the same one used by most Christian denominations which also gives us unity. It can be restricting for me, but I pray that God will give me inspiration each day. Today as I chose the reading I found myself thinking immediately of people living in danger.

I can't say I have ever felt in real danger (except once when I swam out too far at the seaside and thought I was going to drown, only to hear someone say "Put your feet down!", to discover the water only came up to my waist!), but many at this time are in real danger. Some struggle for money, or are sick, but in Ukraine thousands are in danger from bombing, flooding, and lack of clean water to drink.

86% of people in Ukraine are Christians - they are our brothers and sisters in Christ! We may have given to them in the past, but are we praying for them every single day? Paul says "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." I believe this totally, but there's nothing to say that people have to go through this hell. Pray for God's intervention each day.

Heavenly Father,
Your Son, Jesus, taught us that
nothing can separate us from Your love;
that You are with us in all that we do;
that You hear our prayers;
and that You act as is best for us
and for those for whom we pray.
We ask Your blessing on
the people of Ukraine this day,
that their pain may be lessened,
and that their faith will uphold them.
now and in the days to come.
Amen.