In the darkness of suffering, holding on to God (From The Book Of Job: Chapters 22-24)

In Job 22, Eliphaz charges in with harsh words of accusation - “Aren’t you really very wicked? Is there no end to your wrongdoing?” (Job 22:5). He persists with his probing, heartless questions - “Are you following the old path that wicked people have taken?” (Job 22:15). In general terms, the words of Eliphaz were …

Travelling towards the promised land

Numbers 9:1-10:36 The Israelites were travelling towards the promised land. As they travelled, they were to celebrate the Passover (Numbers 9:1-14). In their journey, they were being led by the Lord (Numbers 9:15-23). In the course of their journey, they faced opposition from their enemies, the enemies of the Lord. In this situation, they looked …

How do we react when things don’t seem to be going very well?

2 Corinthians 2:12-3:18  -  How do we react when things don’t seem to be going very well? We all need the encouragement of God’s Word: ‘Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph’ (2:14). When everything seems to be going wrong, we need to be reminded of God’s Word: ‘In all …

Wherever the Good News is spoken

"Wherever the Good News is spoken in the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her" (Mark 14:9). The Good News tells us about Christ's love for us. It tells us about what Christ has done for us. It also calls for our response to His love, our response to …

In a few words

"Praise the Lord, all you nations;  extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love towards us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever. Praise the Lord" (Psalm 117:1-2). Psalm 117 is very short. This is the whole Psalm! In a few words, it says a lot to us. Look at the beginning - "Praise the …

The Forgiveness Of Sins And The Peace Of God

"Your sins have been forgiven" (Luke 7:48). "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace" (Luke 7:50). At the heart of God's salvation, there is the forgiveness of sins and the peace of God. These blessings are received by faith. This is "the Good News about God's Kingdom" (Luke 8:1). When the Lord  is crowned …

Lord, You have saved us. Help us to serve You.

Lord, You have saved us. Help us to serve You. In all our service, may we never forget Your salvation. May we always serve You with "the attitude of gratitude."

God’s promise of blessing is no guarantee of an easy time.

Joshua 3:1-17 'Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you' (5). 'Sanctify them in the truth; Thy Word is truth' (John 17:17). Together with the command, there is the prayer. We are called to set ourselves apart for God. We can only do this when we look to the Lord for His …

The Lord shows his love to us, and he calls us to show his love to one another.

Listen now, my people, and come to me; come to me, and you will have life! (Isaiah 55:3). Listen: that's what the Lord is saying to us. Life: that's what the Lord gives to us, when we come to him and listen to him. Listening to the Lord is not easy. There are so many …

Let us study the Word of the Lord, and let us pray that the Lord will help us to understand what he is saying to us.

Studying the Word of God is different from reading other books. When we study the Word of God, there is something else that we must do. We must pray. Here's a prayer that each of us can pray: "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your Word" (Psalm 119:18).

A new song

'Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today”' (Mark 5:26). Jesus was special. He was very different from the religious leaders of his day. Jesus changed people. He brought them closer to God. He inspired them. "He put a new song in my mouth, …

Teach me your way, Lord. Give me an undivided heart.

There are plenty of people who will tell us that they believe in God, but they never read God's Word. What are we to say about this? What kind of faith is this? What does it mean to say, "I believe in God", if we never make time for reading his Word? Each of us …

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me.

There is to be prayer from “every one who lives in the land” (Joel 1:14). It is to be personal prayer - “O Lord, I cry to You for help!” (Joel 1:19). These two belong together - prayer for the nation and personal prayer. This is expressed so well in the words: “O Holy Ghost, …

“The Lord Is My Shepherd” – And My Saviour!

“The Lord is my Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). He is “my Saviour”(Psalm 25:5). He is also “the King of glory” (Psalm 24:8-10). He has promised to “lead us in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name” (Psalm 23:3). This promise is fulfilled, as we open our  hearts to Him - “Be lifted,you ancient …

Jesus saves us. We do not save ourselves.

I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). When Jesus spoke these words, he was not showing us a way through which we can save ourselves. He was telling us that he is the way of salvation. He is our Saviour. He saves us. We do not save ourselves.

God is calling us to move forward – together (Exodus 17-19).

Exodus 17:1-18:27  -  Worldly people create problems (17:3). Moses asks, ‘What shall I do...?’ (17:4). Indecision asks, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ (17:7). He gives victory (17:8-9,13). Joshua is being equipped for special service - ‘in the ears of Joshua’ (17:14). God’s great concern is that His people move forward together. The work …

Created – For Salvation

Genesis speaks of the beginning. Matthew speaks of a new beginning. The God who created us is the God who has provided for our salvation. If we are to enjoy God's salvation, we must learn to follow the wisdom of Psalm 1:1-2 - "Blessed is the one ... whose delight is in the law of …

More about hard times

We think, Lord, about Jerusalem’s fall into hard times. This wasn't ‘just one of those things that happens.’ Your people brought it on themselves. They didn't take You seriously - but You continued to take them seriously. They ignored You, Lord, but You didn't ignore their disobedience to You. They sinned against You - and …

Lord, Your power is loving power. Your love is powerful love.

