I will build my church.

"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 …

Continue reading I will build my church.

Genesis 8

The flood is over. The time of judgment has come to an end. As I was thinking about the flood and what lay beyond the flood, I found myself thinking of some words from the hymn, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." Here's a lyric video of the hymn. …

Continue reading Genesis 8

First, Jesus has risen from the dead. Then, He lives within my heart.

The hymn, "I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today" is probably better known by the first line of its chorus, "He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today." In the chorus, we have these words, "You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart." Before we have the …

Continue reading First, Jesus has risen from the dead. Then, He lives within my heart.

Wednesday in Holy Week

Let's begin our worship with the hymn, "I will sing the wondrous story of the Christ who died for me." https://youtu.be/hDPCFbAysBc ‘With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!’ (Psalm 119:145). Lord, You’re calling us to pray. There is nothing more important than this. If other things have become more important in our lives, …

Continue reading Wednesday in Holy Week

We were “far off.” Now, we have been “brought near.”

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). We were "far off." Now, we have been "brought near." "This is the Lord's doing; and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). Each and every one of us were like the prodigal son - …

Continue reading We were “far off.” Now, we have been “brought near.”

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

"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 …

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

Nothing is greater than the love of God.

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). When we read these words, we are lifted into the atmosphere of eternity. We read of "the eternal God" and "the everlasting arms." Getting this eternal perspective is so important. Very often, we get bogged down in things that are happening …

Continue reading Nothing is greater than the love of God.

Forty years in the wilderness… Is there more than this?

Forty years - it's such a long time. We look back. We try to remember what happened down through the years. We've forgotten so much more than we, still, remember. Have we forgotten the Lord? or Do we, still, remember him? We ask about our remembering and our forgetting, but there are more important questions …

Continue reading Forty years in the wilderness… Is there more than this?

When there seems to be nothing but trouble… Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). When there seems to be nothing but trouble, and everything seems to be going from bad to worse, let us remember these great words that come to us from our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Into our darkness, his light …

Continue reading When there seems to be nothing but trouble… Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

In our own homes – let us keep on praising the Lord.

'O Lord, You are exalted for ever… The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty… ' (Psalm 92:8; Psalm 93:1-2).  You, Lord, are ‘exalted’. Help us to exalt You in our worship. You are not exalted because we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted. You are ‘exalted far above all gods’. That is why we sing, ‘I exalt …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us keep on praising the Lord.

In our own homes – let us praise our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We thank You, Lord, that You have opened up for us a great future. What glory awaits us in Your eternal Kingdom! What encouragement this gives to us when we’re going through a hard time! Help us, Lord, to lift up our eyes, to catch a glimpse of Your glory, to be changed by Your …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us praise our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

None but Christ can satisfy … Hallelujah! I have found Him!

We look out beyond the life that we have found in Christ. The world's way of living is drawing us away from our Saviour. May God help us to keep our eyes on Jesus, know this, "None but Christ can satisfy", and have this testimony, "Hallelujah! I have found him!" Here are the two hymns …

Continue reading None but Christ can satisfy … Hallelujah! I have found Him!

In our own homes – let us praise Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

https://youtu.be/RbBOOmkMLmI _____ We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). In His death for us, we see Your love for us. Help us to come to the Cross of Christ. Help us to worship You in the beauty of holiness. …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us praise Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

In our own homes – let us open our hearts to the love of Jesus, our Saviour.

In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus - sung by Fernando Ortega Often, Lord, we have too much self-confidence and not enough confidence in You. May there be less ‘I can’ – that’s the pride we can do without – and more ‘God can’ – this is the faith we need so much. …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us open our hearts to the love of Jesus, our Saviour.

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,    a fruitful bough by a spring;    his branches run over the wall.The archers bitterly attacked him,    shot at him, and harassed him severely, yet his bow remained unmoved;    his arms were made agileby the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob    (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),by the God of your father who will help you,    by the Almighty who will bless you    with …

Continue reading Praise, my soul, the King of heaven.

Rejoice in the Lord… If God be for us, who can be against us?

"Rejoice in the Lord ... " - Read the words, and listen to the hymn, and sing along with it. https://youtu.be/RDGl859Ml-Q Rejoice in the Lord! Oh, let His mercy cheer 1 Rejoice in the Lord! Oh, let His mercy cheer; He sunders the bands that enthrall; Redeemed by His blood, why should we ever fear, …

Continue reading Rejoice in the Lord… If God be for us, who can be against us?

