Jesus Christ, our Saviour: perfect in holiness, perfect in love

Exodus 27:1-28:43; Mark 5:21-6:6a; Psalm 24:1-10 "Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart" (Exodus 28:29). This bearing of the names on the heart is seen supremely in Jesus. He was not prepared to let the woman, who had touched the hem of His …

God’s Eternal Love – When you see a rainbow, remember there is love, eternal love, the love of God.

Here, we pick up on the words of Genesis 7:16 - ‘the Lord closed the door behind them’. What was going on outside of the ark is contrasted with the haven of salvation inside the ark. What was it that made the ark a place of salvation? - The Lord. What is it that makes …

When you’re feeling down, let God’s love lift you up!

2 Samuel 12:1-31 Here, we learn much about God’s dealings with sinners. In verse 7, there is conviction of sin - ‘You are the man’. In verse 13, we have confession of sin - ‘I have sinned against the Lord’- and forgiveness of sin - ‘The Lord has taken away your sin’. In verse 20, …

A call to faithfulness from 1 John, 2 John and Jude

These are short letters. Each of them has only one chapter. They present to us a call to faithfulness in the face of departure from Gospel truth. 2 John: "There are many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admit that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. They are the deceiver: they are the …

2 John, 3 John and Jude

2 JOHN ‘Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward’ (8). Don’t let things slip. Build on the work that has already been done. This will not be easy - ‘many deceivers have already gone out into the world’. Such people do nothing but …

Praying Through God’s Word: 2 John

“Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward” (2 John 8). Your work is at stake. Your glory is at stake. Help us, Lord, to keep on going. Help us not to give up. How dare we take it easy when You’re calling us …

God remembered Abraham.

Genesis 19:1-38 In a rather forgettable chapter, we find these gracious words - "God ... remembered Abraham"; "Lot was allowed to escape from the destruction that came to the cities where he was living" (Genesis 19:29). What a great thing it is to be "remembered" by God. What a great thing it is to have …

Treasures On Earth, Treasures In Heaven – Which Is Most Important To You?

Ecclesiastes 5:1-6:12 ‘The man who loves money can never have enough’(5:10). Some people are never satisfied, They’re always wanting more. This is the world’s way. The more you have, the more you want. The Lord’s way is very different: ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth... Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... …

Worth thinking about?

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son ... " (Hebrews 1:1-2). "In the past": Some people switch off when they hear these words. They feel that the past has nothing to do …

Jesus – the most excellent of men.

Psalm 45:1-17 We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is “the most excellent of men” (Psalm 45:2). He is much more than that. We look at Jesus Christ, the risen Lord (Acts 2:24, 36), and we say, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever” (Psalm 45:6; Hebrews 1:8). Help us to approach our …

An Encouraging Message – And A Challenging Message

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son ..." (Hebrews 1:1-2). "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not …

Hosea 1-7

HOSEA 1:1-3:5  -  ‘Hosea’ means ‘salvation’. Married to ‘an adulterous wife’, Hosea spoke with great compassion to  ‘the land’ which was ‘guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord’ (1:2). He  brought God’s Word of love to the people: ‘I will show My love to the one I called, “Not My loved one”’. …

Praying Through God’s Word: Titus

Titus 1:1-2:10 How are we to live? Sometimes, Lord, our journey through life can be very confusing. We don’t know what to think of it all. One person tells us one thing. Someone else tells us something very different. Lord, what are we to do? Help us to start listening to what You have to …

Jesus is the answer for the world today.

"We wait for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Where is history taking us? Is there a future for us? We ask questions. We're looking for answers. Where are the answers to come from? Do we make up our answers? or Are they …

The one true wisdom – faith in "Christ crucified."

‘The wisdom of the wise will perish’ (Isaiah 29:14). As, Lord, we read these words, may we know that there is another ‘wisdom’, a ‘wisdom’ which shall not perish, a ‘wisdom’ which is ‘wiser than man’s wisdom’. Christ is ‘the Wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24-25). May we know that, with Christ as our Saviour, …

Lord, which is the most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You?

1 Kings 6:14-7:12 We read about Solomon – he built “his own house”, and he built “the House of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:37-7:1). Which was the most important to him? Which is the most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You? Help us, Lord, not to be “lovers of self, lovers of …

Praying Through God’s Word: 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 1:1-2:15 “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance” (1 Timothy 1:15). Help us, Lord, to receive this Gospel truth – and to have this Gospel testimony: “I received mercy … the grace of our Lord overflowed for me” (1 Thessalonians 1:13-14). Help us …

Let us love our enemies with the love of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 22:1-30 Care for ‘your brother’ (1-4). Our caring is not to be selective: ‘If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is’ (2). When Jesus says, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27), He means much more than loving the people who live near us, the …

Hebrews 5-7

Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest. He is "the one Mediator between God and man" (1 Timothy 2:5). He is perfectly qualified to be the Mediator because He is, at one and the same time, both God and man: "the Son of God" and "Son of man." These things are taught in the Word …

There are two things going on.

"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring" (2 Thessalonians …

The Lord is always near to us, even when the going gets tough.

"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches, we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring" (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4). Faith is growing. …

Romans 11-14

Romans 11:1-36 -  ‘You stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe’ (20). In 9:32, Paul contrasted ‘faith’ and ‘works’. Here, he contrasts ‘grace’ and ‘works’ (6). Grace and faith belong together. ‘Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling’ (Church Hymnary, 83) – This …

The search for wisdom

The search for wisdom may begin for us with the question, “What does the book of Proverbs teach us about wisdom?”, but it must not end there. While it is important to learn what the Old Testament has to say to us, we should not allow ourselves to get trapped in the Old Testament so …