Fear is such a powerful emotion.

"Do not be afraid, Abram" (Genesis 15:11). Fear is such a powerful emotion. It can have such a negative effect on us. Abram needed to hear this word from the Lord. We need to hear this word from the Lord. There are times when everything seems to be so out of control. We wonder, "What's …

Worship The Lord With Joy. Live For Him With Joy.

"Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord. Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation" (Psalm 95:1).  We are to worship the Lord with joy. We are to be happy with him, in him and for him. (a) Be happy with the Lord. He is all that we need - "The Lord is my shepherd. …

Let Christ bring you from “no peace” to real peace.

Joshua 9:1-10:15  -  Some chose ‘to make war against Joshua and Israel’ (9:1-2). The Gibeonites came, looking for peace. They achieved their objective - ‘Joshua made peace with them’ (9:15). In this story we see the work of Satan, and we may catch a glimpse of the work of God. The ‘peace’ was based on …

God’s Word calls for our response.

Ezekiel 32:1-33:20; James 1:1-27; Psalm 127:1-5 God’s Word must be spoken as a Word which calls for response. The prophet is to “warn the wicked man to turn from his ways” (Ezekiel 33:9). He is to declare that “the Sovereign Lord … takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from …

On earth, we have trials. In heaven, we will have salvation.

1 PETER 1:1-25 - On earth, we have ‘trials’. In ‘heaven’, we will have ‘salvation’ (3-9). In our journey from trials to salvation, from earth to heaven, we are to live a life of holiness and love. In this life of ‘obedience to the truth’, we must never forget that we have been ‘redeemed with …

The work of God is moving forward.

2 KINGS 1:1-2:13 -  ‘He took up the mantle of Elijah’ (2:13). Elijah’s ministry had ended. Elisha’s ministry was about to begin. It was the beginning of a new era. This may have been a new ministry. It was not, however, a new message. Both men preached the Word of the Lord. Elisha continued Elijah’s …

Christ sets us free to please God, not to please ourselves.

Exodus 37:1-38:31; Mark 8:14-9:1; Proverbs 6:1-11 Jesus warns His disciples against the godless influence of the Pharisees. Their influence on people is classed along with the evil influence of Herod (Matthew 8:15). The Pharisees had become obsessed with the externals of religion but they had lost the awareness of God’s glory. They conformed to the details (the kind of …

God’s Word challenges our way of thinking and our way of living.

"The Lord spoke His Word through the prophet Haggai" (Haggai 1:1). The prophet is only the messenger. It is the Lord who speaks His Word. God's Word challenges our way of thinking and our way of living. We say, "Everything is okay." God says, "Everything is not okay." There is a problem. God says to …

God Says To Us, ‘I Am The Lord Your God.’ We Say To Him, ‘Yes, Lord, You Are Our God.’

Numbers 8:1-26 The Levites were ‘set apart’ for God (14). They were ‘a gift to Aaron... to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting...’(19). We are to work together as a team. ‘Yield yourselves to God...’(Romans 6:13): Help each other to be better servants of Christ. The ‘lampstand’(1-4): ‘Thy …

The glory of the Lord, revealed through Moses and Elijah, was nothing compared with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Exodus 39:1-40:38; Mark 9:2-32; Psalm 26:1-12 “The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34-35). There is, however, an even greater demonstration of God’s glory - in Christ. Concerning Christ, God says, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7). The glory of God, revealed through the ministries of Moses …

Looking up to the mountains, trusting the Lord and worshipping him

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from?My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your …

The Lord is leading us on to our eternal inheritance.

Deuteronomy 24:1-25:29 -  Justice for the vulnerable is grounded in God’s redemption (24:17-18). This is an important principle for us. God loves us. He has done great things for us. He cares. We are to care. Let His love be the guiding light in every part of your life. Scripture speaks of both salvation and …

At the end of my ministry: looking back and looking forward

From time to time, I wondered what I would say to the people in the final service of my ministry. This is what I did say. As I began to think about this service, my thoughts turned to the the opening words of Psalm 115, "Not to us, not to us, but to your name …

Help us, Lord, to listen to Your Word – and be changed by Your Word. May we rejoice in this: ‘He saved us by washing away our sins’ – our sin is great, our Saviour is greater (prayers based on Ezekiel 14-16).

