"remembering you in my prayers". Paul's prayer is personal. He knows the saints in Ephesus. He knows their situation and their needs. He is encouraged by their faith in Christ and their love for all the saints. Paul's prayer is persistent. His thanks to God for their example and encouragement is ongoing and he keeps ... Read more

"Great peace have they which love thy law". It is these who have great peace because what they cannot explain they know God can and He has everything under His control. They have great peace because when it seems they have failed, they know God can take the broken pieces and make them into something ... Read more

"Arise, and do not be afraid". The disciples fell on their faces and were greatly afraid when the voice of God the Father was heard on the Mount of Transfiguration. No human eye can gaze upon God and no ear catch His voice without great consternation gripping the heart. But for the disciple the eye ... Read more

"See that you do not refuse him who speaks". We can wilfully refuse to listen and obey God or we may do so without realising it. Because we do not train our ear to hear His voice or take time out to seek His face or are too busy and miss it, we may bring ... Read more

"What has happened to all your joy? ". One way to judge your walk with the Lord is how much joy in the Lord you have. This is not superficial but a deep joy that derives its source from the peace He gives. It is joy that is there in the midst of sorrow. Turbulence, ... Read more

"Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel". This is the first of two Deborahs in the Bible, the second being a prophetess and judge in Israel. We are only told of the first when she died though she must have made a deep impression upon the life of Rebekah and the household ... Read more

"they went out, and preached that men should repent". "Repent" was the first point in Jesus' preaching and He told His disciples to make theirs the same. It is an essential that can easily get omitted. Men must turn from their way to God's way if they would find the Lord. Repentance is stimulated by ... Read more

"the exceeding riches of his grace". These riches will never be exhausted. Grace is both unmerited and freely given. God's riches exceed our expectation and then are more wonderful than we could ever have imagined. They reached their highest point when Jesus gave Himself for the redemption of those who would believe. The riches of ... Read more

"we were like those who dreamed". This sentiment can be the experience of all who trust the Lord. The Lord frees the captive, sets the solitary in families, turns sadness to joy and makes the lame to leap and dance. All such achievements are 'daydreams' until the Lord graciously makes them a reality. Once there ... Read more

"What thing is this? ". When Jesus stood to speak in the synagogue in Capernaum and rebuked the evil spirit in a man and healed him, the people wondered what had hit them! They asked what new doctrine He preached, for the authority with which He spoke and acted was unprecedented. This was no mere ... Read more