BandM

"holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord". We have two things here - holiness and seeing the Lord. Holiness is a state of purity, being set apart for God's glory. For man as he tries to draw near to God it is a progressive state. To be like Jesus is the path along ... Read more

"Wisdom is better than strength". Force may get things done but they may be the wrong things. Strength is blind without wisdom. If made to choose between the two, the Bible puts wisdom first. The second part of this verse reminds us of a common injustice we need to fight against, namely, the poor man's ... Read more

"your life is hid with Christ in God". God's gift of eternal life has been brought to man by Jesus. All who believe in Jesus may receive this new life by faith. But it is hidden. That is why doubts can arise or our faith can sometimes falter. Yet when you consider the way the ... Read more

"guard what has been entrusted to your care". Put up a guard before there is a break-in. A realisation of how valuable our calling in Christ is and how much our adversary the devil would steal it from us, should be the stimulus we need to put us on our guard. Any number of what ... Read more

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings". It is not what you have in your hand but what is in your heart that counts when you come before the Lord: not what you have done, but what you are! We can do nothing to earn or merit our salvation. Why then do we bring worthless trinkets to the ... Read more

"And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you". So many things in life seem to be coming our way yet turn off at the last minute or disappear altogether. Not so with the blessing of the Lord upon those who love Him. Take time to read the blessings promised in this chapter. ... Read more

"praying always for you". You would expect to hear that the church at Colosse were praying for Paul. But in his letter we see that from his prison in Rome, Paul was praying for them. Prayer is more than a money-in-the-slot exercise, as though you ask the Lord to do something and then take the ... Read more

"Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? ". Jesus might have been pre-occupied with more important matters, but it's very unlikely this was the reason. Certainly He may have been wondering what the next step was for Him to take in His ministry. He could have been contemplating ... Read more

"now therefore". Recognition of God's blessing in the past enables a man or woman to face the future with confidence and to step forward in His Name. Our 'now' must be governed by a 'therefore' that takes account of what God has done in the past. Joshua taking over what Moses was doing can better ... Read more

"as we have opportunity". Opportunities come and go. Some are taken, others are lost, but here Paul speaks of an ongoing opportunity. There is no doubt in his mind that we will have this opportunity. It's not 'if' but 'as'. This opportunity can be long or short, it can be passing or regular. It's not ... Read more

"whithersoever the king's commandment … came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day". The Jews had lived in dread of extermination as a result of the Haman inspired wicked decree. This is not unlike the fear of death that came upon all men as the result of Adam's sin. But ... Read more

"it seemed right to all the people". The whole assembly of Israel agreed that David their king should bring the ark back from Kiriath Jearim where it had been temporarily lodging. The failure on this occasion was that neither David the king nor his advisors did properly seek out the divinely appointed way to effect ... Read more

"Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty handed". It could be anyone who keeps the family together at home, but in Ruth's case it was her mother-in-law. All who know the story are familiar with the way Ruth and her mother-in-law were attached to one another. All living in Bethlehem at the time knew too, ... Read more

"his heart went out to her". Whether this lady had encountered Jesus before this moment, we do not know. What we do know is that she was in the process of burying her only son - and her husband had already died. What Christ saw was more than a funeral procession. He saw the deeper ... Read more

"when I heard these words … I sat down and wept and mourned". Sorrow is never far away from those whose concern is for their fellowmen. If we would seek to love our neighbour as ourself our heart will go out to those destitute and in distress. Nehemiah heard that his beloved capital city lay ... Read more

"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house". A help-meet was needed before the Fall and is still needed after it. Children can complete domestic bliss, but some are called to forego children of their own. Others are called to care for the orphans and destitute. Fruitfulness in the woman of the ... Read more

"Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God". It is a common error to think there can be true goodness without severity, just as we may think severity disregards true goodness. The goodness of the Lord is felt by all His creatures - in the life He gives and sustains, in the enjoyment of the ... Read more

"God himself shall be with them". The closing chapters of the Book of Revelation describe a scene that none in this life can really begin to appreciate. We can, however, sense the peace and tranquillity that prevails in these chapters after all the wrath and fury of what we read earlier. Not least among the ... Read more

