"Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have" (1 Samuel 8:5). Why did the people of Israel want to have a king? - They wanted to be like "all the other nations." Why do we do the things that we do? Are we trying to impress other people? or Are …
Continue reading Are we trying to impress other people? or Are we seeking to please God?
" I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Many years ago, in the early years of my Christian life, I was …
Continue reading Thinking back, remembering God’s faithful servants, and giving thanks to God
Amos 1:1-2:16; Romans 2:17-3:8; Proverbs 17:5-14 God is perfectly holy. He cannot stand sin. This is clear in both Amos and Romans. It is stressed in Proverbs, which emphasizes that sin is not so much sin against man but “contempt for their Maker” (17:5). Proverbs 17:9 tells us that we are to “promote love.” This love …
Continue reading God’s constant love – the divine pattern for our living in love
(i) The Holy Spirit comes from God. - The new birth (John 3:3, 7). - “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). (ii) The Holy Spirit changes us. - “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” …
Continue reading The Holy Spirit comes from God. The Holy Spirit changes us.
In Jesus Christ, there is both mystery and revelation. There will always be mystery. There will always be something that's beyond our understanding. There is, also, revelation. Jesus impresses himself upon us. He calls us to come to him with faith. In Romans 16:25, Paul speaks about "the revelation of the mystery." What are we …
"And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped" (Exodus 4:31). They heard. They believed. They worshipped. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of …
"Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). Here, we read about our sin and God's salvation. Once we have received God's salvation, we must not forget about our sin. We have been …
"Within Your temple, O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love" (Psalm 48:9). What do we do when human love fails? We look beyond human love. We look to divine love. God's love never fails. It's an "unfailing love." We should think, often, of the love of God. We should think of Jesus - "God so …
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24 Let us pray that our love for Jesus will not grow cold. Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of ‘Immanuel’ - ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, …
Continue reading Let us pray that our love for Jesus will not grow cold.
Christ has come. Christ is coming again. Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of ‘Immanuel’- ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be …
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24 Let us pray that our love for Jesus will not grow cold. Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of ‘Immanuel’ - ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, …
Continue reading Let us pray that our love for Jesus will not grow cold.
We're creatures of habit. We have our daily routines. What are we to say about this? - Take care that you don't get stuck in a rut! If we are serious about our commitment to Jesus Christ, we must be ready for change. Jesus doesn't leave us the way that he finds us. He changes …
Each of us must choose. We can 'live according to the flesh' or we can 'live according to the Spirit'. We can 'set the mind on the flesh' or we can 'set the mind on the Spirit' (5-6). The new life in the Spirit is just the beginning. God is preparing us for the greater …
Christ has come. Christ is coming again. Isaiah looked ahead to the coming of ‘Immanuel’- ‘God with us’ (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be …
"I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God" (Romans 15:17). Where has the blessing come from? Does it say something about how worthy we are? No! It’s not about us. We haven’t done anything to deserve God’s blessing. The blessing comes from the Lord. To Him be all …
Second Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12 Christ calls all nations to turn to Him. The family tree of ‘Jesse, the father of King David’ has a very special ‘Branch’ - Jesus Christ (Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 1:1,6,16). Jesus Christ has raised ‘a banner for the nations’. He is ‘the Saviour of the …
God is not just an indifferent onlooker - watching us, but not really caring about us. He's more than just the God of heaven. He's our God. He loves us. He cares about us. We must never think that he doesn't care about us. We may ask God why he "should care for us" (Psalm …
Second Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 6:9-22, 7:24, 8:14-19; Psalm 46 or Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28; Psalm 31:1-5, 19-24; Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28 (29-31); Matthew 7:21-29 The one way of salvation: Learning from the ark, looking to Christ To view the Genesis flood exclusively in terms of judgment is to see only one side of what God was …
Christ calls all nations to come to Him. The family tree of ‘Jesse, the father of King David’ has a very special ‘Branch’- Jesus Christ (Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 1:1, 6, 16). Jesus Christ has raised ‘a banner for the nations’. He is ‘the Saviour of the world’. He has died ‘for the sins of the …
Before we come to “the Ten Commandments”, we have these great words, “ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). Grace comes first. Holiness follows on from grace. We see the same pattern in the New Testament – in the teaching of Jesus, in …
Let us pray that the Spirit will be poured upon us from on high. When people stop listening to God’s Word, their life becomes ‘a desolate wasteland’ (Zechariah 7:11-14). What are we to do when we see this happening? - ‘Do not be afraid... Be strong’. We must keep on believing God’s promise: ‘I will …
"Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:8-9). The flesh and the Spirit are very different. This is what Paul says here. It's what Jesus said in John 3:6. In John …
Awaiting Christ’s Return , let us worship God and walk in His ways. God calls us to worship Him - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord... ’ - and walk in His ways - ‘Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:3, 5). We are moving …
