The Love Of God, The God Of Love

"You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to You" (Psalm 86:5). Sometimes, we contrast 'the God of the Old Testament' and 'the God of the New Testament.'  We speak about 'the God of law' and 'the God of love.' If we think that 'love' only began with the start of …

God is carrying out His plan of salvation.

Genesis 20-21 In these chapters, the high point is the birth of Isaac (21:1-3). The great verse, which jumps out at us, is the first verse of chapter 21: "The Lord came to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised." This is more than a human story. …

Give to us, Lord, the wisdom that is centred on Christ.

“The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). Give to us, Lord, the wisdom that is centred on Christ, the wisdom that receives “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”, the wisdom that leads us to become “mature in Christ”, the wisdom that is Christlike, the wisdom …

Let’s take our problems to the Lord.

Proverbs 5:1-14 Being married: There are many temptations - the 'loose woman' (3-6). Be positive: Through 'mutual love and respect', let's build 'strong and happy' marriages, in which 'the marriage bond is honoured'. Singles: Don't spoil everything by getting entangled with those who are 'loose' in their commitment to believing in and living for Jesus …

What does it mean to be holy?

"Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). What does it mean to be holy? Do we make ourselves holy? Are we to turn ourselves into modern-day Pharisees - people who regard ourselves as superior to other people? No! The way of true holiness is centred on Christ - not ourselves. It is centred …

Let us give thanks to our Saviour. Let us thank him for his great salvation.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). The crowds were "harassed and helpless." They were "like sheep without a shepherd." They were sinners without a Saviour/ Jesus, the Saviour, came to them. They came to him. He brought salvation to …

Statement of Christian Faith (2): We believe in one God (Part Two)

We believe in one God (Romans 5:1-11; Romans 10:9-13; Romans 15:7-13). The Statement is made up of five sections: (i) We believe in one God; (ii) We praise God the Father; (iii) We proclaim (or confess) Jesus Christ, God the Son; (iv) We trust God the Holy Spirit; (v) We rejoice in the gift of …

Full of joy through the Holy Spirit, let us boast in the Lord.

At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do" (Luke 10:21). Here we see "Jesus, full of …

Lord, the things that are most important to us are not always the things that are most important to You.

Lord, the things that are most important to us are not always the things that are most important to You. Jesus, Your Son, tells us that eternal profit is more important than personal profit. He says to us, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mark …

God’s wonderful grace changes everything!

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago (Isaiah 25:1). When we worship the Lord, we are to give thanks to him for all that he has done for us. Without his wonderful grace, we would be on …

Learning to worship the Lord and walk in his ways

 Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3). A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and …

Filled with joy and peace, overflowing with hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). Joy, peace and hope: is this just about being positive people, or is there more than this here? It is so important that …

The peace of God that passes all understanding

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27). Here, Jesus speaks of "peace." What does he mean when he speaks of his peace? What does he mean when he says that …

From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are led from strength to strengh, from faith to faith, and from glory to glory. (1) From strength to strength The phrase, "from strength to strength" is taken from the hymn, "Soldiers of …

Revised Common Lectionary – Year A: First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

Awaiting Christ’s Return, let us worship God and walk in His ways. God calls us to worship Him - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...’ - and walk in His ways - ‘Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:3, 5). We are moving towards the …

Soon, it will be Christmas.

Soon, it will be Christmas. It’s a very special time of the year. What is it that makes Christmas special? It’s Jesus who makes Christmas special. Jesus is a very special Person. There’s no-one more special than Jesus. If Christmas is going to be special for us, we must see that it’s all about Jesus …

Revised Common Lectionary – Year C: First Sunday of Advent – Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Revised Common Lectionary – Year CFirst Sunday of Advent: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.‘I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin …

When places and faces slip into our past

"The temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods" (2 Chronicles 2:5). We become very attached to the places where we worship. They are associated with many special memories. They bring back treasured memories of people, with whom we have shared our journey of faith. Some of us …

The preaching of God’s Word, the forgiveness of sins and a healing miracle

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get …

God loves us – always and forever.

"The Lord will lead the people" (Micah 2:13). These are precious words. Whatever happens in our life, we must hold on to this: "The Lord will lead the people." Whatever happens to us - good things or bad things, we must not lose sight of the Lord. In the good times, let us trust Him …

Jesus is more than our teacher and example. He’s our Saviour and Lord.

"Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2). Not conformed to the world, transformed by the Lord: how are we to live this kind of …

Our Love For The Lord Must Be Stronger Than Any Other Love.

1 Corinthians 6:12-7:24 The Lord has placed the highest value on us: ‘you were bought with a price’ (6:20; 7:23). Our love for Him must be stronger than any other love. Some are under pressure, at home, from an unbelieving husband or wife. You wonder whether your Christian witness is doing any good (7:16). You …

Statement of Christian Faith (1): We believe in one God (Part One)

We believe in one God (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Jude 1-3). When we say, “We believe”, we are emphasizing that we believe, together with others in the fellowship of faith. This fellowship of faith includes the whole people of God in every time and every place. It is the people of God, down …

Love, joy, peace… where do they come from?