"a servant girl". She probably never aspired to anything much more than a servant taking orders from others. But her words caused Peter to fall badly. She said "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth" as he sat outside in her yard. All eyes would be upon him and he denied that he knew Jesus. ... Read more

"Great men are not always wise". The greatest of men are not perfect and though behaving in an exemplary manner and giving wise advice, there is likely to be a time when their example should not be followed nor their counsel heeded. Until our attention is drawn to the God-man, Christ Jesus and our gaze ... Read more

"make clean the outside". Clean outside is good for appearance, but it is the state of things inside that makes for impression. When God wants to see what you are like He looks at the heart. It was in order to cleanse the heart from sin that Jesus took our punishment and died on the ... Read more

"Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help". Jacob was a devious character - a likeable rogue, until you felt the sharp end of his bargains as Esau did. He even laid down a list of conditions for God to fill, in return for which he would make Jehovah his God. ... Read more

"howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing". This referred to the curse Balaam was asked to pronounce on the Children of Israel. Mankind has been labouring beneath a curse ever since the Fall in Eden. An appreciation that it is the curse of sin makes for gratitude in accepting the blessing God has ... Read more

"it becomes unfruitful". The danger is to think that 'unfruitful' can never be a description of me. Here are a few causes of unfruitfulness (you can add to the list) in the Christian life: - an unhealthy interest in unproductive things, - an obsessive involvement in the things of the world, - stunted spiritual growth ... Read more

"I am sought of them that asked not for me". A most comforting prediction and a door by which many have entered into Christ and been saved. As a result of the Spirit led and directed activity of the disciples of Jesus, many who had no thought or desire for God have been awakened to ... Read more

"I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered". Jesus knew that His disciples would be distressed and dismayed at what was about to happen. They would be scattered and melt away. He would be smitten but that would be the beginning of a coming together again that results two thousand years later ... Read more

"I have commanded the ravens to feed you there". Elijah knew the brook would provide him water but he must have wondered where food was coming from. This is something that happens in the Christian pathway where we often find ourselves wondering where many things will come from. When God calls and you obey, you ... Read more

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". If you would be wise, take God into your deliberations. Respect and obey His Word. Seek His approval and blessing on every decision and all that you do. How often we spend more time seeking counsel from others or making our own arrangements, rather than ... Read more

"he that is not against us is for us". The disciples came across someone casting out demons in the name of Jesus and they invited him to join them. He declined for a reason we are not told, and the disciples told him to cease. Jesus upbraided them for this. The disciples then and numerous ... Read more

"the Lamb shall overcome". John Baptist pointed to Jesus and cried 'Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world'. The Jews found it difficult to accept Isaiah's prophecy of a Suffering Messiah - they desired a triumphant king. At the conclusion of about three year's ministry Jesus was led as ... Read more

"Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? ". Some attempt to bring the Sovereign Lord down to our level, both in our address and our attitude. It is a familiarity that can breed contention if not contempt. The mistake can arise from the fact that Jesus mingled and ate and drank with ... Read more

"He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly". It comes down to the adage we all know yet patently fail to practice, namely that what we do today decides what we will have tomorrow. We try to believe that we can start afresh tomorrow. But when tomorrow comes we find we are building upon today ... Read more

"all Israel shouted with a great shout". It isn't the amount of noise we make that counts, but what we are doing that is important. The Israelites had been smitten in battle by the Philistines. So they fetched the ark of the covenant from Shiloh where it should be kept and brought it into the ... Read more

"God charges no one with wrongdoing". That was Job's opinion when trying to reason his way out of the distress that beset him. Job was commenting on the way that God had not yet preferred a charge for wrong-doing in the lives of those who seemed to go through life godlessly and free from restraint. ... Read more

"you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck". Daniel was also promised a position as third ruler in the kingdom. But these were of no interest to Daniel. Belshazzar had the sentence of death hanging upon him: his kingdom that he promised to share with Daniel would be ... Read more