Lord, You are not exalted because we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted.

‘You, O Lord, are exalted for ever… The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty…’(Psalm 92:8; Psalm 93:1-2). You, Lord, are ‘exalted’. Help us to exalt You in our worship. You are not exalted because we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted. You are ‘exalted far above all gods’. That is why …

Greater than all the prophets, priests and kings, Jesus is our great Saviour.

Exodus 29:1-30:38; Mark 6:6b-29; Proverbs 5:15-23 Some people thought that Jesus was “a prophet like one of the prophets of long ago” (Mark 6:15). He was more than a prophet. He was also greater than the priests of whom we read in Exodus 29. When we look at an evil king such as Herod, it is …

Jesus Died For Barabbas – And For Us.

John 18:28-19:16 ‘Barabbas was a robber’. He was released (39-40). There was ‘no crime’ in Jesus. He was ‘crucified’(38,4,6,16). Was Jesus no more than the innocent victim of a shameful and tragic miscarriage of justice? No! Jesus, the King of kings, chose to die. Looking ahead to the Cross, He said, ‘For this I was …

First things first: our Saviour’s love for us, not our love for him

"I heard the voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest." Listening for the voice of Jesus - this is the most important thing in reading the Bible. Does he come to us with a whole lot of Do's and Don't's? No! He comes to us with his love. The first thing that he …

If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must learn to live our lives in the light of eternity.

"Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" (Matthew 17:6). Even after there is divine revelation (Matthew 16:17), the influence of evil can be felt (Matthew 16:23). The warning - "Be careful! Watch out ... !" must never be forgotten. Satan is looking for an opportunity to leads us away from …

Sent To Bring Life

“God sent me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5). We are to bring life. That’s why God has sent us. We are to bring the Saviour. We are to bring the Scriptures. We are to bring the Spirit. People coming to the Saviour, people learning from the Scriptures, people walking in the Spirit – …

Shine Your Light Upon Us, Lord.

‘Arise, shine; for your Light has come... the Lord will be your everlasting Light’ (Isaiah 60:1,19-20). We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus Christ is ‘the Light of the world’. When we ‘follow Him’, we ‘will not walk in darkness’. We ‘will have the light of life’ (John 8:12). We are living in difficult …

The highest position in heaven

The opening words of Psalm 110 are applied, in Hebrews, to our Lord Jesus Christ: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the highest position in heaven until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” As we consider the mighty triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ, our hearts are filled with worship - “Hallelujah!” (Psalm …

Hypocritical Religion and True Devotion

In Mark 12, we see that much of Jesus' ministry must be understood within the context of conflict. The religious leaders were out to get Jesus, and Jesus didn't miss them when He spoke of their hypocritical religion. Mark 12 ends with a deeply moving picture of true devotion. It's a call to love the …

The Hands Of The Living God, The Hands That Were Nailed To The Cross For Us

In Ezekiel 26, we find an awesome Word of judgment, spoken against the city of Tyre. The Word, spoken by God through His prophet, is uncompromising - “Tyre, you famous city, you have been destroyed” (Ezekiel 26:17). The effect of Tyre’s fall is described: “Your defeat will make the people, who live by the coast, …

Let us think of the great things that the Lord has done for us.

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy (Psalm 126:3). The Lord has done great things for us. This is where our joy comes from. The joy of the Lord is different from a joy that is based on good things happening to us. It's not so difficult to feel happy when …

We rejoice in Your love. Help us, Lord, not to forget Your holiness.

We rejoice in Your love. Help us, Lord, not to forget Your holiness. You fill us with Your love. You call us to be holy. Lead us, O Lord, in Your way of love. Lead us in Your way of holiness. It won't be easy - walking with You on Your pathway of holiness. When …

Compassion and comfort from the Lord lead us to sing to him with great joy.

Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones (Isaiah 49:13). From the heart of God come compassion and comfort. When God's compassion and comfort reach our hearts, this leads to rejoicing and singing. We sing the song of salvation. We rejoice …

When the love of Christ breaks through

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus he was livid. He was furious. He was in a rage. He was "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1). He was pursuing the Lord's disciples - with murder on his mind! This, however, was not the full story. Saul was …

Set free by Christ, set free for Christ

In John 8, there are three very important verses, which teach us a great deal about the life of discipleship. These verses are John 8:36 - “If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed”; John 8:32 - “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”; John 8:31 - “If …

Beyond our end to for ever and ever

This God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end (Psalm 48:14). We speak about the end. We wonder when and how our life on earth will come to an end. Here, God's Word takes us on from our end to for ever and ever. It is very …

What great love, Lord, You have for us.

Leviticus 27:1-34 What great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be …

Help us, Lord, not to take pride in our own righteousness or our own wisdom.

“Do not be over-righteous and do not be over-wise” (Ecclesiastes 7:16). Help us, Lord, not to take pride in our own righteousness or our own wisdom. Help us to trust in Christ – “our Righteousness and our “Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). “Through faith in Him, we are made righteous” and we become “wise for salvation” …

Jesus Christ – the Son of God

Matthew 14:15-36 We read of the feeding of the five thousand (15-21) and the walking on water (25-33), and our thoughts go to Calvary. From the feeding with bread and fish, we move to the bread and wine, symbols of Jesus' body broken for us and His blood shed for us (26:26-28). From the confession …

In The Strength Of The Lord

Ephesians 6:10-20 In the strength of the Lord: We need His strength because the devil is stronger than we are - but he's not stronger than the Lord. The armour provided by the Lord (Ephesians 6:13-17): All of it is defensive except "the sword of the Spirit" (God's Word). In Ephesians 6:18, there's a call …

Let’s Honour God – In Our Attitudes And Actions.

1 Kings 15:9-16:28 A lot of kings are mentioned here. We soon lose track of their names. With one solitary exception, they are all better forgotten than remembered. Thank God for the one glimmer of light: ‘Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord… The heart of Asa was wholly true to …

Our whole life is to say, “Praise the Lord… Hallelujah!”

Psalm 115:1-18  "Not to us ... " (Psalm 115:1). We worship the Lord. He has saved us. The God of grace comes to us. He calls us to "trust in the Lord" (Psalm 115:9-11). The Lord blesses those who fear Him (Psalm 115:12-13). He's teaching us to live in a way that will bring praise …

When we’re down in the valley, the mountain-top experience seems a long way off.

We read, Lord, about ‘the Valley of Vision’ (Isaiah 22:1,5). You are to be our Vision: ‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art, Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.’ When we’re down in the valley, the mountain-top …

Let the Lord’s “rivers of living water” flow freely.

Joshua 15:1-63  -  ‘The land of  Negeb’ had little water. The request was made - ‘Give me also springs of water’. The request was granted. Trusting in the Lord’s promise - ‘the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him’, we receive His blessing - ‘rivers of living water’ (19; Luke …

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Two – March

1st March: Ruth 1:1-2:23 Ruth meets Boaz. It seemed like a 'chance' meeting - 'she happened to come...'(2:3). It was more than that. God was at work. Ruth had committed herself to the Lord (1:16-17). She was being guided by the Lord (Psalm 37:3-5; Proverbs 3:5-6). Ruth was unassuming and grateful, hard working and responsible …

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 …

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 10:33-340. There is , however, also the …