On Sunday Fiona reflected on how VE Day was celebrated 80 years ago, encouraging us to celebrate all that God has done for us.

Fiona continued:
This afternoon we have our service at Middleton Lodge and as I have been preparing for that, I have been thinking about the celebration of VE Day. As I look around the room here, I’m pretty sure that no one here would have been there on the first VE Day. However, the people that join us for the service will all have been there as teenagers. As I've been looking at the photographs of VE Day, the 8th May 1945, 3pm, the Jubilation, the millions of people that lined the streets of London and the ecstatic joy at celebrating the peace that came to Europe after 6 years of war I’ve been reflecting on it. I’ve looked at photograph after photograph of the jubilant celebrations across the nation and I have been really challenged.

I mean the jubilation on that day, celebrating the end of 6 years of war in Europe really challenged me. We have a far greater peace than that which was celebrated on VE Day. We have a peace with God through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We have an amazing peace, and I was really challenged as I looked at those photos.

Do I celebrate the peace that I have with God, in the same way those people on VE Day did 80 years ago? We have a far, far greater peace. I need to celebrate that peace, not just at Easter time but all the time. I wanted to encourage all of us today as we sing new songs, as we sing songs of praise to God, let us be like those people on VE Day, 80 years ago, joyous ecstatic, celebrating the peace that we have with God.

Let me pray, Father, as we celebrate VE Day this week, we thank you for the peace that you brought to our nation on that day 80 years ago. As we look at these old pictures of the jubilation and the celebration, Lord we are reminded of the peace that we have with you, that is so much more worth celebrating! Lord, I pray that you would stir our hearts to celebrate the peace that we have with you and all that, that means. The hope and the promise of eternal life, that one day we will join you in heaven and the place which you have gone ahead and prepared for us.

Lord, may we celebrate that peace, would you give us that joy as we meditate on the peace that we have and all that you have done for us through the cross, in Jesus' name we thank you amen.