Wait and grow Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NIV) Waiting is never easy and certainly we live in a society that does not like to wait for anything at...

Be a blessing Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person. Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time” or “Try me tomorrow” when the...

Light and darkness This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 (NKJV) There is natural light and there is...

Not so buried treasure You have probably heard this funny story about a man who did not want to part with his money. I’ll give you the short version if you haven’t heard it. There was a greedy old...

Grace and work At the end of my last study, I mentioned we have to work at loving others sacrificially like Jesus. A friend of mine added this: the work consists of learning to surrender and submit to...

Resisting temptation Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1 NIV) A couple of weeks ago the Grace Communion International sermon outline highlighted...

Praising our God Part Two of two studies on Psalm 95 O come, let us sing to the Lord…For he is our God… (Psalm 95:1, 7 NRSVA) In last week’s study, we saw in Psalm 95 that corporate worship...

Miracles “All by himself he stretches out the heavens and strides on the waves of the sea. He designed the Big Dipper and Orion, the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri. We’ll never comprehend all the...

Rejoicing in the Lord Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4 NIV) I have heard it again and again – rejoice! Repeated endlessly by worship leaders, preachers and...

Soothing the soul  When my anxieties multiply, your comforting calms me down. Psalm 94:19 (CEB) I was reading Psalm 94 and got a surprise when I came to verse 19. So anxiety is not a modern problem....

Our inadequacy Have you ever felt like you were not equal to a task you were given? You try your best, but it seems like you come up short? It is especially tough when you feel inadequate in ministry....

True love Everyone wants to be loved. It’s one of our strongest desires and we sometimes do crazy things to find and keep it. Maybe that’s because in general, we don’t really...

I saw it with my own eyes! For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16...

Praising our God Part One of two studies on Psalm 95 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Psalm 95:1 (NRSVA) Psalm 95 is a call to public worship:...

Listen  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given...

Crazy love There’s an old saying – ‘Love can make you crazy.’ When you’re in love, you do things that you wouldn’t ordinarily do. You see it all the time in movies – the hero arranges a...

God at work  But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” John 5:17 (ESV). Over the years I have often seen signs near road works or building sites with the...

Good gift A couple of years back my son Gatlin proposed to his long-time sweetheart, Erin in a unique way. Under the guise of taking a family walk after dinner with mom, dad, brothers, sisters-in-law,...

Like a grandma Speed reading became popular in the late 1950’s. It was coined by school teacher Evelyn Wood, as she was pondering why some people are naturally faster at reading. She tried it...

Fool ‘But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “Raca,” is answerable to the court. And...

Meekness and Majesty Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. Matthew 21:5 (KJV) Whilst travelling down to the...

Quintessence “Look at the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.” Job 35:5 (ESV) I like thinking about words; when I come across a word that is seldom used, I enjoy...

Gratitude leads to joy Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness...

A divine calling Therefore, holy brothers [and sisters], you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession… Hebrews 3:1 (ESV) Many people consider...

Where is the balm? Where is God when it hurts? It’s a question most of us have asked at least once as we’ve watched others struggle through unbearable pain or trial. For many believers, the hurt...

I want to We’ve all had to do things we didn’t want to do. Sometimes we may have really not wanted to do it, so we didn’t. Other times, we may have decided while we didn’t...

Spiritual peace For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his...

The Centre “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17 (NIV) I recently took a Grace Communion Seminary...

Don’t put Jesus first The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether...

Unmasked Am I the only one to get confused when wearing a mask? During the pandemic I had my face mask on when I went for a cup of coffee. I tried to pay by using my phone, but it would not process....

Born of the Spirit Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old?…” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot...

Loving us out of lostness Since the pandemic lockdown starting in March 2020, there have been seasons of fads and trends to keep us entertained. Early on in the pandemic, I jumped on the jigsaw puzzle...

Letting go of expectations Expectations – we all have them. I don’t give them much thought except when mine aren’t met. When my husband and I were first married, I had many expectations...

Pure in heart ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’ Matthew 5:8 (NIVUK) Do you know your Niffler from your Murtlap or your Billywig from your Bowtruckle? What about a Qilin,...

We are God’s treasured possession …today God has reaffirmed that you are dearly held treasure…De uteronomy 26:18 (The Message)  How does God feel about his people? Throughout the Old Testament,...

Love first! Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now...

On the importance (and blessing) of public worship  And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42 ESV) Though this...

Going home When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Luke 9:51 (ESV) I stayed in an Airbnb during the festival at Paignton last year. It was three miles away...

Prayer: it’s not a transaction Have you ever bought a snack from a vending machine? You put your coins in, push the button, and then your treat drops down behind a small swinging door where you can...

The will and the way This is the time of year when we think about all the things we want to do, but haven’t had a chance. We make resolutions, but they rarely work. Our intentions can be good,...