"many women were there". Women played an important part in the Gospel narrative. The place of women in society may have changed but the outstanding fact drawn from our text today is that many women were there when there were few, if any, of the twelve disciples. And it may well have been that these ... Read more
"Sing your song of praise". The Jew in the Old Testament and the Christian in the New have a song of praise on their lips. This song uplifts and magnifies the Lord our God. If the Lord loved us enough to die to save us we can be sure that love will extend to keeping ... Read more
"In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord". One of the good things about trouble is that it makes a man turn to the Lord. Often the deeper the trouble the more likely we will turn to find Him. As long as a man thinks there is some chance he can get himself ... Read more
"the Lord had blessed him in every way". All who tread in the footsteps of faithful Abraham should have this testimony. God blesses us more than we can tell, for so many of His benefits go unnoticed, and are certainly more than we deserve. We need to recognise more of God's blessings and to thank ... Read more
"rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness". Rain from heaven falls upon our earth as a blessing from God. Those who have least appreciate this most. Yet God's blessings are not confined to physical pleasure. Jesus is the bread of life, those who come to Him do not hunger ... Read more
"The man ... had no idea who it was". We find it surprising that the man healed after 38 years suffering had no idea who had healed him. Yet the Lord is working in so many lives and they do not know it! More of us need to set about finding what God is doing ... Read more
"supposing that the prisoners had escaped". The Philippian jailer all but took his life as a result of this mistaken supposition. It was only the reassuring cry from one of two recently admitted prisoners that they were all there that prevented him from doing so. But God used this near suicide situation to give the ... Read more
"The eternal God is thy refuge". An age-old promise with a present day application! Storms of life still rage: failures abound and disappointments are as numerous as ever. Sorrow is on every hand and many seem to have more than their share. This world affords little shelter when hurricanes of life take us by surprise. ... Read more
"and there he called on the name of the Lord". It is good when you reach a point in your life when you see the need to call upon the Lord - to plead for His personal intervention in your case. The circumstance that made Abraham do this arose out of contention he had with ... Read more
"Have faith in God". It is not without significance that these words were spoken in relation to a fig tree that withered and died when Jesus cursed it having found no fruit thereon. Few of us have a faith in God that extends to fig trees, or the little things of life. We feel we ... Read more