Even when we’re surrounded by people

On February 5, 2023 By charlieIn Christ's love3 Comments

Even when we're surrounded by people, the world can be a lonely place. Into our loneliness, Jesus comes. He tells us that He is "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). He's our Friend, our best Friend, the Friend who will never leave us ans never let us down. He loves us with the greatest love of …

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Trusting In Christ’s Love, We Learn To Love.

On February 5, 2023 By charlieIn Christ's love1 Comment

The Pharisees lived by law. Jesus lived by love. The law of God, ‘holy and just and good’ (Romans 7:12), had been distorted by the religious hypocrites. They were saying, ‘love your neighbour and hate your enemy’ (Matthew 5:43). ‘Love your neighbour’ is found in Leviticus 19:18. ‘Hate your enemy’ is not found in the …

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Jesus loves me.

On December 25, 2022December 25, 2022 By charlieIn Christ's love1 Comment

"Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Where would we be without the Bible? We would know nothing of Jesus, nothing of his love for us, nothing of his death on the cross for us, nothing of the wonderful miracle of his resurrection from the dead. Thank God for the …

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Wisdom comes to us through Christ.

On December 22, 2022 By charlieIn Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Christ's love, Jesus Christ1 Comment

Wisdom comes to us through Christ. He teaches us to live in the light of his death and resurrection. Our lives are to be shaped by his love - suffering love, triumphant love.

The love of Jesus

On November 23, 2022 By charlieIn Christ's love1 Comment

We see the love of Jesus in his crucifixion. We see the love of Jesus in his resurrection. His love is a suffering love. His love is a triumphant love.

Changed by the love of Christ

On September 20, 2022September 12, 2022 By charlieIn Christ's love, Jesus Christ1 Comment

We are not changed by self-effort or self-improvement. We are changed by Christ. We must never forget this. We must never forget him. We don't change ourselves. He changes us. Most of all, he changes us by his love. Knowing that we are loved by him, we learn to live in a spirit of thanksgiving, …

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Christ’s Love – Reaching Us, Changing Us And Growing In Us

On April 17, 2021April 17, 2021 By charlieIn Christ's love, Luke3 Comments

In Luke 13:1-21, we see Jesus preaching, teaching and healing. At the heart of His ministry, there is love. The story of Jesus’ life on earth is an “old, old story.” It tells us about events which happened about 2,000 years ago. This story is still relevant to our life today. That is because it is …

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

On April 17, 2021April 17, 2021 By charlieIn Christ's love, hymns, worship videos1 Comment

"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 …

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Keep on believing that God hears and answers prayer.

2 Samuel 21:1-22:7 – There’s no two ways about it. God’s people were getting it rough. There seemed to be so many problems. Were they to give up hope? – Not a bit of it! Read verse 14 – ‘After that God heeded supplications for the land’. What happened when God heard and answered the […]

Show us, Lord, what we really are – without You.

Deuteronomy 23:1-25 Show us, Lord, what we really are – without You. Make us, more truly and more fully, what You want us to become – by Your saving grace. Fill us with Your holiness – and fill us with Your love. You’ve lifted us out of our sin and into Your salvation. This is […]

Praying Through God’s Word: Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew 1:1-17 Lord, we’ve only just begun – to experience Your love and enjoy Your blessing. We’ve started out on the journey of faith – but we haven’t reached our destination. We’re still travelling. We dare not stand still. We must keep on going forward – with You and for You. Sometimes, we can forget […]

Lord, we come to You in our weakness. You give to us Your strength.

John 14:15-15:17 Lord, we come to You in our weakness. You give to us Your strength. Without Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15:5). With Jesus as our Saviour, His Word abiding in us (John 15:7) and the Holy Spirit teaching us all things (John 15:26), we are led into a life of fruitfulness (John […]

To You, Lord, be all the glory.

Genesis 18:16-33 To You, Lord, be all the glory. You have done so many great things for us. So many blessings – and they all come from You, Lord. Our sins have been forgiven. You’ve come to live in us. Such great blessing – but this is just the beginning! You’re leading us on to […]

Lord, help us to stand upon Your Word.