Ezekiel 14:1-15:8 ‘Some of the elders of Israel came to’ Ezekiel. He spoke the Word of the Lord to them: ‘Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!’ (Ezekiel 14:1,8). This, Lord, may not have been what they wanted to hear. It was what You wanted them to hear. They did not …

Jesus Christ – forsaken by God and pierced for our transgressions

Read of the Psalmist’s sufferings. Think of the Saviour, suffering for you (Psalm 22:7-8, 18; Matthew 27:39 ,43, 35). We highlight two statements: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, ‘They have pierced my hands and my feet’ (Psalm 22:1, 16). Jesus Christ was ‘crucified and killed by the hands of the lawless …

So few people make time for worshipping You, Lord. Are we to become discouraged?

Isaiah 10:5-34 “A few, the remaining few of Jacob, will return to the mighty God” (Isaiah 10:21). So few people make time for worshipping You, Lord. Are we to become discouraged? No! We must take encouragement for  Your Word: “The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame” (Isaiah 10:17). Lord, …

Real Listening

Real Listening, A Real Turning To The Lord And A Real Sense Of His Blessing (Psalm 85:8) We are to pray for real listening - ‘I will listen to what God the Lord will say’- , a real turning to the Lord - ‘turning to Him in our hearts’- , and a real sense of …

In all the changes of life, we must learn to say, “Blessed be the Lord.”

1 Kings 1:1-53  -  David’s reign was coming to an end. He would be replaced by Solomon (30). No one goes on forever. Every day takes us one day closer to the day of stepping down and handing over to someone else. We must pray that the future will be ‘greater’ than the past (37,47). …

God so loved the world.

 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). It's many years, now, since these words were, first, brought home to my heart with power - life-changing power, the power of God's love. There are some things …

The Story Of God’s Amazing Grace Is Worth Repeating Over And Over Again.

Psalm 106:1-48 We read here about sin and salvation. There is a very realistic description of Israel’s sin - ‘They soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel... They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise... They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord... …

A life-changing decision

What's your idea of God? Some people would say that God is an idea. Others would ask the question, "Did the idea of God come into our minds because God put it there?" Going back to the beginning, we are faced with a decision. We read the first verse of the Bible, "In the beginning, …

How do we react to difficult circumstances?

Nehemiah 1:1-2:20; Revelation 16:1-21; Psalm 147:1-11 How do we respond to adverse circumstances? We can respond in a godly way or we can respond in a worldly fashion. "The walls of Jerusalem ... had been broken down, and its gates ... had been destroyed by fire" (Nehemiah 2:13). Nehemiah responded with faith in God: "Come, …

Let us learn about how much Jesus loved people, and how much he loves us.

Mark 6 verses 1-6a In Jesus' "hometown" (v.1), many people were "amazed" at his teaching (v. 2), but "they took offence at him" (v.3). Why did they not accept Jesus and his teaching. They had known Jesus since he was a wee boy. They knew his family. They couldn't let Jesus grow up, and become …

A human explanation, but that’s not the whole story!

“Come, let’s kill him” (Matthew 21:38). From Jesus’ parable, we look to His death. The crucifixion of Jesus has a human explanation: “wicked men put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross” – but that’s not the whole story! In the death of Jesus, we see God’s “plan” of salvation – His eternal …

Lord, You show us the way of blessing. It is the way of obedience.

Praying Through God's Word: Psalm 119 Psalm 119:1-24 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’ …

Jesus says to us, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Then, He asks us, “Do you believe this?”

John 11:1-44 -  Everything is moving on towards Christ’s death and resurrection. On His way to the Cross, Jesus performs a mighty miracle – the raising of Lazarus (43-44) – which points unmistakably to an even greater miracle – His own resurrection (Acts 2:24). Accompanying this miracle – the raising of Lazarus – , we …

The story of Jesus comes to us from the past, and it leads us on to the future.

What kind of story is the story of Jesus? It's a story that comes to us from the past, from a long, long time ago. Is it a story that's to be left in the past? or Is it possible that it's more than a story from the past? Could it be that it's a …

From bad news to Good News

This is a continuation of the Word of judgment, which began in Ezekiel 26. How final are the words at the end of Ezekiel 27: “You have come to a terrible end, and you will never exist again” (Ezekiel 27:36). This is the bad news concerning all of us. We are sinners. We are under …

God so loved the world – not only the important people, but all people.

Genesis 10:1-32 What a lot of names! Why is all this included in God’s Word? It may describe the historical conext of God’s unfolding purpose of providing salvation for sinners, but what does it say to us? The inclusion of so many obscure names emphasizes that everyone - however obscure - is important. ‘God so …

Does Jesus still have something worthwhile to say to people in today’s world?

