Generation Gap?

"But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations" (Psalm 102:12).  We hear a great deal about the generation gap. The old people don't understand the young people. The young people don't listen to the old people. How can we overcome this generation gap? Jesus Christ overcomes the generation gap. He is …

Slow, but sure

There's a story about a race between a tortoise and a hare. The hare started well, but he didn't finish. Somewhere along the way, he  became distracted - and lost his way. The tortoise started slowly, but he kept on going and he did finish. Jesus told a story about two about two men. One …

A Great Saviour – For Now And For Ever

"looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2) Where would we be without Jesus? We would have no Saviour to accompany us on our journey through life - and we would have no Saviour to welcome us into God's heavenly and eternal glory when we reach the end of our earthly journey. Thank God - …

Looking back to Christ’s crucifixion, looking forward to His return

We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). We are to live as those who are awaiting the Day of the Lord’s return (Hebrews 10:25). We look back to what Christ has done for us. We look forward to what He will do for us. Looking back …

To God be the glory!

"He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). Salvation is never something that we earn. It's always God's gift. When He saves us, He doesn't reward us for our good works. He saves us - despite our persistent failure to live the kind of life that pleases Him. He saves us …

Look, I’m standing at the door.

Look, I’m standing at the door (Revelation 3:20). Are you ‘looking for a better country – a heavenly one’ (Hebrews 11:16)? ‘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; John 17:3; 1 John …

Things are not always as they seem …

"Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”" (Genesis 27:22). This is a picture of deception. It's a reminder that we need to pray for discernment. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus warns us: "Not everyone who says …

Enter in.

" ... having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). What a contrast there is between the many animal sacrifices made by the Old Testament priests and the single sacrifice of Himself made by our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ! Here's a song that may help you to see, more clearly, the difference between the two.  …

Don’t Neglect God’s Great Salvation.

Refusal to come to Christ for salvation leads to judgment: ‘How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?’ (Hebrews 2:3).

Keep On Worshipping The Lord.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good works, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25). It's great that we are able to encourage one …

So much – but not everything?

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead …

We must keep our eyes on Jesus.

Past grace is no guarantee of present growth. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, ‘the Author and Finisher of our faith' (Hebrews 12: 2).

Jesus Is Calling Us On To His Future.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is not merely a figure from the past. He is “Jesus Christ, risen from the dead” (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus Christ, the risen Saviour, the living Lord, stands at the centre of our future. He does not only speak to us from the past. He also speaks to us from the future. …

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. …

The old, old story of Jesus and his love

Such a long time ago, we don't need this anymore - that's what the world tells us about the Bible story. What are we to say to this? We agree - and we disagree. We agree - the Bible comes to us from a very long time ago. We disagree - the Bible story is …

Good News for this generation

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son... " (Hebrews 1:1-2). This is more than the prophets speaking about God. This is God, speaking through the prophets.The prophets looked forward to Jesus, God's beloved Son. God speaks to …

Worth thinking about?

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son ... " (Hebrews 1:1-2). "In the past": Some people switch off when they hear these words. They feel that the past has nothing to do …

An Encouraging Message – And A Challenging Message

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son ..." (Hebrews 1:1-2). "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not …

Hebrews 5-7

Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest. He is "the one Mediator between God and man" (1 Timothy 2:5). He is perfectly qualified to be the Mediator because He is, at one and the same time, both God and man: "the Son of God" and "Son of man." These things are taught in the Word …

Despite our many failures, God remains faithful.

Genesis 12 Before starting to comment on chapter 12, I want to say something about the second part of chapter 11, verses 10-32. These verses provide us with the background to the events which begin to unfold in chapter 12. The message of this long list names is this: God is moving on. He is …

What wonderful love the Lord has for each one of us!

Exodus 20 begins with comforting words: "And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (vs.1-2). These words speak to us of the love of God. What wonderful love the Lord has for each one of us. The Lord …

Season of Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day) III – Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14

Season of Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day) III – Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14 Good News ‘Good News’- Let us ‘shout for joy’. ‘Good News’- Let us sing ‘songs of joy’. There is the Good News of God’s reign - ‘Your God reigns’. There is the Good News of …

Good News: God loves us.

