Daily Scripture‘You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.’ (Psalm 65 v9)Daily ReflectionHow is it that a seed is planted and grows up through the earth to produce food? There is nothing “man made” there! The seed, the earth, the sun and rain come from nature, and it was God that caused nature to be. Our lives are the same as the earth that God made. God greatly enriches lives, God provides for us, and God prepares us for life. The problem is that we are too busy enriching and preparing our own lives, leaving no room for his great gifts! I have a choice – I can either trust in myself, or I can let go, and trust in God. My best, or the Creator of the Universe’s best? It’s a no-brainer, really.Vicki Young
Daily Scripture‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone sowed in his field. Though it is the smallest of all the seeds, when it grows it is the largest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in it.’ (Matthew 13.31-2)Daily ReflectionAs a total newcomer to growing vegetables I am constantly astonished at the whole process. To take a tiny seed and bury it under the earth, out of sight, seems to me an enormous act of faith, and the edible product that emerges a complete miracle.When Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven he is not referring to some distant time in the future, but to something that has already begun, quietly growing, like the seed, small and apparently insignificant, taking root often in unexpected places and ‘unimportant’ people. As we pray that God’s kingdom may come, let us look out for the signs of its presence, and pray that the small seed of our faith may mature according to God’s plan, bearing the fruit for which we were created.Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
Benefice Services - Sunday 26th July8am Holy Communion at St George's, Benenden10am Holy Communion at St Nicholas, Sandhurst
Daily Scripture ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value he went and sold all that he had and bought it.’ (Matthew 13.45)Daily ReflectionThe merchant must have been trading in pearls for some time, to be able to identify this one specimen as being uniquely valuable and precious. It was worth parting with everything he had previously valued, which he now saw was only second best. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like this merchant. The kingdom is not something presented to us on a plate. This man had been searching, evaluating, assessing, comparing, and eventually identified this perfect pearl.It’s worth thinking about what we desire above all else in our own lives. Once we begin to have some inkling as to what it is and where it can be found we can no longer be content with second best.Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