Amos 6:1-7:17; Romans 4:16-5:11; Psalm 86:11-17 Amos was commissioned by the Lord - “Go, prophesy to My people Israel” (Amos 7:15). The purpose of such prophecy, in our generation, is to declare the Gospel: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). If …
Amos 5:1-27; Romans 4:1-15; Psalm 86:1-10 Religion is not salvation. “Sacrifices and offerings” (Amos 5:25), circumcision (Romans 4:9-12) – All of this can be “works” which are given to God as a means of earning His favour. The Gospel shows us another way – “righteousness apart from works” (Romans 4:6). This is the way of which …
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" (Psalm 95:1) - what a great call to worship! "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts" (Psalm 95:7-8) - a much-needed word of warning! We're called to worship, but, sometimes, our hearts are far from …
Hosea 11:12-14:9; Romans 9:1-21; Psalm 89:9-13 God longs for men and women to be saved (Hosea 14:1-2; Romans 9:1-5). He has “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in His heart” as He considers the sins, the waywardness of man (Romans 9:2; Hosea 14:2,4). When He saves, His people “sing for joy at His Name”, singing, “Your arm is …
"Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). What wonderful words - words of love, mercy and grace! "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves …
In Romans 7:20, Paul speaks about "sin living in me." - That was true of Paul - and it's also true of every one of us. In Galatians 2:20, Paul speaks about "Christ living in me." - That was true of Paul - and it's also true of every believer. What we are, in ourselves, …
"When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions" (Psalm 65:3). "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20). The story of our life is the story of our sin - and it's, also, the story of God's grace! His grace is greater than our sin! As we travel through our life, …
When we read the Word of God, we learn about God - and we learn about ourselves. We learn that we were created by God - and we learn that we have fallen away from God (see Genesis 1-3). We learn that we are sinners - and we learn that we have a Saviour (see …
I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children, walking in the truth (3 John, verse 4). As I was reading these words, I thought of Jesus' words, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Throughout our life of faith, Jesus is the way. Throughout our life of …
Continue reading Trusting and following Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life
Where does our life of faith begin? Does it begin with our decision? or Does it begin with God's grace? "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:4-5). We were dead. The …
First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44 God calls us to worship Him. God calls us to worship Him - ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...’ - and walk in His ways - ‘Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:3,5). We are …
Hosea 3:1-5:15; Romans 6:15-7:6; Psalm 88:1-9a The sin of God’s people is described thus: “A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord” (Hosea 5:4). This is not God’s way – “You used to be slaves to sin … You have been set free from sin and have become slaves …
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-13, 23-24 or Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Saved by grace, we are led “in the way everlasting.” Was this just another night (Genesis 28:11)? No! This was a night to remember, a night Jacob would never forget. God came to him with His …
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112 or Isaiah 55:10-13: Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Choosing the Lord’s way: Our response to God’s grace Esau was a fool. He chose his own way rather than the Lord’s way. Jacob was a ‘heel’! ‘Born with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel..., …
Hosea 10:1-11:11; Romans 8:18-39; Psalm 89:1-8 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). God’s purpose of love will not be thwarted. Whatever trouble He may have with us – “My people are determined to turn from Me”, He will not give …
Continue reading Our present sufferings, and the glory that will be revealed in us
Hosea 8:1-9:17; Romans 8:1-17; Proverbs 17:25-18:6 "Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces" (Hosea 8:14). When man forgets God, he builds monuments to his own glory. There is, however, a better way which brings glory to God - "Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit …
"In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). It's not about how important we are. It's about how wonderful Jesus is. We are to …
Third Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12 or Hosea 5:15-6:6; Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 God comes to us with grace and power. Let us rejoice in His faithfulness. This is a divine Story, carried forward by God’s grace and power. God’s very great promises (Genesis 12:1-3) find their ultimate fulfilment in …
How much is our life worth? At the cross of Christ, we learn how much we matter to God. His Son died for us so that we might have eternal life. "God showed his love for us in this: Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
"They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the Lord, “to deliver you." (Jeremiah 1:19). Jeremiah was given a difficult task - but he was not on his own. God was with him. He would face plenty of determined opposition - but he would not be defeated. God …
Hosea 6:1-7:16; Romans 7:7-25; Psalm 88:9b-18 God longs to redeem us (Hosea 7:13). This is the deep desire of His heart for us. His intention is to train and strengthen us (Hosea 7:15). This great purpose of God is not easily fulfilled in our lives. There is a great conflict going on within us (Romans 7:25). What …
"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ... Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:24,28). In God's way of salvation, there's no room for boasting from us. Salvation is God's gift. It's given to us "by His grace." …
Continue reading Let us rejoice – Jesus Christ “loved us and gave Himself for us.”
