Judges 6:1-7:8a; John 5:16-30; Psalm 57:7-11 The source of Gideon’s spiritual strength lay in the Lord – “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior” (Judges 6:12). The source of Jesus’ strength lay in God the Father – “the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can only do what He sees the Father doing” (John …
Month: April 2023
Love, holiness and power
"Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:1). We hear much about love. God loves us. We are to love one another. What about holiness? Have we forgotten about this? We hear much about power. We need to receive God's power. How will the power of God change us? The power of God gives …
The Gospel is preached. There is blessing. We say, “God has done this.”
Acts 13:44-14:28 When God is working powerfully through His servants, there is always the tendency to attach too much importance to the servants. We must resist this temptation. The glory belongs to God alone. We must never forget: 'We too are only men, human like you'. God has called us to 'bring Good News' to …
Continue reading The Gospel is preached. There is blessing. We say, “God has done this.”
God’s unfailing love
"May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise" (Psalm 119:41). Our salvation comes from the love of God for us, not our love for him. Time and time again, we fail in our love for God. He never fails in his love for us. His love for us is "unfailing love."
In Christ, we are “more than conquerors.”
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). I rejoiced when I heard them say: Let us go to God's house (Psalm 122:1). We are called to worship …
Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus.
John 1:1-34 - Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He is the Beginning. He is also the End (1-3; Revelation 21:6). He is ‘the Word… made flesh’. ‘We have seen His glory’ (14). This is only the beginning. When He returns, we shall see His glory – ‘we shall see Him as He is’ …
Continue reading Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus.
Walking in the Spirit …
Proverbs 7:1-27 The way of obedience is the way of life: 'keep My commandments and live' (2). This is not a shallow legalism. It is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is 'walking in the Spirit'. It is living as 'a new creation'. We do not glory in …
The greatness of God’s love for us
‘The Lord is high above all nations… Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high?… Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, who turns the hard rock into springs of water’(Psalm 113:4-5; Psalm 114:7-8). The Lord is greater than we could ever imagine. There is no greatness like the …
Light in the darkness
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). Without the Word of the Lord, we're stumbling around in the dark; We're trying to make sense of life, but it's not quite working, There's something missing. The Word of the Lord comes to us. It brings light into …
A Call For A Christ-Centred Life
The concluding message, preached by Joshua, is a call for the people to exalt the Lord. They make a definite and public commitment to the Lord. The Christ-centredness of real commitment to the Lord is summed up in the words of John the Baptist: "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30). We …
Receiving power from the Lord
Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray... alone (Matthew 14:23). Jesus spent so much of his life among people, bringing so much blessing to so many people. There were, also, times when he was "alone" with God, his heavenly Father. The time that Jesus spent "alone" with God was so important. This is where …
There’s a difference between speaking with pride and speaking with faith.
So many people have so many questions. Again and again, we feel that there are so many questions - and so few answers. What are we to say about this? Are we to give up on the search for an answer? or Are we to look away from ourselves to Jesus? Here we need to …
Continue reading There’s a difference between speaking with pride and speaking with faith.
The brightness of the Lord’s glory
"The brightness of the Lord's glory... the sound of the Almighty God when he speaks" (Ezra 10:4-5) The glory of the Lord shines upon us when we open the Word of the Lord. We pray, "Speak to us, Lord. Show us your glory." This is a prayer that the Lord loves to hear. This is …
When it seems like we’re losing our way, let us pray that we will be given the strength that we need to keep our eyes on the Lord.
1 Kings 10:1-11:13 - ‘King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth’ (23). It sounds impressive - until you look more closely at Solomon’s life! What else does God’s Word tell us about him? - ‘His heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God… Solomon …
The kindness of God
2 Samuel 9:1-10:19; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 70:1-5 The kindness of God is shown in different ways. We read of “God’s kindness” being shown to Mephibosheth – “he always ate at the king’s house” (2 Samuel 9:3,7). Nevertheless, we are also told, at the end of the chapter, that “he was crippled in both feet” (2 Samuel …
Dedicated to God
The walls had been rebuilt. Now, they were “dedicated” to God (Nehemiah 12:27). Was a time of great joy (Nehemiah 12:27,43). The people of God sand “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). As well as singing praise to God, the Lord’s people listened to His Word (Nehemiah 13:1). Sometimes, after happy times …
Rise up, O Church of God awake!
