Let us worship God.

Numbers 4:1-5:10; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 34:11-22 Numbers 4 speaks about the work which the various tribes were to do in the Tent of Meeting. Above all, the work we are called to do is worship. We are to say from our hearts, “Praise be to the Lord” (Luke 1:68). Part of this worship will be …

In life’s hard times, God keeps on loving us…

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6). "Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life" - What does this mean? Does it mean that only good things will happen to us? …

We have been saved by the Lord.

“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). We must never forget Jesus Christ. He is our Saviour. Remembering Him will keep us from thinking too highly of ourselves. We are only servants. Jesus is the Saviour.

Revised Common Lectionary – Year C: First Sunday of Advent – Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Revised Common Lectionary – Year CFirst Sunday of Advent: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.‘I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin …

On to the great future, the Lord is preparing for us

Deuteronomy 2:24-4:14; Luke 10:25-11:4; Psalm 41:7-13 When the people of Israel were brought to the promised land, this was a great fulfilment of God’s purpose. When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Father ... Your Kingdom come”, He is teaching us to pray for an even greater fulfilment of God’s purpose. The Lord sets us in …

The Kingdom Of God: Luke’s Gospel

It has been said that, in the Gospel of Luke, we see Jesus as "the Friend of the friendless" (William Barclay, The Men, The Meaning, The Message Of The Books, p. 17). This is wonderful. Jesus is our Friend. We rejoice in this great message when we sing, "What a Friend we have in Jesus." …

The power of the Holy Spirit

"At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say" (Luke 12:12). The power of the Holy Spirit - This is something we must never forget. We meet someone who needs to hear the Good News of Christ's love. God is giving us this opportunity to speak a word for Him. What …

Love is stronger than hatred.

At the time of Christ's crucifixion, there was much hatred in the air: "Crucify him!" (Luke 23:20-21) - but there was also much love: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). Father, make us more like Jesus - less hatred, more love.

A mighty work of God

Numbers 33:1-34:29; Luke 9:10-27; Proverbs 8:22-31 The sheer dimensions of what God was doing with His people, Israel, are most impressive. This was no small thing. This was a mighty work of God. The feeding of the 5,000 was a mighty miracle. It was impressive because of the sheer numbers involved in it. When we think of such mighty miracles, …

Jesus Christ – God’s perfect Son

Deuteronomy 19:1-20:20; Luke 15:1-32; Psalm 45:1-9 Above all men, it can be said of Christ: “You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever” (Psalm 45:2). When we read the parable of the prodigal son, we are reading the words spoken by the …

Times of empowering and times of ministry

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he …

Great Potential, Great Disappointment, Great Love

The story, told in the Bible's first three chapters (Genesis 1-3), is repeated over and over again. It is the story of great potential - created in the image of God, and it is the story of great disappointment - sinning against the Lord and falling away from him. Thank God - the Bible story …

No looking back; we must keep going forward.

Deuteronomy 1:1-2:23; Luke 9:57-10:24; Psalm 41:1-6 We are to make progress in the life of faith. There can be no looking back. In Deuteronomy 1:6-8, the Lord calls His people to press on. In Luke 9:62, the Lord Jesus emphasizes that we must keep going forward. It will not be easy. There will be opposition. …

Let us praise the Lord.

Numbers 2:10-3:51; Luke 1:39-56; Psalm 34:1-10 The detailed instructions given in the early chapters of Numbers arise out of Moses’ communion with God – “the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai” (Numbers 3:1). God speaks to us, and we – in response to His Word – speak to Him. ‘Mary’s song’, in Luke 1:46-55, …

Never so far away

We are never so far away that God's love cannot reach us. In Luke 15, we read about the prodigal son - and the loving Father. What does Jesus tell us about the prodigal son? He tells us about his sin - and he tells us about his salvation. All the time, the son was …

Looking forward to being with Christ, forever

"Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). From "Christ for you", we move on to "Christ in you." Christ was crucified for us. Beyond his crucifixion, there is his resurrection. And, beyond his resurrection, there's his return "in great power and glory."* We do not only remember a past event: He died for …

Like John the Baptist, we are to point people to Jesus, God’s beloved Son.

Luke 3:1-38 John's message came from 'God' (2). He did not begin with love. He preached about sin and divine judgment, warning his hearers to 'flee from the wrath to come' (7). He called for 'repentance' (3,8). This was not what people wanted to hear. Before we can rejoice in the Good News concerning salvation, …

Looking beyond the lovely sunsets

In Luke 12:54-56, Jesus speaks to people who were good at weather forecasting, but they weren’t so good at understanding and living in the light of God’s Word._____  Lovely sunsets - They’ve  often brought to mind the well-known words: “A red sky at night is the shepherd’s delight. A red sky in the morning is …

Jesus – The Son Of God And The Saviour Of The World

Some people think of Jesus as a great teacher of morality. Is that all that we can say about Him? Those who “believe” in Him say something else about Him – He’s “the Son of God” and “the Saviour of the world” (Luke 1:35; John 4:42). The critics say, “You can’t say that!” We give …

How are we to respond to the teaching of Jesus?