Season of Christmas: Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Day) III – Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12); John 1:1-14  -  These readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary. The same Bible Readings are suggested for Year B and Year C. Good News ‘Good News’- Let us ‘shout for joy’. ‘Good News’- Let us …

Good News for sinners

"Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour" (Psalm 25:5). At the heart of God' "truth", there is this - he is our "Saviour." This is Good News for sinners. In our Lord Jesus Christ, we have a Saviour, who "is able to save to the uttermost all who come …

What God says to us; what we say to him.

"God has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.'" (Hebrews 13;5-6). God speaks to us words of grace: "I will never leave you or forsake you." We speak to him our words of faith: "The Lord is my …

A Human Problem That Needs, And Has, A Divine Solution

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jeremiah 17:9). What did Jeremiah mean when he said this? The words of the Rev Eric Alexander sum up Jeremiah's point very well: "The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart." When we read Jeremiah's words on their own, we …

Fill me, Lord, with your love, peace and joy. Fill me with yourself.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:1-2). What is grabbing our attention? Many people are competing for our attention. What about Jesus? Are we paying attention to him? Have we closed our ears to the voice of Jesus? So many people have closed Jesus out, yet, still, he won't go away. He keeps …

Praise God! My sins are gone!

With "boldness", let us "enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). What a wonderful blessing this is! What a wonderful Saviour we have! Our sin is great. Our Saviour is greater than our sin. Here's a song which will encourage you to rejoice in your Saviour. May the joy of the Lord increase …

Jesus is more than our teacher and example. He’s our Saviour and Lord.

"Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2). Not conformed to the world, transformed by the Lord: how are we to live this kind of …

Living with deadlines …

Tomorrow, next week, next month ... More quickly than we would like, next month becomes next week, and next week becomes tomorrow ... Here's a deadline that's more urgent than any of these deadlines: "Now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). What makes "the day of salvation" so urgent? - We may not have …

Lord, lead us to Jesus.

Ezekiel 13:1-15:8; Hebrews 8:1-13; Psalm 120:1-7 God speaks against “those who prophesy out of their own imagination … who follow their own spirit” (Ezekiel 13:2-3). In the face of such false prophets, we must pray, “Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues” (Psalm 120:2). How does the Lord save us from …

The Kingdom belongs to the Lord … and we will be there with Him.

Obadiah 1-21; Hebrews 2:1-18; Proverbs 26:13-22 The last words of Obadiah are a great declaration: "the Kingdom will be the Lord's" (Obadiah 21). When we think of God's Kingdom, we are thinking not only of a Kingdom which belongs, solely, to God, but a Kingdom, which He shares with the redeemed. Christ says, "Here am …

Can we just leave Jesus in the past?

"Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairing of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in" (Isaiah 58:12). Rebuilding, raising up, repairing, restoring - all of this is very important. In the work of the Lord, we continue work that …

The Word and the words (15): The way to the Father … the way of love and holiness … the way to heaven

“Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later " (John 13:36). "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go …

Happy Times And Hard Times

"The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). Sometimes, we have  happy times - and sometimes we have hard times. What are we to do when the going gets tough? We've heard the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." It sounds good, doesn't it - but what if we …

From a long time ago … for today … on to the future …

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). "The story of Jesus and his love - it's a story from a long time ago, and it's a story for today There are many people who wish that Jesus would just go away - but he doesn't go away. He keeps on …

The Word and the words (12): Jesus – the good shepherd …

"I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11). We read what Jesus says about himself. We read about who he is. "I am the good shepherd." As we read these words, our thoughts turn to the 23rd Psalm. "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, …

Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts.

Joel 2:18-3:21; Hebrews 4:1-13; Psalm 119:145-152 As in Hebrews 3, we find, again, in Hebrews 4, the words, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). The Word of God speaks of “the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31). We are called to decision …

When the storms of life come your way

Ezekiel 26:1-27:36; Hebrews 12:1-13; Psalm 125:1-5 To Tyre, God says, “Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, seamen and shipwrights, your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck” (Ezekiel 27:27). Those who are overladen by their attachment to …

The School of Discipleship (7): Fixing our eyes on Jesus, let us move forward into the great future he is preparing for us.

Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen …

Come into the Holy of Holies.

