Lent Book: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/an-ocean-of-grace
My jottings:
(Comments welcome)
Ocean of Grace (34): MONDAY – The
Every Flower Of Love (p115ff)
It is a change of perspective, perhaps, for us
to think of the world and life as God saturated and permeated. God is the maker
and sustainer of all things. And the Lord of all things. He rules over all
things and orders them according to the purpose of his will in love and wisdom.
This means that all the good things we have (many of which we are not even
aware of) come to us from the gracious hand of our loving heavenly Father. And
even hard and horrible things are for our ultimate good. God works in and
through all things to make us more like Jesus and to get us to glory and the
new creation. (cf. Romans 8:28)
What good things do you have / has God given
you today?
How can you see God’s providential and
sovereign love and care?
Are there good gifts which you tend to ignore,
or forget, or take for granted and fail to thank God for?
Ponder the cross. Can you see the love of God
there? In giving Christ, the Father gave the one he loved completely, his One
and Only eternally begotten Son. How much more will he not also along with Christ
give us all things?
Marvel afresh at Christ’s excellence, his
value to his Father and to your soul.
What reasons are there for thanks and praise
in Christ and his cross and gospel that are independent of circumstances?
Remember that in Christ you are already seated in the heavenly places
(Ephesians 2:6). Your salvation couldn’t be more secure since you are united to
Christ by faith.
Give thanks to God for your creation and
redemption.
You might want to use The General Thanksgiving
from The Book of Common Prayer:
ALMIGHTY God,
Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble
and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all
men; [*particularly to those who desire now to offer
up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them.]
We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this
life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world
by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts
may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with
our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by
walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory,
world without end. Amen.
(The above prayer can be found online here: https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/prayers-and-thanksgivings)
(A modern English version from The Church
Society can be found here at number 16, along with various other prayers and
thanksgivings: https://churchsociety.org/docs/english_prayer_book/05_EPB_prayers_thanksgivings.pdf)
Hymn: Now thank we all our God
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGMuJ4U7zT8
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