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Love, joy, peace ... - Is this what we find when we look within ourselves? or Do we find something very different? What does Jesus tell us about ourselves? Does he pat us on the back and tell as that, at …

When the going gets tough, may God help us to keep on praying.

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12:3). Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his …

Is there any Word from the Lord?

Jeremiah 37:1-21  -  ‘Is there any Word from the Lord?’ - ‘Yes! There is a Word from the Lord’. The Word from the Lord wasn’t exactly what the king wanted to hear - ‘You will be handed over to the king of Babylon’ (17). God was going to bless His people - but they would …

Living with deadlines …

Tomorrow, next week, next month ... More quickly than we would like, next month becomes next week, and next week becomes tomorrow ... Here's a deadline that's more urgent than any of these deadlines: "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). What makes "the day of salvation" so urgent? - We may not have …

In our own homes – may we experience God’s love and enjoy His blessing.

https://youtu.be/lCt1s44cfMM The Father, The Son, The Holy SpiritAdvent is the time of preparation for Christmas. Make sure that you prepare your heart for a real celebration of our Saviour. Remember that Christmas is not about us. It’s about God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: “an angel of the Lord” comes with …

The Spirit of the Lord – this is where the power comes from.

"The sons of the prophets said 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.'" (2 Kings 2:15). Here, the sons of the prophets speak of "the spirit of Elijah." They, also, speak of "the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Kings 2:16). We listen to this preacher. We listen to that preacher. We read their sermons. We …

Sharing our Faith Effectively

Philemon, verse 6 – “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” These words bring to mind several other verses of Scripture. * “acknowledging every good thing … ” indicates that we are to share our faith in the spirit …

Which World?

"For a full 180 days, King Xerxes displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendour and glory of his majesty" (Esther 1:4). As I was reading these words about King Xerxes, I thought about another king, a very different king, a much better king - King Jesus. What did Jesus say about His …

Is there something more than this?

"Who needs God? Who needs Jesus? That's what plenty of people say to us, in today's world. Sometimes, we listen to them, and we start to wonder if they're right. Do we really need God? Do we really need Jesus? Can we get on well enough without God? Can we get on well enough without …

In our own homes – let us remember that the Lord is with us, every step of the way.

https://youtu.be/JmGwHdNtpEw _____ Less of our sin, more of Your love – Lord, this is our prayer. Our sin does us nothing but harm. Your love always does us good – nothing but good. We’re sinners, Lord. Why do You keep on loving us? We don’t know why – but we’re glad that You do! We …

In our own homes – let us pray to the Lord and let us praise the Lord.

‘How I love Your Temple, Almighty Lord! How I want to be there! I long to be in the Lord’s Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God’ (Psalm 84:1-2).  Lord, we read this words, and we know that this is much more than paying lip-service to You. This is real. ‘I long …

In our own homes – let us be faithful in worshipping the Lord, reading His Word and praying to Him.

https://youtu.be/s3hNZT6ddJg ‘Fulfil your vows’ (Nahum 1:15). Lord, You’re calling us to be faithful to You. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be faithful in reading Your Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is …

In our own homes – May the Lord fill our hearts with His love, joy and peace.

https://youtu.be/-Msh0PAJfPU Lord, we read about Your judgment upon sinful nations – Ammon (Ezekiel 25:1-7), Moab (Ezekiel 25:8-11), Edom (Ezekiel 25:12-14) and Philistia (Ezekiel 25:15-17). You speak to us. You say to us, ‘You will know that I am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 25:5,7,11,17). You speak to us as our Judge. You speak to us about ‘sin, …

In our own homes: Let us look to Jesus – and be changed by Him.

https://youtu.be/mgzRB4gEPf4 We compare ourselves to other people. We like to think that we’re doing pretty well. What, Lord, do You think about all of this? Are You impressed? You’re saying to us, “What about Jesus? How do you compare to Him? Help us, Lord, to look at Jesus – and see where we need to …

Wholehearted Devotion

“And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep Your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided” (1 Chronicles 29:19).  We don’t begin with what’s on the outside – building the temple. We begin with what’s on the inside – “wholehearted devotion.” The …

In our own homes – Let us return to the Lord and hear His Word of salvation.

https://youtu.be/BUT-G4xHYpo ‘The Lord roars.’ ‘The Lord thunders’ (Amos 1:2). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word comes to us from above – ‘The Lord will roar from on high.’ You speak to us from heaven – ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling.’ We dare not ignore Your Word. Your Word comes to us as …

In our own homes – let us praise our Saviour.

“In the beginning, God … ” (Genesis 1:1). “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start… ” (from the film, The Sound of Music). When we go back to “a long time ago”, do we go back far enough? The first four words of the Bible takes us back beyond “a long …

God is preparing a glorious future for us.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). How does the Lord keep us walking in His way? – He keeps on bringing to our attention the glorious future which He is preparing for us. …

The Lord’s face shines upon us.

"The Lord make his face to shine on you" (Numbers 6:25). "Restore us, O God, let your face shine that we may be saved" (Psalm 80:3). The Lord's face shines upon us - these words are very precious to us. To know that we are blessed by the Lord - saved by him, this is …

The glory of God is more important than the reputation of his servants.

