‘A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and My people love it this way’ (Jeremiah 5:31)! Sometimes, Lord, people are happy to listen to ‘prophets’ – so long as their preaching isn’t too challenging. They’re happy to attend the services conducted by ‘priests’ – so …
Continue reading Sometimes, Lord, people are happy to listen to ‘prophets’ …
“Zion hears about this and rejoices” (Psalm 97:8).God’s Word brings joy. True joy is not something that we can give to ourselves. It must be given to us by the Lord. This joy – the joy of the Lord – gets stronger and stronger, as we listen to the Word of the Lord and receive …
"With your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9). To Abraham, the Word of God was spoken: "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). In the one hundredth Psalm, we have a call to worship: "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth" (verse …
Continue reading Fron every tribe and nation and people and language
"I will be with him in trouble" (Psalm 91:15). Troubled times come our way. We don't go out looking for trouble - but it finds us. What happens to our faith when we come into troubled times? Does our faith collapse, or do we learn to take our stand upon God's Word: "I will be …
Continue reading We don’t go looking for trouble – but it finds us.
“Job… was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). Again and again, Lord, we fall far short of this ideal (Romans 3:23). How can our sins be forgiven? How can our guilt be removed? We thank You that “the blood of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses us from all …
Continue reading Create in us, Lord, a deeper longing to become more like Jesus, our Saviour.
Help us, Lord, to get ready for Your Son, Jesus. We look back to His first coming. We look back – with thanksgiving. Help us to look forward to His Second Coming. Help us to look forward – with faith which rejoices in Your amazing grace, faith which lives to give praise to You, faith …
Continue reading Help us, Lord, to get ready for Your Son, Jesus.
In Ruth 2, there’s a beautiful picture of harvest. Look back to Ruth 1:1 – “There was a famine in the land.” The Christian life’s like that. It’s not always harvest. Sometimes, it’s famine. Sometimes, we feel like we’re on the mountain-top. At other times, we’re in the wilderness. Whatever your circumstances, remember this – …
"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”" ( Luke 3:21-22). Heaven was opened. How can …
Continue reading I believe in Jesus. I believe in God the Father. I believe in the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 5:18-32 In this second part of the list, two names get a special mention - Enoch and Noah (22,24,29). The reference to Enoch is the more memorable of the two. Enoch's life was characterized by grace, faith and obedience. The life-story of so many others could be told without reference to God. Enoch's story …
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour" (Isaiah 43:2-3). …
"The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favourably.” But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”" (1 Kings 22:13-14). From the heart of the …
"Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”" (2 Kings 1:9) Man of God - This is what the king called Elijah. What …
“From them will come the cornerstone… they shall be as mighty men, treading down their enemies… because the Lord is with them” (Zechariah 10:4-5). * Jesus Christ is “the cornerstone” upon which our faith is built – “The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord” (Samuel John Stone). * In Christ, we are “more …
"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years" (Deuteronomy 8:2). Remember the Lord. Do not forget him. What does it mean to remember the Lord? For many people, the Lord is a distant memory, from their early childhood, Is this what it means to remember the Lord? Is the …
"Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ" (Ephesians 3:8). What a great privilege it is to be saved by the Lord! What a great privilege …
"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High" (Psalm 9:1-2). Joyful thanksgiving - Is there any other kind of thanksgiving? We can speak the words of …
Continue reading I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart …
"It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’" (Luke 4:8). Here, Jesus is quoting the words of Deuteronomy 6:13. These words were spoken to the people of Israel. For the people of Israel, they were God's Word: a call to worship the Lord, a call to serve the Lord. These words …
Sometimes, Lord, we face opposition from people who are outside of Your Church: “Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life – men with no regard for God” (Psalm 54:3). Sometimes, the opposition comes from people we know very well: “my close friend, with whom I enjoyed sweet fellowship, as we worshipped together at the House …
"Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you" (Psalm 102:1). To whom do we look for help? Here, the Psalmist looks to the Lord. May we join, with him, in saying, "My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1).
Jeremiah 49:7-50:10; 2 Timothy 2:1-26; Proverbs 25:21-26:2 Jeremiah speaks of a time of judgment upon Babylon (Jeremiah 50:1-3) and a time of blessing upon the people of Israel (Jeremiah 50:4-5). If the blessing, and not the judgment, is to come in our own day, we must be faithful in the ministry of God’s Word (2 …
Continue reading God is calling us to be faithful in the ministry of His Word.
“It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace” (Genesis 41:16). Can any of us speak the Word of God – and bring blessing to others? – “It is not in me.” Our words will never bring blessing to anyone, unless God is in our words. The real power comes from …
Sometimes, Lord, Your "No" - "You shall not build Me a House to dwell in" (1 Chronicles 17:1-4) - means "Not now - later" - "one of your sons ... shall build a House for Me" (1 Chronicles 17:11-12). What are we to say about the 'delay'? We call it a delay. You, Lord, give …
Continue reading Sometimes, Lord, Your ‘No’ means ‘Not now, later.’
