The Lord fights for us.

On December 18, 2021November 26, 2021 By charlieIn Joshua1 Comment

“The Lord fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:14). This is what we must see in all the conflicts between Israel and the other nations. God is working out His purpose. He is fulfilling His promises. Without this spiritual dimension, the events recorded in the book of Joshua are of no real significance for us today. Keeping …

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Sermons on Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:67-80)

On December 18, 2021January 31, 2021 By charlieIn Luke, sermons1 Comment

Luke 1:67-80 Prior to the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, there was the birth of John the Baptist. At the time of John’s birth, his father, Zechariah, sang a song of praise to God. It is a song of praise which (a) gives thanks to God for His blessings in the past; …

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Let us pray that our love for Jesus will not grow cold.

On December 18, 2021August 4, 2021 By charlieIn advent, Catholic Lectionary - Year A, Isaiah, Matthew, Romans1 Comment

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24 Let us pray that our love for Jesus will not grow cold. Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of ‘Immanuel’ - ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, …

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We don’t like change.

On December 18, 2021June 15, 2021 By charlieIn 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans1 Comment

We're creatures of habit. We have our daily routines. What are we to say about this? - Take care that you don't get stuck in a rut! If we are serious about our commitment to Jesus Christ, we must be ready for change. Jesus doesn't leave us the way that he finds us. He changes …

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So long ago and so far away! … Are the shepherds and wise men really so different from us?

On December 18, 2021November 8, 2021 By charlieIn Jesus Christ, Luke, Matthew1 Comment

The shepherds and the wise men seem so different from us! Everything seems so long ago and so far away! Are they really any different from us? Can we dare to forget the lessons we learn from the shepherds and the wise men? Some may say, 'It was different back then. Life was so simple. …

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From Bethlehem, we look back – and we look forward.

On December 18, 2021November 10, 2021 By charlieIn Christ's Birth2 Comments

If we are to come to a true understanding of the story of Jesus Christ, we must not begin by opening our Bibles at the beginning of the New Testament – Matthew 1:1. We must go back into the Old Testament. We must seek to understand what the prophets said, as they looked forward to …

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“Go Into All The World And Preach The Good News.”

On December 18, 2021October 24, 2021 By charlieIn prayer5 Comments

‘I, the Lord, am your Saviour, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob’. Help us, Lord, not to keep this to ourselves. You want ‘all mankind’ to ‘know’ (Isaiah 49:26). ‘Jesus, the Name to sinners dear, the Name to sinners given, it scatters all their guilty fear, it turns their hell to heaven’ - This …

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We say, “We want to be happy.” You, Lord, say to us, “What about being holy?”

Numbers 32:1-42 We say, “We want to be happy.” You, Lord, say to us, “What about being holy?” Happiness is like ‘the elusive butterfly.” We try to catch it – and it keeps on evading our grasp.” Lord, how can we find true happiness? Happiness comes to us when we are blessed by You, when we’re learning to […]

Lord, when we come to You, we come with our sin.

Lord, when we come to You, we come with our sin. We can’t do anything else. Sin is a part of what we are. It’s the heart of what we are.

Deuteronomy 4:1-43 – Lord, You have saved us …

Deuteronomy 4:1-43 Lord, You have saved us. Help us to serve You. In all our service, may we never forget Your salvation. May we always serve You with “the attitude of gratitude.”

Lord, You gave Your Son, Jesus – to be our Saviour.

Numbers 7:1-47 Lord, You gave Your Son, Jesus – to be our Saviour. Help us to give ourselves to You – to be Your servants. Jesus died for us. Help us to live for Him. Help us never to forget His sacrifice – “Love so amazing, so divine.” May we be challenged by His sacrifice […]

Teach us, Lord, that what You have done for us is always so much greater than anything we could ever do for You.

Leviticus 25:23-55 Teach us, Lord, that what You have done for us is always so much greater than anything we could ever do for You. You gave Your Son, Jesus, to be our Saviour. Your Holy Spirit has come to live in our hearts. He’s changing us. He’s making us more like Jesus. You give […]

Lord, You call us to love You.

