Saved by grace For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) A very well known hymn,...

Aren’t you like your dad? So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith… Galatians 3:26 (NIV) Oh no, here comes a friend of my parents! I was shopping with my mother and being a...

Loving us without walking away In my office hangs one of my favorite pictures. I see it every day. My son Gatlin was playing college football, and the picture is a post-game scene. Gatlin played the...

The two Adams So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’;   the last Adam, a life-giving spirit…The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 1...

Come on let’s celebrate The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!   Psalm 21:1 (NKJV) When I think of the spiritual disciplines, what...

Lost property “… imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you...

There is none like thee O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth…  Psalm 8:1 (NKJV) Psalm 8 begins and ends with these same words. It is a psalm of David and a psalm of...

Adopted into God’s family God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure....

The twist ending There are almost 7000 movies on Netflix. And that’s only one of the dozen or so streaming services available. Right now we are awash in stories, narratives, and characters. As human...

Be holy as I am holy …just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  1Peter 1:15-16 (NIV) What does holiness look like? How...

How long is a linger? “I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory.” Isaiah 46:13 (NKJV) The...

Grace and Favour ‘ –if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.’ (John 14:3 ESV) A grace and favour residence is a...

Wide-eyed and innocent!  …“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, anyone who will not receive the...

Good advice or good news? “… go and make disciples of all nations … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ...

Dead-end road Have you ever had the experience of following someone in a car when you didn’t know your way around? Before the days of GPS this would be an exercise of trust. When I’m driving, I...

Made to rest  He makes me lie down in green pastures … Psalm 23:2 (NIV)  I don’t know about you, but my life is just so busy. It’s busy with all good things, important things – so I just...

Let go …“Be still, and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10 (NIV) The call to ‘be still’ and, ‘know that I am God’ comes within a chapter that proclaims the power of God and the...

God of second chances Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went...

Embracing positive change  …do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…  Romans 12:2 (NKJV) When I was a young lad attending primary school, I...

God is love And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 (NKJV)  John also writes, ‘Beloved, let us...

The Opposite Game I used to be a teacher, and one technique I learned that helped kids understand antonyms was “The Opposite Game”. The game involved using flashcards with words like “hot”,...

A life of faith in exile All these people were still living by faith when they died… admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.  Hebrews 11:13 (NIVUK) Some stories from the...

Leap for joy, sing with praise The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7 (NIV) For vast swathes...

Lord, help thou mine unbelief Notice this account of one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances: Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came. The...

The Coronation Chair The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Psalm 103:19 (ESV) In Westminster Abbey stands one of the world’s most valuable pieces of...

The one thing needed “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it...

Rainbow’s promise Do you remember the first time you saw a rainbow? Rainbows are iconic, universal, showing up in legends and stories throughout history. Despite years of pollution and our...

Strengthening arms Then things got scary. A violent northeaster, the Euraquilo, blew down across Crete. We were caught. We couldn’t turn and sail into this fierce wind, so we had no choice but to...

Who are you? …God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27 NIV) During John the Baptist’s public...

Holding patterns Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do...

The Verdict is in: guilty. ‘But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!’ Amos 5:24 (NIVUK) On 25 May 2020 a group of people watched helplessly as George...

Out of the mouths of babes  Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV)  This scripture...

The groans of our heart Sometimes words are not enough. When a child is born, it is hard to put into words the joy that comes from the miracle of a new life coming into the world. When we lose a loved...

Let nothing steal your joy Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests...

Gifts of the Spirit …God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ Galatians 4:6 (NIVUK)  …no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy...

Your word is a lamp   Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) In the village where I was born, there was no electricity; we had a lamp to give us light at night....

The sparks of disagreement As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.  Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) Twice in the past week two people have quoted this verse to me and pointed out the reality of...

Tuppence a bag  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing...

Fitting in and belonging One of my favorite movies growing up was inspired by Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night. The lead character is a high school female soccer player named Viola. When the school...

Secure in Christ! Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and...