Song of Solomon 1:1-4:16; 1 Corinthians 12:1-26; Psalm 99:1-9 God uses the physical as an analogy of the spiritual. In 1 Corinthians 12, “the body” symbolizes the Church. In Song of Songs, the theme is physical love. By the Spirit of God, the physical language points beyond itself by using imagery which is suggestive of …
Continue reading Looking beyond physical love to spiritual truth
Genesis 2:7 “the breath of life” Everything changes when the Lord breathes His breath of life into us. * Until God comes to us in power, our situation is desperate – “I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry” (Ezekiel 37:2). When He breathes life into …
Rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4). There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). It is a good thing for us to rejoice in the Lord. Here's a much more wonderful thing: the Lord …
Continue reading The Lord rejoices in us. Let us rejoice in him.
Lord, You speak to us about "very able men", who were called to do "the work of the service of the house of God" (1 Chronicles 9:13). Some have been called to preach Your Gospel and teach Your Word. All of us have been called to serve You. We may not preach or teach - …
Continue reading There’s a work for Jesus none but you can do.
Proverbs 11:12-31Lord, You’re calling us to win others for You. You’re calling us to share Your love with them. You’re calling us to bring Jesus to them. Help us, Lord, not to keep Your Good News to ourselves. Help us to pray, “Here I am, wholly available – as for me, I will serve the …
Continue reading Help us, Lord, not to keep Your Good News to ourselves.
Psalm 87:1-7 ‘Glorious things are said of you, O city of God… The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion”. As they make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in You”’(Psalm 87:3,6-7). We thank You, Lord, that the ‘city of God’ is our glorious destination …
Continue reading Heavenly Birth, Life In The Spirit, Glorious Destination
Joshua 15:1-16:10; John 1:1-28; Psalm 53:1-6 Each tribe had its limited allotment of land. Jesus Christ, “the Word” who “was God”, “became flesh” (John 1:1,14). He accepted the limitations of being human. He was human, yet without sin. “There is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 53:1,3). This is true of every human …
In Ezekiel 24, we learn about God’s holiness and His love. If we are to appreciate the wonderful love God has for sinners, we need to become more deeply aware of the awesome holiness of God’s hatred of sin. We look at our sin. We look at God’s holiness. We learn about ourselves. We see …
In 1 John 4:8, we read the words, "God is love." How do we know that God is love? How do we know that He loves us? Knowing that God is love is more than reading these words in God's Word. It's being reached by God's love. Our hearts are touched by His love. Our …
Joel 2:21-32 Give thanks to the Lord (Joel 2:21). Harvest is a special time for giving thanks to the Lord (Joel 2:22-24). * We look back from the harvest, and we see the character of God (Joel 2:13). * We look forward from the harvest, to greater blessing: spiritual as well as material (Joel 2:28-29). …
"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth... Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:1,3). This is what I am going to do: "I will bless the Lord at all times... ." This is what I'm inviting you to do: "Magnify the Lord with me... ." When we …
Continue reading Worshipping the Lord, and calling on others to worship him
“Maybe the nation of Judah will hear about all the disasters that I plan to bring on them, and they will turn from their wicked ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins” (Jeremiah 36:3). Even in all life’s disasters, we must never lose sight of God’s love. He sends disasters. This is …
Continue reading Disasters and Forgiveness; Faithfulness, Relevance and Compassion
Jesus tells us that he is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He also tells us that we “are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). We are to let our light shine (Matthew 5:15). This is the way of bringing glory to God (Matthew 5:16). If we are to shine for Jesus,his light …
Believe ... - What are we to believe, and who are we to believe in? Are we to believe in ourselves? or Will we fail to live up to our positive thinking about ourselves? I'm not suggesting that there's no place for positive thinking - but we do need to be clear about what is …
Numbers 5:1-31 'The Lord said...' (1): Let us hear and obey His Word. God is holy: His people are not to be defiled (3). Sin is not merely moral. It is spiritual. It is not only a deviation from law. It is an offence against God - 'breaking faith with the Lord' (6). God is …
The Lord is "the glory within" Jerusalem (Zechariah 2:5). He is "the glory within" His Church. We dare not attach so much importance to the externals of religion that we forget about the presence of the Lord To make secondary things more important than they really are is to miss the most important thing - …
Continue reading The presence of the Lord is more important than the externals of religion.
"Follow me" (Mark 2:14). This is what Jesus said to Levi. How did Levi respond to Jesus' words? "He arose and followed Jesus" (Mark 2:15). This was just the beginning of Levi's new life. Immediately, after starting to follow Jesus, Levi began to play his part in bringing other people to Jesus: "As Jesus was …
Continue reading Following Jesus, and leading others to follow him
We need more than Jesus the Teacher. We need Jesus the Saviour. We read the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), and we find ourselves thinking, "This is too much for me. I cannot possibly live up to this." When we think a bit more about this, we start to feel, "This is bad news. It shows us …
Isaiah 37:21-38:8 “Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here… By the way that he came he will return… I will defend this city to save it” (Isaiah 37:33-35). This, Lord, was Your answer to Hezekiah’s prayer for salvation. What a great God You are! You are the God of our salvation. …
Continue reading Lord, What a great God You are! You are the God of our salvation.