Genesis 33:1-20 Lord, You call us to love You – and to love our neighbour. Help us never to think that we can grow in our love for You if we are not also learning to love our neighbour with the love that You give to us. Help us never to forget You. Help us […]

The completeness of Christ’s work for us

Numbers 19:1-22 – The sacrifice was to be ‘without defect’. There was to be ‘no blemish’ (2). Here, we have a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ – ‘without sin’, He offered Himself ‘for the sins of the people’ (Hebrews 4:15; 2:17). The gathering of ‘the ashes’ (9-10) speaks of the completeness of Christ’s work […]

Lord, we feel like we’re making a right mess of things.

Lord, we feel like we’re making a right mess of things. Everything’s going wrong. This is the story of today’s world. It’s not just everybody else’s story. It’s our story. None of us can escape the truth – we’re sinners. Thank You, Lord – That’s only part of the truth concerning us. We are loved […]

Often, Lord, we feel trapped.

Often, Lord, we feel trapped – trapped by our sin. We try to break free – but we can’t make it happen. Our sin has such a strong hold on us. We wonder, “Is there a way to freedom?” Jesus says, “Yes. There is.” He says to us, “I am the Way to freedom.” Set us […]

The Lord has saved us. Let us serve Him, with our hearts full of thanksgiving to Him and love for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:11-7:1 – ‘Reconciled’ to God through Christ, we have received ‘the ministry of reconciliation’. Saved by Him, we are to ‘work with Him’. We are ‘not to accept the grace of God in vain’ by living for ourselves. We are to be ‘ambassadors for Christ’. We must proclaim the urgent message of salvation – ‘now […]

One Year Bible: Days 152-181

Day 152 2 Samuel 1:1-2:7; John 20:10-31; Proverbs 13:20-14:4 David was “anointed … king over the house of Judah” (2 Samuel 2:4). Jesus was given a higher honour: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Proverbs 13:22). The greatest inheritance we can leave to the […]

One Year Bible: Days 121-151

Day 121 Joshua 19:1-21:19; John 2:1-25; Psalm 54:1-7 What God did for His people, Israel, was very great. There is a striking contrast between their slavery in Egypt and their abundance in the promised land. God had multiplied His blessing upon them, just as Jesus did when He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). If the […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Three – May

1st May: Jeremiah 1:1-19 To understand Jeremiah’s story, we must look ‘behind the scenes’: ‘The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations”‘ (4-5). To understand our own […]

Bible Reading Notes: Year One – April

1st April: Genesis 25:19-34 Esau was a fool. He chose his own way rather than the Lord’s way. Jacob was a ‘heel’! ‘Born with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel…, he was named Jacob (Heel)’ (26). A crafty twister, a manipulating cheat, there was nothing about him that merited God’s blessing. He was not […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Three – April

1st April: Isaiah 52:1-12 ‘Good News’ – Let us ‘shout for joy’. ‘Good News’ – Let us sing ‘songs of joy’. There is the Good News of God’s reign – ‘Your God reigns’. There is the Good News of our redemption – ‘The Lord has redeemed’ us. We are not to keep the Good News […]

One Year Bible: Days 91-120

Day 91 Numbers 31:25-32:42; Luke 8:40-9:9; Psalm 40:1-8 In Moses’ time, the people of God were to “arm themselves before the Lord for battle” (Numbers 32:20). In Jesus’ time, His disciples were given “power and authority to drive out all demons …” (Luke 9:1). In every generation, the Lord’s people are to sing “a new […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Two – April

1st April: 1 Samuel 17:1-58 David defeats Goliath. This is not only a story about David and Goliath. It is about the Israelites and the Philistines. It is about ‘God’ and the ‘gods’ (43,46). Victory comes from the Lord. It is given by grace. It is received by faith (47). Notice the contrast between the […]

Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin! (Daily Devotional Readings: Year One – April).

One Year Bible: Days 60-90

Day 60 Leviticus 5:14-7:10; Mark 10:32-52; Proverbs 6:12-19 “The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord … it is most holy” (Leviticus 6:25). Concerning the death of Jesus, the human story is this: “the chief priests and the teachers of the law will condemn Him to death” (Mark 10:33-34). There is, however, also the divine […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year One – March

1st March: Genesis 15:1-21 God is greater than our circumstances. God had given great promises to Abraham, yet there appeared no sign that His promises were being fulfilled. The circumstances seemed bleak, and Abraham felt despondent. Abraham was full of questions. In verse 2, he asks, ‘What can you give me…?’. This is the question […]