King James Bible 400th AnniversaryIn this the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible it was appropriate that the Kirk Session received a letter inspiring us to read our Bible and perhaps to think about reading it in a year. With this in mind I would like to recommend the United Christian Broadcaster’s (UCB) free daily devotional – The Word for Today.UCB have sent some copies of this free devotional which are in the vestibule of the church, please take one. (These are also available on line at the address below to print off) If there are none left then please contact: UCB Operations Centre, Westport Road, Stoke on Trent, ST6 4JF. They can be contacted by phone – 0845 60 40 401 or by email at ucb@ucb.co.uk If you have access to the internet and want to know more about UCB’s prayerline, UCB TV, UCB radio or their social networking sites then check them out on www.ucb.co.ukAlso, in the weeks leading up to our Stewardship campaign it would seem appropriate to quote from this devotional from the entry of 10th January:‘Blessed in Giving‘..It is more blessed to give than to receive’ Acts 20:35 NCVWendy Pope writes: ‘When God calls me to give, I don’t always feel like I’m being blessed. Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience. He prompts you to prepare a meal for a family hit by illness, and after a long day you’re barely able to prepare one for your own family. Or when you’re exhausted, He nudges you to go get your friend’s children because she needs a break. No matter what the situation, when God calls us to give…we come out blessed… His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He has the master plan, and all we need be concerned about is doing what He asks without complaining. You may question His reasoning when (He) nudges you to take your rude co-worker to lunch…or teach your child’s Sunday school class to give the teacher a break. The bottom line is, whether we think it or not…it means something to eternity and to the person we’re giving to. Basically, without Jesus I’m a selfish person. I wonder what kind of blessing I’ll get…money, a new car or a finer home? I’m ashamed of those thoughts, but they came from an infant Christian who didn’t understand that the blessing…is a closer walk with the greatest Giver who ever lived.’ Do you sometimes give out of obligation, or guilt, or to gain other people’s approval? Giving is the true measure of our love for God, and He always blesses us when we do it. So ‘…don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure…’ (2Corinthians 9:7 NLT), do it with a willing heart.I use this devotional every day and find it helpful, uplifting and inspirational; I hope that you might too.contributed by Elizabeth Parker
King James Bible 400th Anniversary
In this the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible it was appropriate that the Kirk
Session received a letter inspiring us to read our Bible and perhaps to think about reading it in a year.
With this in mind I would like to recommend the United Christian Broadcaster’s (UCB) free daily
devotional – The Word for Today.
UCB have sent some copies of this free devotional which are in the vestibule of the church, please take
one. (These are also available on line at the address below to print off) If there are none left then
please contact: UCB Operations Centre, Westport Road, Stoke on Trent, ST6 4JF. They can be
contacted by phone – 0845 60 40 401 or by email at ucb@ucb.co.uk If you have access to the internet
and want to know more about UCB’s prayerline, UCB TV, UCB radio or their social networking sites
then check them out on www.ucb.co.uk
Also, in the weeks leading up to our Stewardship campaign it would seem appropriate to
quote from this devotional from the entry of 10th January:
‘Blessed in Giving
‘..It is more blessed to give than to receive’ Acts 20:35 NCV
Wendy Pope writes: ‘When God calls me to give, I don’t always feel like I’m being blessed. Perhaps
you’ve had a similar experience. He prompts you to prepare a meal for a family hit by illness, and after
a long day you’re barely able to prepare one for your own family. Or when you’re exhausted, He nudges
you to go get your friend’s children because she needs a break. No matter what the situation, when
God calls us to give…we come out blessed… His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He has the
master plan, and all we need be concerned about is doing what He asks without complaining. You may
question His reasoning when (He) nudges you to take your rude co-worker to lunch…or teach your
child’s Sunday school class to give the teacher a break. The bottom line is, whether we think it or
not…it means something to eternity and to the person we’re giving to. Basically, without Jesus I’m a
selfish person. I wonder what kind of blessing I’ll get…money, a new car or a finer home? I’m ashamed
of those thoughts, but they came from an infant Christian who didn’t understand that the blessing…is a
closer walk with the greatest Giver who ever lived.’ Do you sometimes give out of obligation, or guilt, or
to gain other people’s approval? Giving is the true measure of our love for God, and He always blesses
us when we do it. So ‘…don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure…’ (2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT), do
it with a willing heart.
I use this devotional every day and find it helpful, uplifting and inspirational; I hope that you might too.
contributed by Elizabeth Parker