Job 37:1-24 “The Almighty is great in power and … He does not oppress” (Job 37:23). Lord, Your power is loving power. Your love is powerful love. We see Your power in Jesus – “He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25). We see Your love …

Thanks be to God!

“Our God is a God of victories. The Almighty Lord is our escape from death ... He gives strength and power to His people. Thanks be to God!” (Psalm 68:20,35). These words turn our thoughts to the great words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:57 - “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory …

Real power

"Nimrod, was a mighty hunter before the Lord" (Genesis 10:9). We live our life "before the Lord" (in the presence of the Lord, in the eyes of the Lord). This is something we should never forget. We do not live for ourselves, for our own glory. We live for God, to give glory to him. …

Look to Jesus, and see God.

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9).  Look at Jesus, and see God. We wonder about God. He's so far away from us. Jesus has come near to us. He reveals God to us. Who is God? He's our Father. He's our heavenly Father. He's our loving Father. How could we …

The light of Christ’s love is leading us on to the fullness of his glory.

What is the world saying to us about Jesus Christ? What does the Word of God say to us about him? The two voices say something very different to us. The voice of the world is the voice of unbelief. The voice of God's Word is the voice of grace, and it is the voice …

Waiting on the Lord: this is where our true strength comes from.

Do you not know?    Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,    and his understanding no one can fathom.He gives strength to the weary    and increases the power of the weak.Even youths grow tired and weary,    and young men stumble and fall;but those who wait on the Lord    will renew their strength.They will …

The Great Power Of The Lord

Exodus 14:1-15:27  Here, we see “the great power of the Lord” (Exodus 14:31). This leads to worship – “I will sing to the Lord. He has won a glorious victory … The Lord is my strength and my song. He is my Saviour. This is my God and I will praise Him … ” (Exodus 15:1-2). …

What do you want to get out of life?

Some people arer extremely ambitious. They speak like they're planning to conquer the world. They're determined to get noticed. They're not content with being noticed by just a few people. they want ti be noticed by everybody. There are other people who are happy just to get by. They don't expect that many people will …

Don’t leave it all to the preachers!

To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it (Ephesians 4:7). To each one of us: what does this mean? So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in …

Lord, may Your reign of love begin – in our hearts, in every part of our life.

‘The Lord reigns’(Psalm 96:10; Psalm 97:1). Lord, You are the King. You are not only ‘the King all-glorious above’. You are ‘the King of love’. You are ‘our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’ You are not only ‘the King of heaven’. You are ‘the God of grace’. You are ‘the King of mercy.’ Your reign …

God’s great salvation

Ezekiel 38:1-39:29; James 4:1-17; Proverbs 28:7-17 God’s Word speaks of His judgment upon sin (Ezekiel 39:23-24). It also speaks of His great salvation from sin (Ezekiel 39:25-29). “Scripture says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'” (James 4:6). God’s Word speaks of the choice placed before man – obedience or disobedience, blessing or …

Who are we listening to?

 * Who are we listening to? Where do we get our understanding of life from? There are two very different stories. There's the world's story. It's the story of life without God. There's the Lord's Story. It's the Story of His salvation.  *Who are we listening to? We listen to what we want to hear. …

What happens when God hears and answers prayer?

2 Samuel 20:1-21:22; Acts 8:1-40; Proverbs 14:25-35 “God answered prayer on behalf of the land” (2 Samuel 21:14). At the heart of all the confusion of many events involving the nations, there is God – the God who hears and answers prayer. What happens when God hears and answers prayer? – People hear and believe …

God’s Blessing

“The Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake” (Genesis 39:5). God’s blessing overflows. We go back to Genesis 39:2 – “the Lord was with Joseph.” God was blessing Joseph – and His blessing overflowed to others.

Historical Truth And Spiritual Truth

“You will know that what you have been told is true” (Luke 1:4). Historical truth underlies the spiritual truth through which the Spirit brings home to our hearts the meaning of the Gospel. Without the historical truth, there is no Gospel. The Gospel is not based on myth. It is God’s testimony to His truth: …

Jesus – the Storyteller

In Matthew 13, we see Jesus, the Storyteller. His stories are ordinary stories - with an extraordinary message. The stories are human. The message is divine. They are stories about people. They are stories about God. Following on from Jesus' parables, we have His return to "His hometown" (Matthew 13:54). The people were "amazed" at …

Hearing And Obeying God’s Word

The choices that we make while we are here on earth will decide whether we will spend eternity with the Lord or apart from Him. This is the message of Matthew 7:13-14. "False prophets ... vicious wolves" will seek to lead us away from the Lord (Matthew 7:15-16). We must pray that the Lord will …

God-centred living

Isaiah 24:1-26:21; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33; Psalm 106:32-29 “Lord, ... all that we have accomplished You have done for us” (Isaiah 26:12). “I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised for ever ... “ (2 Corinthians 11:30-31). The way of pleasing …

A positive faith is much more helpful than a purely negative reaction!