"I waited patiently for the Lord; nd He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will …
Continue reading A great testimony, and great blessing from the Lord
"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people" (Philemon, verse 7). Love is not for keeping to ourselves. It's for sharing. When we show love to others, we bring them "great joy," We encourage them. We refresh their hearts. Receive love from the Lord. Receive …
Continue reading We receive love from the Lord, and we share his love with one another.
Song of Solomon 5:1-8:14; 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13; Psalm 100:1-5 There is physical love (Song of Songs). There is the love spoken of in 1 Corinthians 13. There is the love of God – “For the Lord is good and His love endures for ever” (Psalm 100:5). The more we consider what the Scriptures say about …
"I will make music to You in front of the false gods" (Psalm 138:1). We live in an age of pluralism, but we must remain single-minded in our devotion to the Lord. "You made me bold by strengthening my soul" (Psalm 138:3). We come to the Lord in weakness. He give us His strength. "O …
Exodus What an exodus it was!Was it really a deliverance?Was it more than a departure?Departure? – Yes. it was.It involved the peoples’ choice.They had to follow God’s direction.Deliverance? – That’s what it was.It required the power of God.The people made their choice.The power came from God.God said, “I will do this.”God said, “Will you follow?”It …
"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord ... when he (Moses) came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was …
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). "All Scripture is God-breathed" (New International Version), What, exactly, does this mean? Who are we to say that we understand, exactly, what it means? The King James …
Continue reading Love, reaching out to us; love, changing us; love reaching out through us
Love, given by God, is not returned by His people. “When Israel was a child, I loved him” (Hosea 11:1), “The more I called them, the further they went away” (Hosea 11:2). “I was one who taught the people of Ephraim to walk. I took them by the hand” - This is the love of …
Continue reading God’s Love Is So Much Greater Than Our Sin.
"Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and abounding in love" (Joel 2:13). The Lord is speaking through his faithful prophet. He was speaking to the people - a long, long time ago. He's speaking to the people - in today's world. He'll keep on speaking to the people - …
Continue reading When the Lord says to us, “Return”, what will we say to him?
"Come, let us return to the Lord" (Hosea 6:1). Something for the world, something for the church; The prophet says, "Come", the Lord says, "Come." It is love that is calling out to us. It is love that calls us to "come." There is no place from which we cannot come. There is no place from …
Continue reading Love is calling out to us, love is calling us to come.
Lord, You show us the way of blessing. It is the way of obedience (Psalm 119:1,9,11,17). Many will choose the way of disobedience - ‘influential people sit together and slander me’. Help us to choose the way of obedience - ‘Your servant will meditate on Your teachings’ (Psalm 119:23). We know, Lord, that following Jesus …
"He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1). Sometimes, we need to hear words that we don't want to hear. We need a good telling-off. We need to be shown where we've gone wrong. Why? Does God want to humiliate us? No! He wants to lead us out of …
Continue reading Called back from the way of sin … Called into the way of the Lord
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John consented" (Matthew 3:13-15). "Therefore, …
"I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). It is Christ who speaks these words. This is important. When we put the emphasis on ourselves, we're setting ourselves up for a great fall. The truth about everyone of us is this: the gates of hell do prevail …
John 12:37-13:20 The Pharisees continue to exert their evil influence. ‘For fear of the Pharisees’, many remained silent, ‘loving the praise of men more than the praise of God’ (42-43). Whatever the opposition, Jesus calls us to believe in Him and confess Him (Romans 10:9). He calls us out of darkness into light (46). If …
Continue reading Believe In Jesus And Confess Him As Your Saviour.
Psalms 92:1-93:5 ‘You, O Lord, are exalted for ever... The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty...’(8; 93:1-2). The Lord is ‘exalted’. We are to exalt Him in our worship. He is not exalted because we exalt Him. We exalt Him because He is exalted. He is ‘exalted far above all gods’. That is why …
Continue reading Let Us ‘Magnify’ The Lord – ‘O Lord Our God, How Majestic Is Thy Name’.
"After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them, to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I …
God's purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus - "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). In Jesus Christ, crucified for us, God was reaching out, in love, …
Continue reading "His dominion shall be… to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10).
Lord, You are the King. There is no king like You. No human king can even begin to compare with You - the divine King, the "King of kings" (Revelation 19:16). We lift to You our song of praise: "O worship the King, all glorious above. O gratefully sing, His power and His love."
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But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31
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Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." John 4:10
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Luke 9:23-24 23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
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