Judges 4:1-5:11 Barak is an example of 'faith' (Hebrews 11:32-34). Faith involves believing God's promise - 'I will give... ' and obeying His command - 'Go' (4:6-7). God still says, 'Go...I am with you always... ' (Matthew 28:19-20). Barak needed Deborah's help (4:8-10). Both needed God's help - 'Our sufficiency comes from God' (2 Corinthians …
Lord, we are so easily entangled in the ways of the world.
Lord, we are so easily entangled in the ways of the world. We try to disentangle ourselves – but we can’t do this by ourselves. we need Your power. We need Your love. It’s Your love that changes everything. It’s Your power that makes us new. Show us Your love. Show us Your power. May …
Continue reading Lord, we are so easily entangled in the ways of the world.
In Our Grief, The Lord Draws Near – And We Are Strengthened With His Joy.
"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). When we're going through a hard time, we become deeply aware of our own weakness. This is not all that's happening in our testing times. The Lord Himself draws near. He shows us that He is our strength - and this …
Continue reading In Our Grief, The Lord Draws Near – And We Are Strengthened With His Joy.
March on, my soul, with strength, but not thine own. The conquest thou shalt gain through Christ the Lord alone.
Judges 5:12-6:10 'The people of the Lord marched down for Him against the mighty (13) - God is still calling His people to march for Him: 'March on, my soul, with strength, with strength, but not thine own; The conquest thou shalt gain, through Christ the Lord alone' (Church Hymnary, 614). This is not 'marching' for ourselves, …
There is more than the religion of the Pharisees. There is salvation, and, for this, we must be truly tankful.
Jesus said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old" (Matthew 13:52). When teachers of the law become disciples of Jesus, there is a definite change …
From the failure of Lot to the triumph of Jesus
Genesis 19:38-38 We read about the beginning of he Moabites and the Ammorites (36-38). It was a shameful beginning - and it's the last we hear of Lot! In Matthew 26:26-30 - there's a better outcome of drinking wine - and it wasn't the end of Jesus! Through faith in Jesus - we look forward …
Continue reading From the failure of Lot to the triumph of Jesus
Jesus speaks to us. We listen to him.
I will open my mouth in parables (Matthew 13:35). Whoever has ears, let him hear (Matthew 13:43). Jesus speaks to us. We listen to him. Before we can speak for Jesus, we must listen to him. The words that we speak do not come from our own minds. They come to us from the Lord. …
How great a blessing we are when Christ comes to us and draws us to himself.
Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear (Matthew 13:16). It's a great blessing to come to faith in Jesus Christ. When we think of our journey to faith in Christ, we should think of it as revelation rather than discovery. We have not discovered Christ. He has revealed himself …
Continue reading How great a blessing we are when Christ comes to us and draws us to himself.
Jesus’ ministry of love
John 4:1-42 - Here, we see Jesus’ ministry of love. He brings the Samaritan woman out of her bondage to sin and into the joy of His salvation. Jesus comes to the woman in love. His love overcomes cultural divisions. His love breaks down cultural barriers (9). This is not simply the story of one …
Who Are We To Say, “This Is Important – And That Isn’t”?
We're called to be "salt for the earth" and "light for the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). How can we be "salt" and "light" in a world that has turned its back on the things that matter most in life? Can we do this by "setting aside Moses' teaching or the Prophets" (Matthew 5:17)? No! Jesus says, …
Continue reading Who Are We To Say, “This Is Important – And That Isn’t”?
“Come! … Come! … Come! … Come!”
“Come! … Come! … Come! … Come!”: This is what we read in Revelation 6, verses 1, 3, 5 and 7. The invitation is clear. We are to come to the Lord. How are we to come to Him? If we are to learn how we are to come to Him, we should learn also …
I will remove their stubborn hearts.
"I will remove their stubborn hearts and give them obedient hearts" (Ezekiel 11:19). This is the miracle of the new birth . We cannot do this for ourselves. Only God can do this for us.
We seek God’s mercy for our past sins. We seek His help for our future temptations.
‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”’ (Psalm 122:2). Why do we go to the House of the Lord? We go ‘to give thanks to the Name of the Lord’ (Psalm 122:4). We seek His mercy for our past sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O …
Continue reading We seek God’s mercy for our past sins. We seek His help for our future temptations.
Let’s Declare God’s Wonderful Deeds.
In Christ, we are ‘a holy nation’. Why has God made us His ‘own people’? - ‘that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him... ’ (1 Peter 2:9). ‘The nations are waiting for us, waiting for the gospel we will bring’ (Songs of Fellowship, 539).
