"teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine”. There must be more to the Christian experience than being happy - more than being lost in wonder, love and praise and no longer in touch with the reality of life. Joy accompanies salvation and salvation is received by faith often without knowing very much about the foundations ... Read more

"the scarlet cord in the window”. No special merit in the cord, though it was red in colour, strong in texture and used to lower the two spies from her window on the walls of Jericho. It marked Rahab's covenant with the spies and her house did not perish when Jericho was taken. It is ... Read more

"Woman, you have great faith”. Faith that receives such commendation from the lips of Jesus deserves our examination. 1. She believed that the Lord would help her. This was the starting point. More than feeling sure He would, we might say 'she knew He would'. 2. She acted upon her faith, going to Jesus and ... Read more

"a new and living way”. New religions will for ever be springing up, yet sooner or later they will all suffer from stagnation and become monuments. It is nearly two thousand years now since the birth of the Early Christian Church. Today it is the strongest it has ever been and for one very good ... Read more

"a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert”. Such is the civil engineering project God will undertake for His people. It is a blessing promised to any experiencing the dryness of a wilderness and desert experience just now. We are not told whether it will be a way out of the wilderness or ... Read more

"he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town”. Jesus sometimes leads the blind to one side before He can minister to them. All true followers of Jesus need to know His leading and to move into a place where, away from life's distractions, He can speak His healing ... Read more

"break up your unploughed ground”. We all have areas of our lives that need to be broken up - areas of stubborn resistance to the work of the Holy Spirit; habits and attitudes that we are content to leave under the influence of the old nature. Listen to what God says: Unploughed ground becomes waste. ... Read more

"Put on the whole armour of God”. It stands to reason that a wily enemy is ever on the lookout for cracks in his adversary's armour. And when he finds one or more pieces of protective armour missing completely, he has an open entry through which to attack. As with all protection, the armour of ... Read more

"Greet Priscilla”. This is the lady who married Aquila and teamed up with him in the work of the Gospel. It is unusual for the wife to be mentioned first, which suggests she may have been the more energetic and dominant of the two. But the husband and wife partnership was a blessing to Paul ... Read more

"If a man love me, he will keep my words”. His words to us are not intermittent, not just now and then. The disciple must be in continual contact with the Lord. He should be aware of the distractions that can break this line of communication. Personal and unforgiven sin can also distort the messages. ... Read more