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:36). Just a few verses before these words of Jesus, we have his words about loving our enemies: But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (verse 27). There are many people who like it when Jesus speaks …

The Lord bless you and keep you

Numbers 5:11-6:27; Luke 2:1-20; Proverbs 7:6-20 “The Lord bless you…” (Numbers 6:24). The Lord’s blessing comes to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. In Him, there is “good news of great joy … for all the people.” He is the “Saviour”; “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). “The Lord… keep you” (Numbers 6:24). In Christ, we …

The School of Discipleship (13): We are not to be secret disciples.

Luke 11: 29-54 Christ is 'greater than Jonah' (32). Jonah was preserved alive (Jonah 1:17-2:10). Christ 'died...was buried' and 'was raised' (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Through His resurrection, He has been 'declared with power to be the Son of God' (Romans 1:4). We are not to be secret disciples (33): Believe in your heart that God …

Jesus has given Himself for us. Let us give ourselves to Him.

Numbers 7:1-65; Luke 2:21-40; Psalm 35:1-10 In Numbers 7, we read of the various offerings which were brought to the Lord at the dedication of the Tabernacle. In Luke 2, we read of Joseph and Mary taking Jesus “to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord” (Luke 2:22). All that the people brought to the …

Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord

Numbers 16:36-18:32; Luke 5:17-32; Psalm 37:10-20 The Levites had an important part to play in the life of Israel. A man called Levi (Matthew, the writer of the first Gospel) had an important part to play in the life of the early Church. We are told, in Psalm 37:17, that “the Lord upholds the righteous” …

Fishing for people

"Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people" (Luke 5:10). The thought of standing up for Jesus fills us with fear. Jesus encourages us. He tells us that we will win others for him. The power of the Lord is given to us. The words that we speak are more than our own …

The seed and the fruit: “I will wait for You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God.”

Numbers 27:12-29:11; Luke 8:1-18; Psalm 38:13-22 In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of the seed and the fruit. In Numbers, we read of Moses and Joshua. The seed had been sown by Moses. The fruit would be given to Joshua. The important thing is this: It is not the sower or the reaper …

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,  Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was …

“Today, salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:10).

"There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none but me. “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:21-22). Many people say, "There is a God", but they never get beyond this, and say, "Jesus …

Very important people – but the Word of the Lord didn’t come to any of them!

"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness" (Luke 3:1-2). Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate: …

Listening to Jesus, and letting him shape our thinking

A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” (Luke 9:35). Who do we listen to? Who shapes our thinking? What about Jesus? Do you listen to Jesus? Does he shape your thinking? We say that we believe in Jesus, but how much do we listen to …

Christ’s call – wonderful and challenging

"I have come to call sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). How wonderful it is that Christ calls sinners. How challenging it is that he calls sinners to repentance.

In the Spirit and in the Truth

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, New International Version). What is Jesus saying to us here? When we read, in the King James Version, the words, "worship in spirit and in truth", we may feel that he's speaking about the attitude in which we are to …

Privilege and Responsibility

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48).  There is no privilege without responsibility.

The Lord gives us the victory. It’s the victory of his love.

"Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord!" (Jeremiah 20;13). We praise God for his deliverance. Evil may threaten us, but it shall not prevail over us. The Lord gives us his victory. It's the victory of his love: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

Help us, Lord, to open our hearts to your love.

"People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, …

Let Us Give Jesus Christ His Rightful Place In Our Lives.

Luke 21:1-38 The ‘poor widow’ gave her ‘all’ to the Lord (1-4). True giving is a response to ‘the grace of God’. Learning to appreciate ‘the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ’, we will learn to give with ‘abundance of joy’ and ‘wealth of liberality’(2 Corinthians 8:1-2, 9). Let us give ourselves to our Lord. …

Read about the prodigal son, and think of the perfect Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 15:1-32 People were coming to Christ (1). Still, the critics were murmuring among themselves (2). What did Jesus do ? - He kept on preaching the Gospel (3-32). The lost sheep (3-7) the lost coin (8-10), the lost son (11-32) - These are the parables of the Gospel. They teach us two lessons - …

Let us enter God’s land of blessing.

Deuteronomy 6:1-8:20; Luke 11:33-54; Psalm 42:1-6a God’s people were called to enter the promised land. They were called to live in obedience to the Lord who had brought them into the promised land. To those who refuse to enter into God’s land of blessing, God says, “Woe to you experts in the law, because you …

Where do we start? …

Where do we start? Does our journey of faith start with ourselves? or Does it start with God, seeking us and finding us? Jesus gives us his answer - he "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19;10). Without Jesus, we are lost. We cannot find our own way back to God. We …

“He has risen” – Jesus has triumphed over death.

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" (Luke 24:5-6). When we speak to the world concerning Jesus Christ - what are we to say? Are we to restrict ourselves to emphasizing his words - "Love our enemies" (Matthew 5:44)? There are plenty of people who tell …

Do We Care About God’s Blessing? – If We Don’t, We May Lose It!