Genesis 8
The flood is over. The time of judgment has come to an end. As I was thinking about the flood and what lay beyond the flood, I found myself thinking of some words from the hymn, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Here's a lyric video of the hymn. …
Do you want to experience God’s glory? Honour His Word. Love His Son – the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Kings 7:13-8:13 - We read about ‘the silver’ and ‘the gold’. We are called to choose between the life of fruitful service - ‘gold, silver, precious stones’ - and the unfruitful life - ‘wood, hay, straw’ (51; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15). We read of ‘the ark of the covenant of the Lord’ being ‘brought to …
Jesus comes to us in love, and his love for us creates in us a desire to love him.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). What is it that leads us to the place where we make a positive response to Jesus' invitation to "come" to him? When we look for an answer to this question, we need to look back from …
Continue reading Jesus comes to us in love, and his love for us creates in us a desire to love him.
The words that we speak for God are more than our words. They are words that are grounded in the Word of God.
Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me (Matthew 10:40). In these words of Jesus, we read about God, our heavenly Father, we read about Jesus Christ , our Saviour, and we read about those who bring the Word of God and the gospel of Christ …
The Word of the Lord speaks to us for the strengthening of our faith and the empowering of our witness.
What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs (Matthew 10:27). The Word of the Lord speaks to our hearts. It gives us the strength that we need to speak to others of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to receive God's Word with joy. We are to speak God's Word with …
When Your Problems Threaten To Overwhelm You, Remember This: God Has ‘Redeemed Us By His Great Power And His Mighty Hand.’
Nehemiah 1:1-2:18 ‘You see the trouble we are in’- How do you react when the going gets tough? Do you collapse in despair and succeed only in making your troubles seem even bigger than they really are? There is a better way of dealing with our problems. Believing that ‘the hand of his God was …
Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." This is what the ancients were commended for" (Hebrews 11:1-2). We're going through a hard time. We wonder if things are ever going to get any better. By faith - we have confidence that our suffering will not be …
Continue reading Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Genesis 7
Terrifying: that's what it was like outside of the ark. Reassuring: that's what it was like inside the ark. Outsde and inside the ark: this is the way God said it would be. The word of warning and the word of promise: this is what is saying to us, today. The flood: this is the …
When we see people who are “like sheep without a shepherd”, may we learn to love them with the love of Jesus.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). Freely you have received; freely give (Mattew 10:8). As I was reading the words, "harassed and helpless," I found myself thinking of the words of the Beatles' song, "Help!": "Help! I need …
Let’s Thank God For His Love. Let’s Live To Please Him.
Psalm 103:1-22 ‘Praise the Lord’(1-2,20-22). Let’s praise Him for His ‘steadfast love’. He is ‘abounding in steadfast love’(8). How are we to respond to His ‘steadfast love’? Are we to say, ‘God loves me. I can do what I like’? No! We must not think like this. We’re not to say, ‘I’ll keep on sinning. …
Continue reading Let’s Thank God For His Love. Let’s Live To Please Him.
Judgment and salvation
“The day of the Lord is near … The day of the Lord is going to come. It will be a cruel day with fury and fierce anger. He will make the earth desolate. He will destroy its sinners. Its time has almost come. Its days will not be extended” (Isaiah 13:6,9,22) – what solemn …
Ezekiel 17-19
Ezekiel 17:1-24 - To those who adopt a ‘rebellious’ attitude to Him, God speaks His Word of warning. They shall ‘not escape’ His judgment (12,18). To those who abandon this attitude of rebellion, there is a way of salvation. In verses 22 to 24, we have a prophecy which looks forward to the coming of …
Times of trouble can turn out to be times of great blessing.
2 CORINTHIANS 1:1-2:11 - Times of trouble can turn out to be times of great blessing - ‘God… comforts us in all our affliction’ (1:3-4). Whether good things or bad things are happening to you, don’t forget this: God loves you. His Word is ‘not Yes and No’ - ‘Yes, I love you. No, I don’t love …
Continue reading Times of trouble can turn out to be times of great blessing.
Being ready to help someone to become a follower of Jesus
"Follow me," Jesus told Matthew, and Matthew got up and followed him" (Matthew 9:9). Matthew's reponse to Jesus was immediate. It doesn't always work that way. Some people take a long time to make up their minds about Jesus, They get there in the end, but they do not get up and follow Jesus, the …
Continue reading Being ready to help someone to become a follower of Jesus
Does Jesus still speak to us in a place that is deep in our hearts?