How are we to come into God's holy presence? "We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). There's only one way we can come to him. We "enter by the blood of Jesus." Without Jesus as our Saviour, we cannot come into God's holy presence. With Jesus as our …

Listening to what God says to us through his world, his written Word and his Son

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands... The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:1,7). God speaks to us through his world, and he speaks to us through his written Word. Speaking to us through his world, he prepares …

Precious Gems from Psalm 23

This post is based on Psalm 23:1. -- "The Lord is my Shepherd" - How precious this is! It's precious - because it's the Lord who is my Shepherd. Not somebody who will let me down - It's the Lord. He lifts me up. -- "The Lord is my Shepherd" - How precious this is! …

The God who is there… and the God who is here (in the human heart)…

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). Here, we read about faith - and we read about God. How are we to think about faith - and how are to think about God? …

Our sin is great. Our Saviour is greater.

"We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus " (Hebrews 10:19). What a word of encouragement this is! When we are so deeply aware of our sin, these words make us more deeply aware of our Saviour.

Words from far away and long ago … or more than that?

"The Lord is my light and my salvation ... The Lord is the strength of my life" (Psalm 27:1). We read these words from a faraway place and a long time ago, and we wonder, "Are these words for us? Are they for today's world? or Should they be left in the past?" Does God's Word give …

On to better things …

"See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create" (Isaiah 65:17-18). God is calling us on to better things - so much better than the pain and the tears of this earthly world. …

Let us bless the Lord … and receive abundant blessing from Him …

"Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20-21). …

Responding to God’s Word (52): Just as I am

Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). What a wonderfully encouraging verse this is! Jesus takes us from where we are to where he is. It's the journey from grace to glory. It begins with our coming to Jesus as sinners. It's a journey that …

Are you looking for true and lasting joy? Look to Jesus. Let him fill you with his joy.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; I come before him with joyful songs (Psalm 100:1). We are to worship the Lord with joy. As I was thinking about this, my thoughts went to two chapters from God's Word: Isaiah 12 and Philippians 4. With joy, you will draw water from the wells of …

Christ is calling us to walk with Him – in His victory.

Ezekiel 24:1-25:17; Hebrews 11:17-40; Psalm 124:1-8 There is, in these passages, the continuing conflict between the life of obedient faith (Hebrews 11) and the life of disobedience (God’s judgments in Ezekiel). The Psalmist makes it clear that the life of obedient faith is not an easy life - “If the Lord had not been on …

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking.

"See that you do not refuse him who is speaking" (Hebrews 11:25). Have you heard what Jesus has to say about the Kingdom of God and the one way in which it can be entered? What have you done about it? The message of God's Kingdom calls for our response. Have you received this message …

Death will not have the last word.

Ezekiel 22:23-23:49; Hebrews 11:1-16; Proverbs 27:15-22 The contrast between a life of sin and shame and a life of faith and blessing is highlighted in the comparison between the passages in Ezekiel and Hebrews. The contrast is between living for the things we see - “She saw men ... As soon as she saw them …

Can I be happy again?

"Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;    my eyes will never see happiness again." (Job 7:7) "My eyes will never see happiness again" - What are we to do when we feel like this? We are to tell God about it - "Remember, O God." There are times when we feel like God …

As far as the eye can see … and more than that!

"However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him — these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). "For now we see through a glass, darkly; …

Don’t you want to get on in the world? – Which world are you living for?

Ezekiel 30:1-31:18; Hebrews 13:1-25; Proverbs 27:23-28:6 What a contrast there is between “Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Ezekiel 31:2) and “Jesus Christ” who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Pharaoh had the appearance of “majesty”, yet he was “brought down” (Ezekiel 31:2,18). Jesus has a glory which will never be diminished. It …

The call to return to the Lord is an urgent call.

Joel 1:1-2:17; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalm 119:137-144 “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Joel 2:13). The call to return to the Lord is an urgent call: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7-8). Those who have returned …

Christ has come. Christ will come. We have been saved. We will be saved.

"so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). Here, on earth, we have the beginning of our salvation - purchased for us by the Saviour, who died for our sins. The completion of our salvation is …

More than the things we can see with our eyes

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but …

Yesterday and today and for ever

Can we dismiss "the old, old story of Jesus and his love", just because it comes to us from such a long time ago? or Does Jesus bring to us something that we should always remember? There's something about Jesus that we should never forget: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead" (2 Timothy 2:8). …