From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are led from strength to strengh, from faith to faith, and from glory to glory. (1) From strength to strength The phrase, "from strength to strength" is taken from the hymn, "Soldiers of …

Continue reading From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

In our own homes – may we experience God’s love and enjoy His blessing.

https://youtu.be/lCt1s44cfMM The Father, The Son, The Holy SpiritAdvent is the time of preparation for Christmas. Make sure that you prepare your heart for a real celebration of our Saviour. Remember that Christmas is not about us. It’s about God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: “an angel of the Lord” comes with …

Continue reading In our own homes – may we experience God’s love and enjoy His blessing.

In our own homes – let us remember that the Lord is with us, every step of the way.

https://youtu.be/JmGwHdNtpEw _____ Less of our sin, more of Your love – Lord, this is our prayer. Our sin does us nothing but harm. Your love always does us good – nothing but good. We’re sinners, Lord. Why do You keep on loving us? We don’t know why – but we’re glad that You do! We …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us remember that the Lord is with us, every step of the way.

In our own homes – let us pray to the Lord and let us praise the Lord.

‘How I love Your Temple, Almighty Lord! How I want to be there! I long to be in the Lord’s Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God’ (Psalm 84:1-2).  Lord, we read this words, and we know that this is much more than paying lip-service to You. This is real. ‘I long …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us pray to the Lord and let us praise the Lord.

In our own homes – let us be faithful in worshipping the Lord, reading His Word and praying to Him.

https://youtu.be/s3hNZT6ddJg ‘Fulfil your vows’ (Nahum 1:15). Lord, You’re calling us to be faithful to You. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be faithful in reading Your Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us be faithful in worshipping the Lord, reading His Word and praying to Him.

In our own homes – May the Lord fill our hearts with His love, joy and peace.

https://youtu.be/-Msh0PAJfPU Lord, we read about Your judgment upon sinful nations – Ammon (Ezekiel 25:1-7), Moab (Ezekiel 25:8-11), Edom (Ezekiel 25:12-14) and Philistia (Ezekiel 25:15-17). You speak to us. You say to us, ‘You will know that I am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 25:5,7,11,17). You speak to us as our Judge. You speak to us about ‘sin, …

Continue reading In our own homes – May the Lord fill our hearts with His love, joy and peace.

In our own homes: Let us look to Jesus – and be changed by Him.

https://youtu.be/mgzRB4gEPf4 We compare ourselves to other people. We like to think that we’re doing pretty well. What, Lord, do You think about all of this? Are You impressed? You’re saying to us, “What about Jesus? How do you compare to Him? Help us, Lord, to look at Jesus – and see where we need to …

Continue reading In our own homes: Let us look to Jesus – and be changed by Him.

In our own homes – Let us return to the Lord and hear His Word of salvation.

https://youtu.be/BUT-G4xHYpo ‘The Lord roars.’ ‘The Lord thunders’ (Amos 1:2). We thank You, Lord, that Your Word comes to us from above – ‘The Lord will roar from on high.’ You speak to us from heaven – ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling.’ We dare not ignore Your Word. Your Word comes to us as …

Continue reading In our own homes – Let us return to the Lord and hear His Word of salvation.

In our own homes – let us praise our Saviour.

“In the beginning, God … ” (Genesis 1:1). “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start… ” (from the film, The Sound of Music). When we go back to “a long time ago”, do we go back far enough? The first four words of the Bible takes us back beyond “a long …

Continue reading In our own homes – let us praise our Saviour.

Thy hand, O God, has guided Thy flock from age to age.

Future generations will be told about the Lord (Psalm 22:30). We look back to the Old Testament. We look back to the New Testament. We wonder, "Is this just ancient history?" We ask, "Does all of this have anything to do with us in today's world?" Here, God's Word gives us God's answer to our …

Continue reading Thy hand, O God, has guided Thy flock from age to age.

Sometimes, life can seem like an obstacle course.

Sometimes, life can seem like an obstacle course. Things don't turn out the way we thought they would. There are many surprises along the way - and they're not, always, good surprises. As I was thinking about the twists and turns that life takes, I found my thoughts turning to the words of Job 23:10 …

Continue reading Sometimes, life can seem like an obstacle course.

Responding to God’s Word (57): Lo, he comes with clouds descending

These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb... The Lamb, at the centre of the throne, will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from …

Continue reading Responding to God’s Word (57): Lo, he comes with clouds descending

Responding to God’s Word (56): Faithful One, so unchanging

Keep yourselves in the love of God, as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life (Jude, verse 21). To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God, …

Continue reading Responding to God’s Word (56): Faithful One, so unchanging

Let go and let God have His wonderful way.

“Take the staff, and you (Moses) and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink” (Numbers 20:8). Speak to the rock – this is what the Lord told Moses to do. What did Moses do? – he “struck the rock twice with …

Continue reading Let go and let God have His wonderful way.