"seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal" .When you feel you stand alone or when you conclude the whole world lies in wickedness, to realise that there are those in every place who have not bowed the knee to Baal is a great encouragement. The blessing of this truth may ... Read more

"he had seen an angel in his house" .Cornelius was a centurion in the Roman militia and outside the pale of those to whom angels might appear. If it had not been that Peter had a vision, he would have written off Cornelius' experience. But Peter had a vision as he fell into a trance ... Read more

"Do not labour for the food which perishes" .You have to work - the curse upon man in the Garden of Eden was that in toil he would eat from the fruit of the ground. And the Apostle Paul wrote that if a man would not work, he should not eat. Here Jesus is telling ... Read more

"visit the fatherless and widows" .Practical Christian living must pay special attention to orphans and widows. In fact, James says that the truth of one's faith is characterised by it. There is an old saying "a ha'porth (half penny) of help is worth more than a cart load of pity" and the Apostle tells us ... Read more

"all the money that a man purposes in his heart to bring" .True gifts are free-will offerings. They are those that a man purposes in his heart to give and is not coerced or pressured into doing so in any way. These are the gifts the Lord loves to receive. In many instances we give ... Read more

"I will make known your faithfulness to all generations" .How did the Psalmist propose making God's faithfulness known to all generations? Certainly, God's faithfulness does extend to all generations. No one will arise to find His faithfulness exhausted. Whoever puts their trust in the Lord will never be confounded. Each one of us should proclaim ... Read more

"Let your light so shine" .Are you shining your light in the right place? Many will recall having to hold the torch for someone to see and do a job. And some of us will recall being told to shine the light in the right place. Waving it around or shining it up into the ... Read more

"Better … a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city" .Living with a violent temper is like dwelling at the foot of a volcano. At any time there may be an eruption. A man may oversee an army yet himself be enslaved by that evil called temper. Steering your own life ... Read more

"whatever you ask in my name" .A personal bank account enables bills to be paid, cash withdrawn and other monetary transactions made in the easiest possible way. All this is done in the name of the bank and operation of the account must be within prescribed limits. This can be likened to the account God ... Read more

"test yourselves" .Modern medical practice relies on this more than ever. You have a medication or are provided with a piece of equipment to test yourself - be it blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol and so on. Testing yourself usually means that before someone else points it out to you or your condition deteriorates you can ... Read more