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How wonderful it was to explore the good news of Jesus last week!
In many churches that follow a set order of service or liturgy, the Sunday service opens with a confession of sin and brokenness and follows with an assurance of forgiveness in Jesus. That assurance of the good news is followed by a hymn of praise and worship, modelled on the worship of the angels seen by the shepherds at the birth of Jesus.
Following that model, Dai Woolridge shows us how we can respond to God’s rescue plan in Jesus with a focus on worship this week.
Read today's devotional. Or click the play button to listen.
How often do we stop to consider? (That’s a rhetorical question because I’ve not really stopped to consider it.) It’s so easy to hop from one meeting to another, snack on the go, binge-watch Netflix or hit refresh on our socials to count likes, skim posts or tag selfies.
But in Psalm 8, Poet-King David does just that (not tag selfies) – he stops … to consider.
He considers the heavens, the moon and the stars. If David were knocking about today, I wonder what he would’ve thought about Elon Musk’s mission to Mars? Or if he Googled ‘James Webb telescope, Pillars of Creation’, how long would he have been left speechless?
We live in a time where we can stop to consider an array of beauty in high definition.
But if that’s where we stop considering, we’ve missed the best bit.
Look again at Psalm 8:
‘When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingertips, the moon and the stars that you have set in place ...’
David may not have seen with the same clarity as we do, but for him the stars were a pitstop to the sovereign one – the painter behind the canvas, the composer behind the music, the author behind the ink-blotted pages of creation.
When David stops to consider creation, he starts to consider the creator. Like David, may we seek comfort in the one whose ‘control’ is always preceded by ‘in’. Whose knowledge is greater, whose ways are higher, whose plans are perfect.
May we be mindful of his magnificent majesty and humbled by his unrelenting affection fully revealed in the Son and Saviour, Jesus.
This reflection was written by spoken word artist Dai Woolridge, who is a Bible Communicator and Creative Specialist at Bible Society.
If you have two minutes: Listen to the audio reflection and ponder how it might be relevant in your life.
If you have up to ten minutes: Read the Bible passage and listen to the audio reflection; you might want to keep a small journal, or note on your phone, to jot down words and phrases that jump out at you. Finish with a brief prayer to put what you have read and heard into practice.
What if I miss a day(s)?: Don’t worry, life happens! Just pick up the devotional again on the current day, and, if you wish, you can use the space for reflection on Sundays to listen to those reflections you may have missed.
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