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24). Jesus spoke words of wisdom. He still speaks words of wisdom. We are wise if we listen to Jesus and follow him. There is a wise way to live …
Continue reading Does Jesus still speak to us in a place that is deep in our hearts?
Words of wisdom, reaching down through the centuries
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). These are the words of Jesus. They are words of wisdom. We read Jesus' words, and we may say to ourselves, "Life was so much more simple back then, when Jesus spoke these words." …
Continue reading Words of wisdom, reaching down through the centuries
Grace, faith and works – in that order
"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received" (Ephesians 4:1). How are we to live a life worthy of our high calling? Let's go back from Ephesians 4:1, back to Ephesians 2:8-10. There, we learn about grace, faith and works - in that order. We begin with grace. We …
Jesus Christ – the Saviour of sinners
Genesis 3:16-25 Sin has consequences. Human life could never be the same, once sin had entered it. The effects of sin can be seen in the whole of life. The most profound effect of sin is summed up in verse 22. We cannot reach out our hands and take hold of eternal life. There is …
In Christ, we are set free to obey God.
Genesis 2:15-17 We noted, in Genesis 1:1-3, the importance of getting our priorities right - God, God's Word, God's Spirit. Here, we emphasize the importance of these priorities. We are under God. We must remember that He is God (Genesis 2:15). We are to obey God's Word (Genesis 2:16). Here we learn that the act …
Genesis 6
These were dark days, but God was still there. There was judgment, but there was, also, salvation. There was the flood, and there was, also, the ark. We live in dark days. Everywhere we look, it seems like there's a 'flood' that's sweeping away everything that stands in its way. Is there any hope, for …
Learning From Psalm 23
Turning to 'the Shepherd Psalm' (Psalm 23), we focus our attention on verse 5: 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows'. We are to feast on God's Word. We are to be filled with God's Spirit. The 'table' is the place …
Holiness
Genesis 2:3 - “holy” When God blesses us, He makes us holy. He has not given to us the forgiveness of our sins and left us just the way we were before we came in faith to Christ. We come to the Saviour – “Just as I am” – but do not remain the same. …
The Lord’s first coming and His second coming
Zechariah 9:1-11:17; Revelation 1:1-20; Psalm 140:1-5 "Rejoice greatly... your King comes to you... having salvation... because of the blood of My covenant with you" (Zechariah 9:9,11). "The Ruler of the kings of the earth... who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood" (Revelation 1:5). The King of love is revealed …
Continue reading The Lord’s first coming and His second coming
Why should we read the Book of Revelation?
The Book of Revelation is the most mysterious and most difficult book in the entire Bible. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn't read it. When you read a book, it doesn’t make sense to stop reading it before you’ve read the last chapter – yet that is exactly what many people do with the Bible. …
Sing To The Lord.
May God help each of us to “sing to the Lord.” May we “sing praise to Him.” May we “glory in His holy Name.” May we “rejoice” in Him. May we come to Him in our weakness and find our new “strength” in Him (Psalm 105:2-4).
What it will mean for us to love the Lord
"So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your …
Let us pray that there will be more of Jesus in our lives.
Love your enemies... Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43,48). Is there such a thing as perfect love? Seeking for perfect love always ends up in disappointment. Again and again, we have to settle for something less than perfect love. In Romans 5:8, we read about perfect love, the perfect love of …
Continue reading Let us pray that there will be more of Jesus in our lives.
The Great Conflict Between God And Satan – Never Doubt The Final Outcome!
“Now the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouths of all these prophets” (1 Kings 22:23). While we believe that God is working out His good purpose – “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28), we must remember that history tells the …
Continue reading The Great Conflict Between God And Satan – Never Doubt The Final Outcome!
Speaking the Word of God with boldness
You have heard that it was said... but I say to you (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-32,33-34, 38-39, 43-44). If we are to follow Jesus, in teaching God's Word, we will need to speak words of reproof and correction (2 Timothy 3:16). In the ministry of reproof, we will need to say, "This is not what …
Shine, Jesus, shine. Shine on me, and shine out, through me, to others.
Let your light shine before others, that they may see your deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). What is the light that we are to let shine? Is it our own light, or is it the light of Jesus? When we speak about ourselves, we must confess that our lives are, always, …
Continue reading Shine, Jesus, shine. Shine on me, and shine out, through me, to others.
Learning From God's Word 