The Pharisees were subtle - just like the ‘ancient serpent who is the devil’ (Genesis 3:1; Revelation 20:2). They tried ‘to entangle Jesus in His talk’ (Matthew 22:15). They wanted to trap Him and bring a charge against Him. They asked Jesus about payment of taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:17). Jesus moved beyond this question …

The importance of the doctrine of election

Berkouwer emphasized the importance of the doctrine of election - "if we take seriously the conviction that election lies ... at the heart of the church, we find ourselves at the centre of the church's faith when we focus on the question of election" (A Half Century of Theology, p. 79). He also discerned the …

Are we content to live our life at the surface level? or Are we looking for something more than that?

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2). Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me (Psalm 42:7). The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God …

Your God will help you.

These notes are taken from my One Year Bible. Day 213 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:22; Romans 14:19-15:13; Psalm 89:46-52 1 Chronicles 11 speaks of “David’s mighty men” (1 Chronicles 11:11). The focus is not, however, on either David or the “mighty men.” It is on the Lord – “The Lord brought about a great victory” (1 Chronicles 11:14). …

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing …

Colossians

COLOSSIANS 1:1-2:7  -  ‘In everything’ Christ is ‘pre-eminent’ (18). In Him, there is salvation - ‘redemption, the forgiveness of sins’ (14) - , sanctification - ‘mature in Christ’ (28) - and service - making Him known (27). Everything is in Christ. In Him are ‘all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (2:3) - all that …

Peace with God, the grace in which we now stand, the hope of the glory of God

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-2). Peace with God, the grace in which we now stand, the hope of the glory of God: …

Changed by God’s love – letting his love flow out to us and letting his love flow out through us

In Christ Jesus,... the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6). We're called to put our faith in God. What kind of God do we believe in? In 1 John 4:8, we read the words, "God is love." If we are to become more like God, we are to pray …

Perfect peace?

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you (Isaiah 26:3). In our lives, there are plenty of things that happen to us which make us wonder if we can ever enjoy "perfect peace." Here, God's Word speaks to us of "perfect peace." What does the prophet Isaiah say to …

In love, God is waiting for us to return to him.

The Lord... is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). In Luke 15, we have Jesus' story of a young man who wandered far away from home. What was happening at home while the young man was so far away from home.? The father was …

We preach God’s Word. It is only when God is working through us that our hearers are truly blessed.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour …

How are we to become more like our Lord – loving the people of this world without loving the ways of the world?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what …

A Critique of J D Bettis, "Is Karl Barth a Universalist?"

More about Berkouwer, see The Theology Of G C Berkouwer The question of universalism in Barth’s theology has been raised directly by J D Bettis in his article, “Is Karl Barth a Universalist?” (Scottish Journal of Theology, Vol. 20, No. 4, December 1967, pp. 423-436).This article requires to be carefully discussed not only for its significance as …

There is a way for sinners to be saved.

God's Word holds out no hope for any of us, saving ourselves: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).There is, however, a way for sinners to be saved: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"(1 Timothy 1:15).

What kind of a life am I living? Jesus draws near to us, even when we are drifting away from him.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5). What kind of a life am I living? Is my life becoming more and more Christ-centred, or is it becoming more and more self-centred? These …

Love for the Lord our God and love for our neighbour

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, love your neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:27). In our walk with God, we need both - love for God and love for our neighbour. We're not to say, "I'll concentrate on loving God", and we're not to say, "I'll concentrate on loving my …

How is our worship to affect our way of living? Our strength is in the Lord, not in ourselves.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into …

How are we to worship God? Let us worship him with joyful thanksgiving.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song (Psalm 95:1-2). In the first two verses of Psalm 95, we are called to worship God with joyful thanksgiving. Let us think about all that the Lord has done …

Acts 18:22-19:22

Apollos 'taught accurately the things concerning Jesus'. He needed to have 'the way of God expounded to him more accurately' (24-26). There is always more to learn. We should never adopt a 'know-it-all' attitude. In 'two years' of ministry, 'God did' great things through Paul (10-11). Paul was moving on. His road led to 'Rome'. …

Saved by the grace of God

What are we to say when we hear the words, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)? We're to say, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

God’s Word still speaks to us (74): Looking beyond the preachers of God’s Word, looking to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried …

God’s Word still speaks to us (73): Let us declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.

 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter …

The Lord is with you.

"When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’" (Judges 6:12). Gideon is described, here, as a "mighty warrior." When things like this get said about us, it can go to our heads - and make us feel more important than we really are. It is, therefore, very important that …

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 …