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Proverbs 14:20-35 “Righteousness lifts up a nation, but sin is a disgrace in any society” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, we wonder about the future. Can times of blessing come again to our nation? Yes! They can – but there needs to be a big change in our way of thinking and our way of living. There needs to be less “This is what we think”, and more, “What is the Lord saying to us?” There needs to be less, “Look at what I’ve done”, and more “This is what the Lord has done for us.” Lord, we pray for a revival – a revival of looking to You, listening to you, learning from You and living for You.

Psalm 18:1-24 Lord, You are “our strength, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our shield and the horn of our salvation, our stronghold (Psalm 18:1-2). What more can we ask for? You are all that we need – and more! Help us, Lord, not to stagger along in our own strength when You’re calling us to stand in Your strength and march on with You to victory (Ephesians 6:13). Our own strength isn’t strength. It’s weakness. Your strength is the only true strength. We are strong when we stand upon Your gracious promise – “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Deuteronomy 9:22-10:22 Help us, Lord, to listen to You and live for You, to speak to You and speak for You. Help us to receive from You and respond to You. Help us not to get caught up in the "What do I get out of it?" way of thinking. Help us to ask the more important question: "How can I give myself more fully to You, Lord?"

Psalm 19:1-14 Lord, You’re always speaking to us. Every day and every night,You speak to us through Your created world. You prepare us for hearing the voice of Jesus, Your living Word. He speaks to us through the Scriptures, Your written Word. Help us, Lord, to become aware of Your presence, to listen to the voice of Jesus – calling us to come to You, and to receive new life, as we put our trust in Jesus, our Saviour.

Leviticus 20:1-21:24 The Lord calls us to be holy - because He is holy (Leviticus 20:26). We are to be like Him. He has set us apart as holy (Leviticus 21:8). We are "dedicated with the anointing oil of our God" (Leviticus 21:12). We may take this "anointing oil" as symbolic of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We are to "eat the food of our God - what is holy and what is very holy" (Leviticus 21:22). Here, our attention is directed towards Christ, who is our spiritual food - "the Bread of Life" (John 6).

Leviticus 22:1-23:44 Our careful obedience to God's Word is not to be a purely legalistic thing. We must never forget that God is the God of redemption. Our holiness is grounded in Him: He is holy, and He sets us apart as holy (Leviticus 22:31-33). Holy living expresses itself in both worship and service. We are to worship God (Leviticus 23:1-4), but we must not forget the "poor people" (Leviticus 23:22).

To restrict one’s comments on our constantly changing world to social and economic factors would be to speak as if one was a politician. It’s often said that “everything is politics.” We also need to say that “politics isn’t everything.” Even in the Church, there seems to be a reticence of speaking about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Recently, I attended a conference where one questioner said, “I’ll mention the awkward word - evangelism”! This comment seems to reflect the feeling that the Church is being squeezed into the world’s mould. We talk of the world’s problems – “What a mess we’re in.” We hesitate to speak of the Saviour who can get us out of our mess. We watch as people fill their lives with many things. We hesitate to speak of “a God-shaped blank” which only Christ can fill. We’re called to be more than social commentators. We’re called “to preach Good News” (Luke 4:18). We live in an ever-changing world. We can get so wrapped up in an analysis of the changes in s...