What are we to believe? Are we to believe in God? or Are we to say that there is no God? Are we to believe that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15)? or Are we to say that we do not believe that Jesus is our Saviour? These are …

The Rock and the River

The Rock and the River are still there – even when I can’t see them! We look out towards Dumbarton Rock and the River Clyde. There is, however, a problem! Straight ahead of us, there are some large trees. When the leaves are on the trees, we can’t see anything that’s behind the trees. We …

God knows what we’re like – and He can change us!

"Jonah was very upset about this, and He became angry" (Jonah 4:1). After the high points of prayer (Jonah 2) and revival (Jonah 3), we come to this! This is pathetic. It's more than being upset and angry. Jonah became suicidal (Jonah 4:8-9). Why? - There's no good reason for him to feel like this. …

Fear God and keep His commandments.

“Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Lord, we read these words, and we wonder, “How can we even begin to fear You and keep Your commandments when our hearts are full of sin?” We ask, “How can our hearts be cleansed from sin?” We cannot do this for ourselves. Only You can do …

Let The Living Water Flow.

“And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away” (Genesis 21:25, King James Version). As I read this verse, I found myself thinking about God’s Word and God’s Spirit. Through God’s written Word, the Holy Spirit speaks to us His Word of “reproof” and “correction” (2 Timothy …

Jesus Christ – Our Crucified Saviour, Our Risen Lord

Psalm 31:1-24 “Into Thy hand, I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). As we read these words, Lord, our thoughts turn to Jesus Christ, crucified for us. In death, He gave Himself for our sins (Luke 23:46). Beyond His “affliction and the anguish of His soul”, there was the “spacious place” of His resurrection – and …

The Word of God still needs to be heard today.

The Word of God, spoken by Jeremiah, still needs to be heard today - “O land, land, land! Listen to the Word of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 22:29). God has much to say to this land and every land. Are we listening to His Word? or Have we closed our ears? Jeremiah speaks of our Saviour, …

Spiritual Growth

Genesis 2:9 “Out of the ground the Lord God made every tree to grow” If we are to make progress in spiritual growth, we must be grounded in Christ – “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). It was the Lord God who made every tree …

Nehemiah and his fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies.

Nehemiah and his fellow-builders face determined opposition from their enemies: “What they are building - if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” (Nehemiah 4:3). When the enemies “heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were …

Lord, we are surrounded by so many enemies. What are we to do?

Lord, we are surrounded by so many enemies. They are Your enemies, enemies of Your Gospel, enemies of Your truth, What are we to do? What can we do? Left to ourselves, we are helpless. Our situation is hopeless – until You come to us with Your love and Your power. You assure us that …

The priority of worship – we must never forget this.

Genesis 13:1-18 We read about Abram and Lot - and the choices that they made. There are choices to be made. We need to learn to choose the Lord's way - not the world's way. In verse 18 - we read something very encouraging about Abram. When he was in Egypt (12:10-20) - he let …

Lifted by the Lord

"Lift up your heads, you gates;     be lifted up, you ancient doors,     that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory?     The Lord strong and mighty,     the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates;     lift them up, you ancient doors,     that the King of glory may come …

Lord, You’re still speaking to us today. You’re calling us to listen to You.

Jeremiah 36:1-32 ‘The king cut it with the penknife, and threw it into the fire’ (Jeremiah 36:23). Help us, Lord, not to be like this king. He didn’t like Your Word. He thought he could get rid of Your Word. What a fool he was! You saw what was going on. The king’s attempt to …

Some thoughts on preaching

“The bigger the truth we try to speak the smaller the words we should use, and the shorter the sentences” (Ian Pitt-Watson). Good preaching does its hearers good. Our concern is not to impress people with our eloquence. Our goal is to direct attention away from ourselves to the Saviour. We should aim to be …

A new beginning

Mark 1:1-20 This is a new 'beginning'. The prophets had spoken. Now, the Saviour has come. This is good news. John has prepared the way. Now, he stands aside to make way for Jesus Christ, the Son of God' (1,11). Following Jesus' baptism, there was temptation. This was Kingdom against kingdom. Satan's kingdom was under …

Where do God’s peace and joy come from?