"The prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: ‘Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that …

Christ Is Our Wisdom. Receiving Him, We Receive Wisdom. Growing In Him, We Grow In Wisdom.

Proverbs 8:1-36 Hoping for ‘good luck’, some people expect good things to happen to them - all the time! God says, ‘Seek wisdom. Be ready for the hard times’. Wisdom comes from God. He speaks to us with words of wisdom (2:6; 6-8). Wisdom is not only for ‘kings and rulers, princes and nobles’. It …

God’s Purpose of Salvation

Genesis 27:41-28:9 What a tangled web! Jacob has cheated Esau. Now, Esau is saying, ‘I will kill my brother Jacob’(41). What are we to make of all this? We must look beyond the human scene. Behind it all, there is ‘God Almighty’(3). God will fulfil His promises. Nothing will distract Him from His ultimate purpose …

God’s Word is given to us. God’s Word is to be shared with others.

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth... The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (Psalm 121:1-2,7-8). Psalm 121 begins with one …

When it seems like the foundations of our faith are being shaken

"The Lord is my rock" (2 Samuel 22:2). When it seems like the foundations of our faith are being shaken, we need to remember this: "The Lord is my rock." What are we to say about these words, "The Lord is my rock." Sometimes, we hear people saying, "My faith is my rock. I don't …

The Lord Is King. He is The King Of Love.

Psalm 95:1-11 ‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord... Let us come before Him with thanksgiving... Come, let us bow down in worship...’(1-2,6). We are to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving. We rejoice in the Lord. We give thanks for His love. He is ‘the great God’. He is ‘our God’. He …

The Lord gives strength to those who put their trust in Him.

‘Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonderful works that He has done…’(Psalm 105:4-5). The Lord gives strength to those who put their trust in Him. Trusting in Christ, we have this great testimony: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’(Philippians 4:13). How do we receive the …

Come to me, and you will have life.

"Listen now, my people, and come to me; come to me, and you will have life! " (Isaiah 55:3). God is speaking to us. He's saying to us, 'Are you listening?" When God speaks to us, we should listen to him. We should say, "Lord, what do you have to say to us?" He says …

The sword of the Spirit

Jesus answered the devil, ‘It is written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test." (Luke 4:12). Here, Jesus is quoting the words of Deuteronomy 6:16. He's taking his stand on the Word of God. Jesus is teaching us to take our stand on the Word of God. In Ephesians 6:17, Paul tells us …

So many questions, so few answers: Is this all that we have to say to today’s world?

What, really, is going on in our world? There are so many questions, and there are so few answers. Where do we go from here? Do we give up on asking questions because we we have given up on the idea that there are any answers to our many questions? Do we give up on …

From a long, long time ago – a story for us, a story for today

Situations change. Sometimes, we're going through hard times - but blessing may be just around the corner. In the Old Testament book of Exodus, we read about the people of Israel, suffering in the land of Egypt. Would their suffering go on and on... Would it never come to an end? Then came their deliverance …

We are called to look to Christ for salvation.

Ezekiel 45:1-46:24; 1 Peter 3:1-22; Proverbs 28:18-28 In Ezekiel, we read of many sacrifices being offered to God. In the New Testament, it is emphasized that one Sacrifice is sufficient – “For Christ died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). We are called …

We are weak. The Lord is strong.

"Let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 3:10). In ourselves, we are weak. In the Lord, we are strong. When we speak the words, "I am strong", we are not saying something about ourselves. We are saying something about the Lord. He is our strength. Our strength comes from him. Weak: this is what …

Lord, we thank You for Your great love.

Genesis 6:9-22 Lord, we thank You for Your great love. There is no love like Your love. We think of Your Son, giving Himself, in death, for us. We think of His suffering for us and we say, “Saviour of the world, what have You done to deserve this?” We look at the Cross, and …

The story of Goliath is still with us – and God is still with us!

"I come to you in the name of the Lord" (1 Samuel 17:45). These words were spoken by David. They were spoken to Goliath. It seemed like David didn't have any a chance against Goliath. The odds were stacked against David. Everything pointed to a Goliath victory - everything except this: "I come to you …

Let us worship God.

Numbers 4:1-5:10; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 34:11-22 Numbers 4 speaks about the work which the various tribes were to do in the Tent of Meeting. Above all, the work we are called to do is worship. We are to say from our hearts, “Praise be to the Lord” (Luke 1:68). Part of this worship will be …

God’s call to holiness and His promise of blessing

1 Samuel 6:17-7:17 God is 'holy' (20). He calls His people to be holy. With His call to holiness, there is His promise of blessing (3). Committed to serving the Lord only and calling on the Lord for His help, Israel wins a great victory over the Philistines (4-11). God's people give thanks to Him …

Lord, help us not to keep You at a distance.

Lord, help us not to keep You at a distance. Help us to get closer to You. So many of our problems come from this: We’re too far away from You. Even when we’re keeping you at a distance, help us to know that You still love us. Help us to know that You’ll never …