The treasure hunt  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17 (NIV) On...

Whom to trust Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) According to the...

Ascension Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, he ascended bodily into heaven. The Ascension is so important that all the major creeds of Christian faith affirm it. Christ’s bodily ascension...

For Us or For Us Language can be tricky, and sometimes when we hear or read something, the words and the wording can seem ambiguous. Then add in our perspectives and frame of mind and our...

Christ’s exaltation Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name… Philippians 2:9 (NIVUK) Because of Jesus’s self-emptying, because of his...

A Man in heaven For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus… (1 Timothy 2:5 NIVUK) Paul tells us, ‘in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily...

Tatty tents For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  2 Corinthians 5:1 (ESV) Flat packs...

Contentment But godliness with contentment is great gain 1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV) Contentment is gain! Really? To see how most of us live, it would be easy to think it is discontentment that brings great...

God’s love that won’t let go of us For I am sure that neither death nor life…nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord....

The great disruptors In the 2008 musical comedy Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog the titular character, Dr. Horrible struggles to explain his motivation for being a villain and wanting to disrupt...

God really sees us A lot of people go through life feeling invisible. Sometimes it seems we are just a number and our lives don’t really matter much. This is especially true when dealing with...

Invitation to relationship I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…...

 The certainty of things …since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may...

New life On the same day the empty tomb was discovered, two disciples are walking and discussing Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. Jesus joins them. When they do not recognize him, they share with...

The rag-and-bone man And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Revelation 21:5 (KJV) I am so old I...

BFF (Best Friend Forever) “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends…” John 15:15 (ESV) My children love to tease....

The underdog’s tale One of the most famous story plots in history is the tale of the underdog. From the oldest story of the slave who turns out to be royalty, to the modern sports movie about the...

Jesus our Intercessor When we want information, most of us turn to Google or perhaps another search engine. How did we live before the Internet? Does anyone even have a set of encyclopaedias anymore?...

Taking every opportunity Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. Acts 17:34...

Where are you? Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 (NKJV) It is not the first question asked in scripture – that was asked by the serpent in Genesis...

Two words concerning time “The time promised by God has come at last!…The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” Mark 1: 15 (NLT) The ancient Greeks had two...

On things above Set your minds on things above not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear...

The God who comforts Comfort, comfort my people… Isaiah 40:1 (ESV) Here, Isaiah announced the comfort of a God who is the very essence of true comfort. He himself is the comforter and the comfort....

Like kin When I was 18 years old, I met someone who would change my life for the better. Here’s the catch: we couldn’t have been more different as people. John was a white man from Great Britain;...

My hope and stay Many of us are familiar with the classic hymn, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less,” by Edward Mote, written in 1834. But have you ever stopped to think what is meant by the...

The importance of our example …Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God…Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the...

Let there be Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild...

Honey! Honey! My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And...

I’ll come to you  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the...

The Jesus subtext Have you ever had a conversation in which the primary communication was not the words spoken? Maybe an exchange with an old friend where you say very little to express your...

Exercise Patience Exercising is something people love, hate, or do because they think it will give them a benefit. If you’ve ever tried to get in shape, you know it doesn’t happen overnight....

God changed the leopard’s spots … the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Acts...

The root cause … you are God’s garden and vineyard and field under cultivation … 1 Corinthians 3:9 (AMPC)) All gardeners are aware of roots because a healthy root system is essential for ongoing...

The Good Shepherd “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me…” John 10:14 (NIV) Shepherds and their sheep have deeply intimate relationships. Jesus our good shepherd knows us...

At the right hand of God Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had...

If no resurrection… Have you ever had a hard time believing something the Bible says about Jesus Christ? The virgin birth. Healing the blind. Walking on water. Raising the dead. There are many...

With us all the time To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven… Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV) I recently heard of a Christian who was complaining to some of her fellow church...

A threefold blessing Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit… ” John 20:21-22...

Knowing God as Trinity Like many people, I used to believe God is rather monolithic. I imagined him, as he is often described, as one God, a lone being handing out mercy or judgment as necessary...

The misty optic  Where there is no vision, the people perish… Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) My mother used to have a leather spectacle cleaning pouch; inside it was a small, glass cleaning chamois and on...