Richard's Reflections (March 2026)

We are, as I write, in the season of Lent. That is the 40 days immediately before Easter weekend. This time gives us an opportunity to prepare for remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus, which is the most important part of our faith.

Some people take Lent more seriously than others, possibly giving up something such as sweets or chocolate for the whole time. For some, it has little if any significance. Personally, I come somewhere in the middle of those 2 positions. Even though I don’t give anything up, I do use at least some of the time to prepare for Easter. One of the great ways to do this is to use the Lent Booklets, provided by Gwent Baptist Association. There should have been one with this Newsletter. If you didn’t get yours, or would like any extras, please let me know - I have plenty of spares. For each day, there is a verse or two of Scripture, and a comment designed to encourage meditation on what has been read. I trust you will find this helpful. Don’t forget our Verse for 2026, which is elsewhere in this Magazine, about getting to know Jesus better. You can use these booklets to help with that.

And the other thing that you can do during Lent is to pray. As I mentioned in the last Magazine, we are concentrating upon prayer this year. On Thursday March 5th we have our first Day of Prayer. The way that it works is as follows: the chapel building will be open from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, you can go in and pray for as long or short as you wish between those times. We will be giving you some suggestions for prayer, but there won’t be anything led from the front - you can just go and spend time on your own with God. Please avail yourself of that opportunity. We will do that on the first Thursday for the next few months. 

In the words of the Psalmist:

May my meditation be pleasing to him,

as I rejoice in the LORD. Psalm 104 v 34

And this chorus came to mind:

I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live,

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being,

My meditation of him shall be sweet,

I will be glad, I will be glad in the Lord Donya Brockway

  © 1972 Gospel Publishing House

I trust you will be blessed in your meditations this Lent

Love in Jesus, Richard