Where do God's peace and joy come from? They come from his love. It's the greatest love of all (Ephesians 3:18). There's nothing like the love of God. His peace is great. His joy is great. His love is even greater. This is where his blessing comes from him. He loves us. He loves us …

Less fear, more faith

Mark 5 "Don't be afraid. Only believe" (verse 36). Jesus says to us, 'Don't stop believing.' He says to us, 'Keep on believing.' Throughout life, each of us is involved in a battle. It's a battle against fear. It's a battle for faith. How are we to win the victory? "Perfect love drives out fear" …

Visions from God

Ezekiel 1 “Visions from God” (Ezekiel 1:1); “The power of the Lord came over Ezekiel” (Ezekiel 1:3); “A bright light” (Ezekiel 1:27); “A rainbow in the clouds” , “The Lord’s glory”, “Bowed down”, “I heard someone speaking” (Ezekiel 1:28). In these phrases, we have some suggestion of the kind of lines we must follow, as …

The blessing of God is for you and me.

God loves us. This isn't for some perfect people who've never fallen into sin. There's nobody who's like that. All of us have made a mess of things, but God still says to us, "I love you." He says, "My Son, Jesus, died for you." This is what gives us the strength to choose his …

The most important thing of all is to be in a right relationship with God.

Leviticus 4:1-5:13; Mark 10:13-31; Psalm 27:7-14 The most important thing of all is to be in a right relationship with God. This is the point which is emphasized in Israel’s sacrificial system. All other relationships are secondary to our relationship with God. Jesus makes this point in Mark 10:29-30 - Leave all your loved ones …

Without Jesus, our lives are empty. Invite Him into your heart now.

Hebrews 10:19-11:16 -  Are you ‘looking for a better country – a heavenly one’ (16)? ‘God has put eternity into man’s mind’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In every human heart, there’s ‘a God-shaped blank’. Jesus came to give us ‘life’ – ‘abundant life’, ‘eternal life’ (John 10:10; 17:3; 1 John 5:11). Without Jesus, our lives are empty. …

How are we to live, and become useful servants of the Lord?

TITUS 1:1-2:10  -  How are we to live? We are not to be ‘empty talkers’, people who ‘profess to know God’ and ‘deny Him by their deeds’ (1:10,16). We must give no one the opportunity to ‘speak evil of God’s Word’. We must be ‘a model of good deeds’, showing ‘the beauty of the teachings …

Rejoice in your Saviour!

Romans 3:1-31 We are sinners - every single one of us. There are no exceptions: 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God'. When we see ourselves as we really are, sinners, we come to see that there is no way for us to earn God's love. We will never deserve to …

The end of the road?

When everything that's happening to us, says to us, 'This is the end of the road, You have nowhere to go from here', the Lord draws near and whispers into our hearts, 'There is hope, because there is Jesus, and he is our risen Saviour, the living Lord."

Looking, Listening And Learning

Let’s think together about looking, listening and learning - looking to the Lord, listening to Him and learning from Him.. When we look to the Lord, what do we see? - We see love. We see Jesus, crucified for us. We know that God loves us. When we listen to the Lord, what do we …

Lord, You are the faithful God.

Lord, You are the faithful God. You give us Your promises. You keep Your promises. You never go back on Your Word. You always stand by the Word that You have spoken. Your promises come to us from the past. They lead us on into Your future. What a wonderful future You are planning for …

Listening to the Word of the Lord – and speaking His Word

"The Lord called to Moses out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my …

The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Ezekiel 1:1-2:10  -  ‘The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God... The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel’(1:1-2). The Lord opens our eyes to ‘see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Lord speaks to us and we must listen to Him: ‘Speak, Lord, for …

Serving You, Lord, begins with Your call.

Jeremiah 1:1-19 Serving You, Lord, doesn’t begin with our choice. It begins with Your call. The initiative is Yours – not ours. Thank You, Lord, that You love us so much. Thank You for saving us – and calling us to be Your servants.

God’s Eternal Love – Be still and know that there is love, eternal love, the love of God.

‘Be still, and know that I am God... Shout to God with loud songs of joy’ (Psalm 46:10; 47:2). In our worship, there is to be both quiet trust and loud praise. We read the great words: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1). God’s Word brings peace …

The Lord loves us – and He calls us to love Him and love one another.

Exodus 34:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Exodus 34:6 invites us to focus our attention on the Lord our God - The Lord is the compassionate and gracious God. - The Lord is the God who is slow to anger. - The Lord is the God who is abounding in love and faithfulness. Here, in this verse, …