Allow love to grow My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his...

God the Father “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”...

Bartimaeus …Bartimaeus, a blind beggar…was sitting by the roadside. Mark 10:46 (ESV) Stories are extremely powerful aren’t they? They make us laugh, cry, teach us lessons and even influence...

Our bubble of grace But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Ephesians 4:7 (ESV) Recently in a church prayer group one of our members, a quiet gentle lady,...

Stopping the spin The saying “the truth lies somewhere in the middle” is often used to explain how we each bring our own perspective about reality to any situation. If you have kids, you know...

Who’s your neighbour?     But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29 (NIV) ‘Who’s my neighbour?’ is a very strange question to ask...

Where there’s a will – there’s a way ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.’ ...

The potter’s hand Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (NIV) In my early years at secondary school I sometimes had to do...

Why didn’t you tell me? Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son for many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused...

Our Father  “Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”  Matthew 6:9 (ESV) God is a Father. Jesus is the beloved Son with whom the Father is well pleased, ‘And a...

Ministry with Jesus Samuel Logan Brengle was an influential spiritual leader for the Salvation Army in the 19th century. He was once asked, “What are the greatest temptations you face in...

Micromanaging God Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except...

Spoiler alert  As [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Luke 9:29 (NIVUK) I like watching films that have some twists and...

The love of God  …God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 (NKJV) God is love. Not surprising then that the primary Christian obligations are centred...

Experiencing God’s grace and mercy But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard…” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) Back in the early 1920s radio broadcasting was in its infancy in America....

On your high horse Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (NIV) I am not an equestrian—I admire these handsome animals from a distance.  However, I do...

Linguistic confusion At one time the whole world spoke a single language and used the same words. Genesis 11:1 (NLT)  We live in a multicultural society where nationalities speak different languages....

Putting on Christ If you spend any time in the letters of Paul, you see a pastor’s heart. Paul spends long periods of time in all the places he went as a missionary—sometimes months, sometimes...

 Jonah and the… On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” Jonah 3:4 (NLT) Most people who have attended Sunday school will no...

 Raising the widow’s son When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young...

Medicine: an old symbol …as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14-15 (ESV) The British...

Life under the sun What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?…Consider what God has done… Ecclesiastes 1:3; 7:13 (NIVUK) In the secular, post-modern West...

Peter So they quickly left the tomb, terrified but also ecstatic, and ran to tell Jesus’ disciples. (Matthew 28:8 ISV)  It was as if a sudden wind of fortune broke upon the lake, driving waves...

Things will get better For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18b (NKJV) As I’ve grown older I have, in idle moments,...

The cornerstone question I am no carpenter by the stretch of anyone’s imagination. Even though I did contract my own house in Fayetteville, North Carolina; I was there from the day we dug the...

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom...

Nailed to the cross for me “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing Him to the cross.” Acts...

A new creation Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!  2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) I have often watched a tv programme called The Repair Shop...

You are my vision …I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1 (NIV) Over the years I have found the words of Be Thou My Vision to...

God’s building tools To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV) If you have ever watched Prime Minister’s Question Time or any other debates...

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...

Run! “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20b (NIV) In the story...

What’s your excuse? Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.’ Luke 5:5 (NIVUK) The first 11 verses of Luke chapter 5 recount the starting point of...

Relationship with an invisible God? “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 (NIV) How can we have a relationship with an invisible God? As practising...

Unconditional offer …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.Romans 3:23-24 (NIV) Should...

Religious sinners “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They...