Luke 7:1-35 ‘When he heard of Jesus...’(3): ‘Faith comes from hearing...’. Tell people of Jesus: ‘How can they believe in Him if they have not heard His message? How can they hear if no one tells the Good News?’(Romans 10:17,14). ‘God has visited His people!’(16): ‘Raised from the dead’- Pray for a real ‘quickening’ as …

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 …

Always searching, never finding?

Always searching, never finding. For many people, that's the way life seems to be. They're looking for something, but they don't know what they're looking for, and they don't know where they're going to find it and how they're going to find it. Some people give up on the search. They say that it's not …

Let us rejoice in Jesus, God’s Son. Let us rejoice in Jesus, our Saviour.

"God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4). This post is a continuation of my earlier post, "This is my Son. This is your Saviour." You should, really, read that post before reading …

The Story of God’s Perfect Love – The Story of God’s Perfect Son

* Jesus told a story of God's love - "the story of the prodigal son" (Luke 15:11-32). * Jesus is the story of God's love - His story is the story of God's perfect Son. ----- In Luke 15:13, we read of the prodigal son going into the "far country". In Luke 15:20-22, we read …

This is my Son. This is your Saviour.

"God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it... God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:32,36). On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached Jesus, the risen Lord. What are we to say about Jesus and the resurrection? Did Jesus become the Lord and the Christ when …

Father, forgive them.

"He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12). We rejoice in the fact that Jesus took our sins upon Himself so that we might receive salvation from Him - and we also hear the prayer that He prayed when He was on the Cross: "Father, forgive them, for they …

Jesus is leading us home.

The lost son, the found son, the rebellious son, the returning son - this is what we read about in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). We read about the long journey home - from the land of wandering to the land of welcome. As we think about the returning son's journey back …

Listening to the Lord and speaking to him

Mary sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he said (Luke 10:39). Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1). We need both: listening to what the Lord has to say to us and speaking to the Lord, asking him to send his blessing into our hearts and lives.

Where is the Old Testament leading us? It’s leading us to Jesus. He’s the answer to our question.

"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27). Where did it come from - the idea that we can set aside the Old Testament and go straight to the New Testament? Did it come from Jesus? No! It didn't. Jesus takes us …

Something very wonderful has happened: Jesus has risen from the dead.

Luke 23:26-24:12 'God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong' (1 Corinthians 1:27). In his weakness, the thief on the cross trusted Christ for salvation (42-43). Pilate, a man of power, rejected Christ, sending Him off to be crucified (23:23-25). Jesus was 'delivered into the hands of sinful men'. Jesus was …

Enough understanding to change our way of thinking and our way of living

"The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about" (Luke 18:34). The disciples didn't know what Jesus was talking about. Jesus did know what he was talking about. There are many things that we don't understand - this is when …

Does Jesus weep over you? He wants to rejoice over you.

Luke 19:1-48 Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem (9:51; 13:22; 17:11), the place where He would be crucified for the world's salvation. 'Passing through' Jericho, He brought 'salvation' to Zacchaeus (1, 9). 'Near to Jerusalem', He spoke about service (11-27). Jesus is our Saviour - He came 'to save us' (10). He is also …

The history of God’s salvation – Jesus is our Saviour and Lord.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). When we think about the history of God's salvation, we begin with God's everlasting love. We go back beyond the beginning of the world - back to the everlasting God and his everlasting love. "That it might be fulfilled" (Matthew 1:21). When we focus our …

Responding to God’s Word (39): More, more about Jesus

He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27). When we are gathered together for worship, we pray that we will hear more than the words of the preacher. We come with the question, "What does Jesus have to say to us?" Jesus speaks to us "concerning himself." Jesus …

The way of the cross – for Jesus and for us

Luke 22:39-71 Jesus was 'greatly distressed... troubled... very sorrowful... ' (Mark 14:33-34). 'Nevertheless, in obedience to His Father's will, He chose the way of the Cross (42; John 10:17-18). Satan - 'the power of darkness' - would have his 'hour', but Jesus was to be 'seated at the right hand of the power of God' …

Let God’s love flow freely in your own heart. Let it flow, from there, into the lives of others.

Luke 14:1-35 Let God's love flow freely in your own heart. Let it flow, from there, into the lives of others. Receive Christ and share Him with others. When the Gospel says, 'Come; for all is ready', there must be no excuses (17-20). When you share Christ, let there be no barriers (1-6, 12-14, 21-24). …

We need worship, we need witness, and we need the power of the Lord.

Luke 8:22-56 'Where is your faith?' (25). The Lord is not looking for lip-service. He is looking for real faith. Some beg Jesus 'to depart from them' (37). They don't want to know! Others long to 'be with Him' (38). They don't want to go! Some have no interest in worship. They don't really want …

Who Jesus is, what Jesus has done for us, and what Jesus calls us to be.

Luke 9:1-27 It was a short mission (1-6) - short but important! They were being trained for future work. There and then, people were hearing the Gospel, believing in Christ and being saved. There was opposition (7-9): There's always plenty of that - 'We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us' (Romans 8:37). …

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

In our day, there are many who say, “Let us follow other gods.” God says, “You must not listen” to such people (Deuteronomy 13:2-3). To follow the Lord’s instruction is not popular. Nevertheless, this is what we must do: “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:24). Whatever the world may say, …