2 Kings 23:1-24:7; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 84:1-7 “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did…” (2 Kings 23:25). Like Josiah, Paul was a man who was unashamed of his Lord; “ I am not ashamed of the Gospel…” (Romans 1:16). Where does this strength come …
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 or Jeremiah 20:7-13; Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 19:24-30 Let us rejoice in God’s greatest gift – Jesus. We have here the contrast between Isaac, the child of promise, and Ishmael, the fruit of unbelief. Ishmael was born as a result of impatience, the …
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 22:1-12; Psalm 13 or Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42 Let us look to Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In Genesis 21:22-34, we see Abraham in his relationship with the world. In Genesis 22:1-14, we see Abraham in his …
Continue reading The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) What a difference there is between wages and a gift! It's the difference between death and life. It's the difference between a life centred on ourselves and a life centred on Christ. Life …
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch (Isaiah 62:1). “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a …
Continue reading Lord, help us to keep on telling people what you have done for us.
We begin with a quotation from Carl Henry - "the gospel is NEWS - big news, good news, true news" (God, Revelation and Authority, Volume I, 28). Big news Why is the gospel big news? It's for "every person in every nation in each succeeding generation." It's for the whole world. It's big news because …
"When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” …
Continue reading Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son. God did sacrifice his only Son.
"You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God!'" (Isaiah 40:9). Good news: this is what we are to bring to …
Continue reading In a world of bad news, there is good news.
"I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). What is God's Word saying to us here? …
Continue reading We may stop loving God, but he will never stop loving us.
"I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”" (Psalm 91:2). When the going gets tough, what are we to do? Are we to say that we are tough? Are we to say, "I'll not let this get to me"? or Are we to say that we're …
"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). Is everything that happens to us good? How are we to answer this question? Should we answer a question with another question? Will the final outcome be good? When we look on to the final outcome, everything changes. …
Continue reading It’s not the beginning of the end. It’s the end of the beginning.
"Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). When we're suffering, it's not easy to lift up our eyes and catch a glimpse of the glory of God. Our thoughts are taken up with the things that are happening to us right now. What is …
Romans 11:1-36 'You stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe' (20). In 9:32, Paul contrasted 'faith' and 'works'. Here, he contrasts 'grace' and 'works' (6). Grace and faith belong together. 'Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling' (Church Hymnary, 83) - This is …
Continue reading When we bow at the foot of the Cross, we say, “To God be the glory.”
“However much any theology will bear the imprint of its environment, it must be remembered that, when it is really living and sensitive, Christian theology does not only submit to the cultural and conceptual framework of its time and place, but also regenerates and reforms it sometimes very drastically.” (E. L. Mascall, Theology and the …
Continue reading “Do not be conformed … Be transformed … ” (Romans 12:2).
Through faith in Jesus Christ, we come to God, our loving, heavenly Father. In Christ, we see God's Fatherly love. Enjoying God's Fatherly love - This is more than our entrance into God's family through faith in Christ. It's living as a member of God's family. It's discovering how much we are loved by God. …
Continue reading It’s God’s Love For Us That Creates, In Us, Our Love For Him.
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31
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