Help And Hope – From The Lord

God is calling us to live as "righteous people" (Psalm 58:10-11). When we face hostile persecution, our only hope is in the Lord: “God is my Stronghold, my merciful God” (Psalm 59:9,17). Looking to the Lord, we pray, “Give us help against the enemy because human assistance is worthless” (Psalm 60:11). Trusting in the Lord, …

We rejoice in Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Esther  9:1-10:3  -  Among God’s people, there was much ‘feasting and joy’. They gave thanks to the Lord - ‘their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration’ (9:17-22). They gave thanks to God for Mordecai - ‘he sought the welfare of his people, he worked for the good of …

Pray to the Lord, and work for Him.

Nehemiah 5:1-7:3; Revelation 18:1-17a; Proverbs 31:10-20 Again, the combination of prayer and work is seen in Nehemiah - "I devoted myself to the work on this wall" (Nehemiah 5:16), "I prayed, 'Now, strengthen my hands.'" (Nehemiah 6:9). "So the wall was completed ... this work had been done with the help of our God" (Nehemiah …

How we are to come to the Lord, and how we are not to come to Him.

Malachi 1:1-2:16; Revelation 6:1-17; Psalm 143:1-12 "Come!... Come!... Come!... Come!" (Revelation 6:1,3,5,7). The invitation is clear. We are to come to the Lord. How are we to come to Him? If we are to learn how we are to come to Him, we should learn also how we are not to come to Him. Malachi …

We see how much God loves us, and we want to love Him more, and more…

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 We don't begin with the call to love God. We begin with His plan to bless us: "the land" (Deuteronomy 6:1,3): "There is a happy land, far, far away, where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as day." * "far, far away", "Your Kingdom come": What a great future! * "saints", That's what …

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Numbers 14:1-45  -  ‘All the congregation raised a loud cry...’, ‘all the people of Israel murmured...’, ‘all the congregation said to stone them...’ (1-2,10). Was there any ‘light at the end of the tunnel’? Yes! - ‘The Lord... will bring us into this land’ (8). With the promise, there was also the warning: ‘Do not …

The pathway to holiness – By grace, through faith, for good works

Leviticus 20:1-27 The life of holiness is not an expression of our own moral virtue. It is an expression of the holy character of God being reproduced in us: 'I am the Lord who sanctify you' (8). God wants us for Himself. This is why we must not live the world's way: 'I, the Lord, …

In the beginning, God

Genesis 1-2 "In the beginning, God"  - The first four words of the Bible take us back to the point where we can go no further, back to the eternity of God. What do we find when we are taken back - into the heart of the eternal God? We find love. We discover that …

No shame

Genesis 2:25 There was no shame because there was no sin. Everything was about to change. Soon, there would be sin, and there would, also, be shame. Where do sin and shame come from? They come from Satan. God did not create us for sin and shame. It was Satan who brought sin and shame …

A voice from the ancient past

Genesis 1 From its very first verse, the Bible speaks to us as a voice from the ancient past and a message for our present and our future. The Bible speaks to every generation because it is a Word that comes to us from the eternal God, the everlasting God, the God who is both …

When God sends out His Word

Isaiah 55-57 When God sends out His Word, He sends it with a promise; "My Word... will not come back to Me without results, but it will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do" (Isaiah 55:11). The Lord is looking out. He's looking beyond those who are already worshipping Him. …

“The Beatitudes” show us God’s way of blessing.

Matthew 5:3-12 ‘The Beatitudes’ show us God’s way of blessing. We might also describe them as the Be Attitudes, since they show us what we are to be. Jesus teaches us that the way to happiness is the way of holiness. The only alternative to the way of holiness is the way of hypocrisy. There …

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is “our Lord and our God” (John 20:28).

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "our Lord and our God" (John 20:28). We thank You that, through Jesus, the risen Lord, we have received Your gift of eternal "life" (John 20:31). As we think of all that You have done for us and given to us, may we keep on trusting …

In the place of testing, we need the Word of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:1-9:21 The 'wilderness' was a place of 'testing'. God was 'disciplining' His people. He was teaching them to 'walk in His ways' (2,5-6). In the 'wilderness', we must remember this: 'man does not live by bread alone... man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord' (3). Everything that proceeds …

We are weak, but the Lord is strong.

Judges 6:11-7:14 'We are weak but He is strong' (Church Hymnary, 418). In himself, Gideon was weak (15). In the Lord, he was 'a mighty warrior'. Gideon was full of questions. God said to him, 'Go... I will be with you' (6:12-16). Our true strength does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord: …

God our Creator

"Who is God and what is he to you?" - When this question is asked by someone who's searching for God, it's an invitation and an opportunity - an invitation to give a word of personal testimony and an opportunity to help someone find their way back to God. "Who is God and what is …

God does not lose patience with us. He never stops loving us.

Joshua 20:1-21:45  -  We read of manslaughter, ‘the cities of refuge’ and the death of the high priest (20:1-6). What does all this have to do with us? We are sinners. Jesus Christ has died for us. He is our Refuge. He is our Great High Priest. In Him, there is ‘no condemnation’. In Him, …

Redeemed by the Lord, let’s live for his glory.

The Kingdom Of God: 1-2 Timothy and Titus We begin with some great verses from Titus - "Jesus Christ ... gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:13-14); "He saved us, not because of deeds …