Say to them, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?

This wonderful verse challenges us to turn to God and forsake our sin. Even though sin may sometimes seem attractive in the short term it always ultimately leads to death. Why would we choose death instead of life? It’s crazy to do that yet sadly we often do.

God takes no pleasure in our death He would rather we turned and lived. Let us then give Him pleasure by turning back to Him!

Prayer ” Dear Lord, please give us the grace to turn from our wicked ways and truly return to you and live. Amen”

Today why not fast from gossip or harsh words. Instead speak only kind words.

But have you had any spiritual food yet today? Just as we need physical food to sustain us each day we also need spiritual food too. In fact spiritual food is more important for us than actual physical food.

Let us determine then that each day we will feed ourselves with God’s word – the Bible – and eat as much of it as we can. Unlike physical food we can never have too much of this food.

It’s not just Christians who are called to “full time” work for God that need feeding every day. You and I also need spiritual food every day!

This is a challenging book which looks at how one family deals with the awful knowledge that their longed for third child is severely deformed and unlikely to survive beyond birth.

Sarah and Paul Williams are initially delighted to discover that they are expecting another child. However, at the 20 week scan, their joy turns to sorrow when the baby is found to have a lethal skeletal deformity. Sarah is then faced with the heartbreaking choice of having an abortion or continuing with a difficult and at times painful pregnancy knowing that her child is severely deformed and likely to be stillborn. With her husband Paul they reach a decision – which some will no doubt disagree with. The rest of the book deals with the effect that this decision has on them, their family and friends and indeed members of the medical profession who they come into contact with.

This is a book which asks all of us to consider how we respond to the most vulnerable members of our society and to what lengths we might be prepared to go to protect those who cannot look after themselves. Ultimately the book suggests that in caring for the weak we can ourselves become stronger.

Paul Tripp makes some interesting observations including the following comments which are worth pondering:

 People and situations do not determine our behaviour; they provide the occasion where our behaviour reveals our hearts.

Any agenda for change must focus on the thoughts and desires of the heart.

Therefore, the heart is our target in personal growth and ministry. Our prayer is that God will work heart change in us and use us to produce heart change in others that results in new words, choices, and actions.

The studies are divided into seven sections: Beginnings, Callings, Healings, Teachings, Happenings, Friends and Enemies and finally Endings and Beginnings as you journey through Mark’s Gospel. I’ve used this book myself and would recommend that you consider it if you have not yet decided what to read during Lent.