Genesis 31:43-32:21 Lord, help us to stand upon Your Word. You have given us a firm foundation for our faith. You have given us Your salvation. When everything around is shaking, we can stand firm because we know that You are our God. You are the God who has saved us through the death of […]

A new beginning

2 Samuel 1:1-27 – ‘How are the mighty fallen!’ (19,25,27). The tragedy of Saul was there for all to see. He had made a right mess of things! What are we to think when we read of this tragic figure? He started out so well. He ended so badly. There were high hopes – but […]

We thank You, Lord, that ‘we do not live by bread alone.’

We thank You, Lord, that “we do not live by bread alone” (Deuteronomy 8:3). We need bread for the body. We also need Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:35). Help us, Lord, not to become too easily satisfied by the things of this world. Help us never to forget that we need Jesus. Without […]

God invites us to come to Him and receive salvation.

ISAIAH 1:1-31 – God invites us to ‘come’ to Him and receive salvation – ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’. He also warns us – there will be judgment ‘if you refuse and rebel’ (18-20). God speaks to us of His great purpose of salvation: ‘God did not […]

Lord, we need Your Word of encouragement.

Numbers 12:1-13:33 Lord, we need Your Word of encouragement. Sometimes, our problems seem to be so big. Help us to see that Your power is always greater than our problems. When everything in us seems to be saying, “I can’t”, help us to hear – and speak – the Word of faith, ” I can […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Two – February

1st February: Judges 1:1-2:5 ‘You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7). Everything seems to be going well – ‘From victory to victory His army He shall lead till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed’ (1-18; Church Hymnary, 481). Things went badly wrong. God commanded His people […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Two – January

1st January: Joshua 1:1-18 For Israel, it was a new beginning. They were leaving the wilderness. That was their past. They were entering the promised land. This was God’s future. For God’s future there is God’s command – ‘Be strong’ – and God’s promise – ‘the Lord your God is with you’. We wonder what […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year Three – January

1st January: Psalm 77:1-20 Sometimes, we have more questions than answers (7-9). The questions keep flooding into our minds. We wonder where the answers are going to come from. What are we to do when this happens? We must remember what the Lord has done for us (11-12). Look back over the ‘years’ – and […]

Daily Devotional Readings : Year One – January

1st January: Psalm 119:105-112 We begin the year with the words of verse 105: ‘Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’. This a great text with which to begin the year. It is a great starting-point for these studies in God’s Word. As we journey through life with […]

My One Year Bible

Day 1 Genesis 1:1-2:17; Matthew 1:1-25; Psalm 1:1-6 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 […]

Jesus – the King of kings and Lord of lords

Matthew 2:1-12 ‘King of the Jews’ (2). Jesus came from the Jews. He came for ‘all nations’ (28:19). He is the ‘King of kings’ (Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Here on earth, we are learning ‘to worship Him’ (2). We are being prepared for heavenly worship (Revelation 7:9-12): ‘Kings and queens and beggar men, presidents and servants, […]

Luke 2:1-20

‘A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’ (11). The Name, ‘Jesus’, means ‘Saviour’ (Matthew 1:21). Focus your thoughts on Him: The Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a prayer to help you make your response to Him: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, You have come to us, You are one with us, Mary’s Son. Cleansing our souls from […]

Daily Devotional Readings: Year One – December

1st December: John 10:1-42 The Christian life is not easy. The devil ‘comes only to steal and kill and destroy’ (10). Satan was working through the religious leaders. They were trying ‘to stone’ Jesus (31). ‘Again’, they failed (39). They could not take Jesus’ life. ‘His hour had not yet come’ (18; 7:30; 8:20). When […]

For the Christian, the King’s Highway is the Way of Holiness: “This is the way, walk in it.”

Numbers 21:1-35 In verses 5-9, there is an illustration of God’s salvation (John 3:14-15). There is sin and death (Romans 5-6; 3:23, 6:23). Christ prays for our forgiveness (7; Luke 23:34). Lifted up on the Cross, He dies that we might have eternal life. In love, He appeals to us, ‘Look to me and be […]

Without God’s grace and mercy, we will fall. With His grace and mercy, we will stand.

Ezekiel 4:1-6:14; Hebrews 5:11-6:12; Proverbs 26:23-27:4 “Alas! because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague” (Ezekiel 6:11). Alongside these words concerning Israel’s sin and fall, we place the solemn words of Hebrews 6:4-6, words which warn us of the danger […]