"Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites". Gomer had a history of unfaithfulness, even when Hosea first married her. An adulterous wife is not good for your reputation, especially when you are a prophet of the Lord. But the Lord is not so concerned about reputations. Jesus made that clear in His ministry. God's ... Read more

"he cried with a loud voice". Nothing muted about the cry that woke Lazarus from the sleep of death. No mistaking the command of the One Who said 'I am the resurrection and the life' as He stood in the family cemetery. A loud voice is needed to awaken those who are felled by the ... Read more

"I find no fault in him". There was no fault in Him! The Apostle Peter says the same when describing Jesus as holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. Yet while being faultless made Jesus unworthy to die, He needed to be faultless and without sin if His life was to atone for the sin ... Read more

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to thy name give glory". There is always the temptation to take a little of the glory that should be the Lord's. We can easily feel we have had a part in securing the blessing and benefit experienced. It may be because the temptation is ever ... Read more

"ashamed of me". 'Who would be ashamed of Christ?' we might ask - ashamed of One who went about doing good; whose words and teaching have been the foundation of the great. Be religious if you will, or a church-goer or philanthropist and you will be commended. It is no threat to the hearer. But ... Read more

"stand … still, and see the salvation of the Lord". There are times when everything is done for you, when the matter is completely out of your hands: you just stand still and see it all happen. Those who have never stopped and stood still are likely to have missed the great experience of seeing ... Read more

"I have suffered many things this day in a dream". Was Pilate's wife a devout and spiritual lady, because she had such disturbing dreams? Her name was probably Claudia and tradition made her a proselyte to Judaism. She may have been the Claudia mentioned by Paul in his Second Letter to Timothy. She stands out ... Read more

"being in an agony he prayed more earnestly". Jesus sets an example we should follow. More difficulty calls for more prayer. When things are running smoothly, prayer becomes smooth and easy - a sort of good habit that calls for little energy. It is when faced with mounting problems, with difficulties that will not resolve ... Read more

"And the people stood beholding". The execution of Jesus was in public. God ordained it so. All and sundry gathered to witness the awful scene - soldiers, religious leaders, commoners and men of rank and even the two malefactors whom He predeceased by a few hours. Jesus was atoning for the sins of the whole ... Read more

"they kept watch over him there". We are not told why the soldiers felt it necessary to watch Jesus as he died on the cross. They had done their job, shared the spoils just as they had done many times before. But they specifically sat down so as to watch Jesus as he died. Perhaps ... Read more