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...

Numpties He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Luke...

Exultation Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness…Long may he live!…may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. Psalm 72:1, 15, 19...

Our right hand “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He...

What is eternity? For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the...

Passionate and emotional “… he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ ”...

Felt, not seen Work is a central part of our lives. I mean, we have to have an income to support ourselves and our families. We talk about “hard work” and we’re suspicious of work that seems too...

We can “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.      (Matthew 20:22 NIV) James and John...

Who are you? In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus...

The Lady of Shalott For, dear brothers, you have been given freedom: not freedom to do wrong, but freedom to love and serve each other. Galatians 5:13 (TLB) We were introduced to poetry in one or two...

He moved into our neighbourhood They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?’ John 6:42 (NIVUK) When people made the above comment about Jesus, they were...

The persistent widow Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1 (NIV) Jesus said to his disciples that they should pray and never give...

The eternity ring For 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...

Life in a handful of dust John starts his gospel work “In the beginning…”. Later Jesus creates sight for a blind man with a handful of dust. After his resurrection, he meets Mary in a garden...

A loving relationship God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  1 Corinthians 1:9 (ESV) Every believer in Jesus Christ has been called to...

In Christ alone “…For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”  Galatians 2:16 (NLT) When you see the words In Christ alone, you probably think of the popular worship...

Daniel in the lions’ den So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of the lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel,  “Your God, whom you serve...

Our royal heritage You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood… 1 Peter 2: 9 (NKJV) Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be born into a royal family with all the privileges that would...

Wait for the Lord.  Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land… Psalm 37:34 (NKJV) When some see the phrase, ‘wait for the Lord’, or ‘wait on the Lord’,...

Dissolving disagreements  I have a friend with two small preschool boys, and because they’re so close in age, they have a tendency to fight over toys. To keep her sanity, she told them that if they...

The sufficiency of Christ Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from...

A watershed moment ‘…We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved…’ Acts 15:11 (NIVUK) The Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15 is widely recognised as a watershed...

Bridge over troubled waters “‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9 (NRSV) There were two brothers who lived on two farms next to each other. They...

The great unwashed All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.  Isaiah...

Faithful One   But the LORD is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 ( ESV) One of my favourite hymns is Brian Doerksen’s Faithful One as sung by...

The ripple effect Sitting beside the pond the day after my son’s wedding, I was thinking about how beautiful the wedding was, how thankful I am for our new daughter-in-law, and what a blessing it...

Moved with compassion But when he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd. Matthew 9:36  (Darby Bible...

Go south As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” Acts 8:26 (NLT) I know this is not for everyone but some of my happiest...

Recognising answered prayer “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” Matthew 6:6 (ESV) In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught his...

O Lord, make haste to help me! Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me! Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. Let those be turned back and brought to...

Holy and blameless Blessed are those whose way is blameless… Psalm 119:1 (ESV) From our adversarial political system, through our society, down to our individual families, we are good at blaming...

A friend forever! A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 ( NKJV) I have had many friends in my life as I grew up and now...

Ripples in the world Have you ever skipped stones across a body of water? If you do it just right, the stone jumps across the water a few times before it finally sinks. When it does sink, the stone...

Let joyful music help your Bible study David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their fellow Levites as musicians to make a joyful sound with musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. 1...

Where does God live? “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands.” Acts 7:48 (NIV) In reading the story of Stephen and his martyrdom one is struck by the grace that...

God is our potter But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV) Isaiah makes it very clear that God is our Father...