Cleansed from sin and on fire for the Lord

Numbers 29:12-31:24; Luke 8:19-39; Psalm 39:1-13 Numbers 31:22-24 emphasizes the importance of cleansing. The healing of the demon-possessed man, in Luke 8, emphasizes the power of Christ to cleanse even the most sinful of people. To be cleansed from sin involves an act of the will on our part - “I will watch my ways …

In The Hands Of The Potter

Jeremiah 18:1-23  This is what the Lord is doing in our lives. He is ‘the Potter’. We are no more than ‘jars of clay’ (Jeremiah 18:6; Isaiah 64:8; 2 Corinthians 4:7). Our lives are ‘marred’ by sin. It would be very easy to give up on ourselves. God hasn’t given up on us. He looks …

The Completeness Of Christ’s Work For Us – ‘For All Time A Single Sacrifice For Sins’

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 for us - ‘for …

The Light Is Switched On.

When the love of God reaches us, we step out of our darkness and into His light. It's Jesus  - the light of the world - who shows us how much God loves us (John 8:12). When the light is switched off, it doesn't do us any good. When it's switched on, the love of …

What misery is mine!… What joy is mine!

"What misery is mine!... Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the …

When God looks upon us, he looks upon us in love.

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As …

God Sees Us In Our Sin – And He Sees Us In His Grace!

"I  will look to the Lord. I will wait for God to save me. I will wait for my God to listen to me" (Micah 7:7). Who is the Lord our God? The answer to this question is found in Micah 6:18-20. we are never wasting our time when we look to the Lord.We are …

We have been saved by the Lord. Let us serve him.

"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: 'In my distress I called to the Lord,    and he answered me.From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,    and you listened to my cry'" (Jonah 2:1-2). It seemed like this was the end of the road for Jonah. His situation was hopeless. Was it really …

From Disaster To Revival

 * "In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and You listened to my cry" (Jonah 2:2). What are we to do when the going gets tough? We've heard the saying, When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We …

A true prophet gives the glory to God alone.

Genesis 40:1-23 God gave Joseph power to overcome temptation (chapter 39). Now, He gives him power to interpret dreams. Here, Joseph the dreamer (37:5-11) becomes Joseph the interpreter of dreams. Joseph may be viewed as a prophet: 'Surely the Lord does nothing, without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets' (Amos 3:7). As a …

What does it mean to be blessed?

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:7). What does it mean to be "blessed"? Sometimes, the words, "happy" and "blessed", are taken to mean the same thing. Is there a difference between being "happy" and being "blessed"? The word, "blessed", makes us think about the question, "Where does the blessing come from. It invites …

How does God’s blessing come into our hearts and lives?

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord (Jeremiah 17:7). Sometimes, when we're reading the Word of God, a verse jumps out at us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. He takes words, from long ago, and brings them home to our hearts with power and relevance. What is it that makes these words relevant …

Called into the service of God

Jeremiah 1-3 Jeremiah was called into the service of the eternal God: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for My holy purpose. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Jeremiah called the people back to the Lord, “the …

Realism and encouragement

"They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the Lord, “to deliver you." (Jeremiah 1:19). Jeremiah was given a difficult task - but he was not on his own. God was with him. He would face plenty of determined opposition - but he would not be defeated. God …

He was just a young boy.

Jeremiah These thoughts are based on Jeremiah 1:6-8 and Jeremiah 6:16. He was just a young boy.Jeremiah was his name.He had something to say to the people,Something that they would never forget.This was more than the word of man.This was the Word of the Lord.They may not respond to the Word of the Lord.They would …

Where are you?

"Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9).Everything had started out so well, It was such a promising beginning. Then something went wrong, something serious, something that changed everything. What does God do about it, when things start going wrong? He starts looking for us. Why is He looking for us? It's because He loves us.Jesus tells us …

The God Whom We Worship Is So Much Greater Than The Worship We Bring To Him.

Psalm 145:1-21 ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. Let us worship our great God: ‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever’(1-3). The God …

The grace of God reaches us and changes us.

Genesis 22:20-23:20 There are a lot of names (22:20-24) and a lot of details about Sarah's burial (23:1-20). Is there anything that stands out? Yes! - "You (Abraham) are God's chosen one among us" (23:5). This sentence speaks to us about the grace of God. Was there something special about Abraham? No! - but there …

Up on the mountaintop with God, and back down to the valley with God

Genesis 22:1-19 From verse 2 - "Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you" - we look ahead to God's words concerning Jesus: "my beloved Son" (Matthew 3:17 & 17:5). The second time …

Mighty intercessory prayer

Genesis 18:16-33 In the face of the threatened judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah, we find Abraham engaging in mighty intercessory prayer. He is not concerned only about himself and his own salvation. He is prayerfully committed to seeking the salvation of others. This is a mark of spiritual maturity - a deep concern …

The Word Of God Does Not Benefit Us When We Do Not Receive It With Faith.

Genesis 18:1-15 Is anything too hard for the Lord? (14). We need to hear these words as God’s call to greater faith. Sarah, like Abraham, had heard God’s promises, yet ‘she laughed to herself’(12). We can hear God’s Word, and still remain, in our hearts, men and women of unbelief. The Word of God does …

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Genesis 18:1-33 "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14). God was intent on doing something great - "through him (Abraham) all the nations of the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 18:18) - and nothing was going to stop Him. Even if a great many people - Sodom and Gomorrah - refused to honour …

Standing before the Lord

Genesis 18:20-33 "Abraham remained standing before the Lord" (22). Standing before the Lord - God is calling us to stand before him. When others are falling - we are to stand. When others are looking towards the world - we are to look to the Lord. Each of us must choose how we are going …

The laughter of unbelief and the laughter of rejoicing

Genesis 18:1-19 Abraham's three visitors - This was an appearance of the Lord to Abraham" (1). Abraham bowed down and sought favour from the Lord. He asked that the blessing would not pass him by. Everything about this visit indicates that the Lord was in it. He was preparing Abraham for the next stage in …

A spiritual journey

When you come to the end of this spiritual journey, you may be wondering why this post ends in Job 38. It doesn't end there. If you read the final paragraph of this post, you will see that this spiritual journey ends in Romans 8:38-39, "Nothing will be able to separate us from the love …

Genesis 3

It had all started so well, then everything went wrong. That's the story of Genesis 3. After Genesis 1 and 2 started so positively, disaster struck. Sin entered the world, and nothing was ever the same again. We read this story, coming to us from such a long time ago, and we wonder, "What does …

Can Paradise Lost become Paradise Regained? (Genesis 3 and Revelation 12)

'All things, bright and beautiful ... The Lord God made them all' - this is the great, positive message that comes to us from Genesis 1 - but things are very different when we get into Genesis 3: things are not so bright and beautiful. What are we to do? Are we to listen to …

"Africa Bible Commentary" on Genesis

Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars --The Africa Bible Commentary is unique. Written by African theologians and produced in Africa, it is the first one-volume commentary ever created to help pastors, students, and lay leaders in Africa apply God’s Word to distinctively African concerns, yet its fresh insights will have …

What effect do our actions have on other people?

Joshua 7:1-26  -  This chapter begins with the word, ‘But’ - This is ominous! What comes next? - Sin: ‘the people of Israel broke faith with regard to the devoted things’. The sin was Achan’s, yet it affected the whole people of Israel: ‘the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel’ (1). …