Day 13 - Once Again (Matt Redman)
Normally, many of us would be heading off on holiday this month, maybe hitting the beach, absorbing some sun, or maybe a European city break is more your thing. Coronavirus aside, one standard purchase whilst on holiday is a souvenir of some sort, a stick of rock if you’ve been to Brighton, a fridge magnet perhaps, or maybe even a key-ring.
Our children were encouraged to put key-rings on their school bags, to easily identify their bag. Joel had an assortment but his favourite was a key-ring from Singapore. It was his momento, his memory - all he had to do was look at the key-ring of the Merlion and his memories of a fab holiday would come streaming back into his mind.
I’m sure we all have a little keep-sake, something to remind us of a holiday, or someone close to us maybe. A picture often hangs proudly, often lost on others, but to you, it all comes back. You ponder, you think about what it means, the memories associated, a special time or place perhaps, an evening of much laughter maybe.
The lyrics to the song ‘Once Again’ by Matt Redman, describe such a moment, where we reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We are reminded of the gift of life that it is, and humbled by God’s mercy. The lyrics are powerful and have often moved me to tears in worship as I am reminded of what Jesus went through, for me, so that I could have a eternal destiny changing relationship with Father God.
Philippians 2: 5-8 says Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Think about / mediate over:
The cross and Jesus sacrifice. How are you living a life that honours that?
Are you challenged to be thankful everyday for the gift of life that you have been given?
Use this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IBg6wgqnPU) to worship as a song of thanks towards your Heavenly Father.
Written by Senior Pastor Tim