BandM

"Christ died for our sins". This is the simple truth behind the gospel of Jesus. Unless we acknowledge our part in Christ's death, we cannot know the forgiveness His death can bring. It was His great love for us that fashioned the plan of salvation, but it was because of our sin that He died. ... Read more

"See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness" Those who have the light should see that it is shining. The entrance of God's word gives light. Jesus is the Light of the World and calls disciples to be lights in the world. That light shines out through lives that are changed ... Read more

"remembering you in my prayers". Paul's prayer is personal. He knows the saints in Ephesus. He knows their situation and their needs. He is encouraged by their faith in Christ and their love for all the saints. Paul's prayer is persistent. His thanks to God for their example and encouragement is ongoing and he keeps ... Read more

"Great peace have they which love thy law". It is these who have great peace because what they cannot explain they know God can and He has everything under His control. They have great peace because when it seems they have failed, they know God can take the broken pieces and make them into something ... Read more

"Arise, and do not be afraid". The disciples fell on their faces and were greatly afraid when the voice of God the Father was heard on the Mount of Transfiguration. No human eye can gaze upon God and no ear catch His voice without great consternation gripping the heart. But for the disciple the eye ... Read more

"See that you do not refuse him who speaks". We can wilfully refuse to listen and obey God or we may do so without realising it. Because we do not train our ear to hear His voice or take time out to seek His face or are too busy and miss it, we may bring ... Read more

"What has happened to all your joy? ". One way to judge your walk with the Lord is how much joy in the Lord you have. This is not superficial but a deep joy that derives its source from the peace He gives. It is joy that is there in the midst of sorrow. Turbulence, ... Read more

"Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel". This is the first of two Deborahs in the Bible, the second being a prophetess and judge in Israel. We are only told of the first when she died though she must have made a deep impression upon the life of Rebekah and the household ... Read more

"they went out, and preached that men should repent". "Repent" was the first point in Jesus' preaching and He told His disciples to make theirs the same. It is an essential that can easily get omitted. Men must turn from their way to God's way if they would find the Lord. Repentance is stimulated by ... Read more

"the exceeding riches of his grace". These riches will never be exhausted. Grace is both unmerited and freely given. God's riches exceed our expectation and then are more wonderful than we could ever have imagined. They reached their highest point when Jesus gave Himself for the redemption of those who would believe. The riches of ... Read more

"we were like those who dreamed". This sentiment can be the experience of all who trust the Lord. The Lord frees the captive, sets the solitary in families, turns sadness to joy and makes the lame to leap and dance. All such achievements are 'daydreams' until the Lord graciously makes them a reality. Once there ... Read more

"What thing is this? ". When Jesus stood to speak in the synagogue in Capernaum and rebuked the evil spirit in a man and healed him, the people wondered what had hit them! They asked what new doctrine He preached, for the authority with which He spoke and acted was unprecedented. This was no mere ... Read more

"But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? ". Solomon wondered how God, who made the Universe and all that is in it, could dwell in the temple He had built. Many do think that God set things in motion and then left His laws to work themselves out. (Though it is interesting ... Read more

"who comforts us in all our tribulation". There is no trouble that will befall you but God is ready to comfort you and get you through it. No burden need crush you, no sorrow paralyse you and no persecution make you give up if it is the God of all comfort who is with you. ... Read more

"And the Lord was with Joseph". We are not told when Joseph was aware of this. It is unlikely he felt this when his brothers set upon him and put him in a pit, then sold him to the Midianite merchants, Ishmeelites, for twenty pieces of silver and he then was sold as a slave ... Read more

"a woman in the crowd called out". This Teacher was so wonderful that this woman called out "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." No doubt many could say "Amen" to that. Everybody learned from this woman's interjection. We are told very little about the years when Mary nursed and mothered ... Read more

"Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt". Just as Jacob did not know why famine struck the land of Canaan, but later found it in God's purpose, so there is a purpose in every difficulty and dryness that besets us. God has His hand upon every turn in life's way for each one of ... Read more

"he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God". Saul, later called Paul, had a complete turn around when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Before he preached negatively - that he thought it right to do many things against Christ and His followers. Now he preached positively - ... Read more

"pray for those who persecute you". This should not be merely that they may cease the opposition, our prayer should be that persecutors will turn into proclaimers - telling what God has done for them and how they have been changed after meeting with the Lord. It is very likely that many were praying in ... Read more

"God our Saviour". The most wonderful revelation about God is that He became our Saviour. God is far greater than we can picture or imagine, yet the Bible says that He is not far from any one of us. To save us He needed to stoop right down to where we were. Love was the ... Read more

"To whom then will you liken God? ". Any who would do justice to the answer should read the ensuing verses written by the prophet Isaiah in this chapter. They are a salient reminder to those who consider God to be as a man, and a disinterested one at that. God will not be manipulated ... Read more

"Hear him! ". God Who gave His only Son to save the world is anxious that men and women in all generations should hear and give heed to what He says. The words of Jesus uttered on the hills of Palestine have been carefully preserved in the four Gospels and their message carried out by ... Read more

"they heard the voice of the Lord God". God called Adam and Eve before He came down to walk with them in the Garden of Eden. And even when they had disobeyed they heard his voice calling. He still calls today. Though God is hidden to our eye, His voice may still be heard. That ... Read more

"But we see Jesus". Many things in life we cannot see and many things we can see we cannot understand. The reason why things are as they are baffles the mind of man. As the Apostle Paul wrote, 'We see through a glass darkly'. If left like this, it would present a forlorn picture. But ... Read more

"if he lose one". The loss was only temporary: all the shepherd's energy and resources were concentrated upon finding the lost lamb. In another Gospel Jesus prayed to His Father that none of those given to Him had been lost. So we see that the 'search and find' operations mounted for those that strayed had ... Read more

"Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen". This is the exultant conclusion to a psalm of praise. It is a long psalm and covers much ground and concludes as though the Psalmist is saying that we should go on praising Him for ever. So we should! The praising heart has a contented life, ... Read more

"she stood in the doorway". Did this Shunammite woman fill the doorway, waiting to receive what she needed? Was she like Jacob who wrestled with the angel and at daybreak when the angel wanted to depart, would not let him go until he blessed him. She was a dominant character having got her husband to ... Read more

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven". The words of Jesus are more than food for thought, they are food for the hungry souls of men. In His parables we see the Creator taking objects from His creation to explain the truths of the Kingdom. Gaze at the miracles of Jesus and ... Read more

"don't show favouritism". A word of warning and encouragement. Favouritism comes in all shapes and guises. How easily we show it and receive it without noticing, but how quick we are to notice when others are involved or we are excluded. Favouritism shown to Joseph resulted in envy and jealousy amongst his brothers. Favouritism sought ... Read more

"a well-to-do woman". Elisha was a frequent and welcome guest, so much so that this lady had a room specially made for him as his own, whenever he came by. Her hospitality and generosity is an example to us all. Yet there is much more to this lady. As her story unfolds we see a ... Read more

"the other disciples came in a little ship". A triple denial, remorseful weeping and subsequent restoration had not altered Peter's position as leader. But the other disciples performed an important, albeit less spectacular role. This describes the lot of most of us. Yet dragging the net to land full of fishes was very important. Your ... Read more

"his going forth is sure as the dawn". The Lord is ready for the new day before you are. He knows just what the day holds for you before dawn breaks or ever you are roused from your night's rest. He ensures that the sun that floods the other side of the earth will soon ... Read more

"Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you". King David sat meditating in his palace. He mused upon God's goodness to him and as he looked around the cedar panelling, he recalled the sheep-fold that had been his home in his earlier years. Then the idea struck him to build a ... Read more