In the grey days of a British winter it can be hard to start each day afresh and feeling positive, and for those who are lonely or suffering due to debt, illness, family and relationship problems, it can be difficult to face each new day. But even in the gloomiest times, God's love is written across all creation, new every morning with the sunrise and with us still in the calm of the night.
Psalm 19 (MSG)
1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.
3-4 Their words aren’t heard,
their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
6 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.
7-9 The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
When we open our eyes to see and our hearts to understand, God's love is signposted all around us, in the sunrise and sunset, the time spent with family at Christmas, the kind word or smile that makes a difference to our day. And the revelation of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem, through His life and ministry and in His death and resurrection is an example to us of how to be human, how to treat others and ourselves.
When we put our love and trust in God, we know how to find our way and even when we fall short or feel alone or afraid, His love surrounds us and gives us the strength to carry on. And this is a message that we can share with all who we meet this Christmas, a small thing that can make a huge difference.
Please continue to pray for all our clients over the busy Christmas period, that they will find peace and love and the knowledge of Christ's presence in their lives. Please pray especially for new clients who are booked in for first visits over the next few weeks. Give thanks that they have recognised their need for help and have been able to reach out to CAP, that these first visits will be their first steps to debt freedom and to the knowledge and support of God's ever present love.
Please pray especially for E who is lonely and finding her home a prison, trapped in a cycle of buying items she doesn't need to try and satisfy what is missing in her life. Please pray for S who is facing difficult health issues as well as difficult decisions to help clear her debt. Please pray for SH who is struggling to pay to heat her home. Pray for C and D who are struggling to provide the Christmas that they would like to for their children. Pray that Christmas would be a time for rest and refreshment for all our Ely and District CAP clients, where the greatest gift is the knowledge of the love and support of Jesus in their lives.
Have a good week and a very Blessed Christmas!
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