"I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers". It is something to treasure when thoughts of a friend bring a sense of gratitude in your heart. When this happens, it is likely that this gratitude causes you to pray for God's blessing to be upon that friend. So it was when ... Read more

"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

"The sins of some are conspicuous". They are the ones that the rest of mankind hypocritically dub as criminals, enemies of society, without restraint, and so on. But sin is not something that only exists when discovered. All have sinned and fallen short of the mark. Secret sinners, polished sinners and disguised sinners are probably ... Read more

"the children's crumbs". It is the 'children's crumbs' I need from the Lord Who made and upholds all things I can ever see or know. What seems impossible to me is no problem for Him: the improbable to me is everyday to Him. If I can get into right perspective what I feel I need ... Read more

"Our God is a God who saves". He saves a person from the penalty for sin. His atoning sacrifice on Calvary meets the demands of His justice and brings instant peace to all who seek refuge beneath it. He saves man from himself. What glaring errors, calamitous misjudgments and irrevocable blunders I am capable of. ... Read more

"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God". You can neither please nor serve both God and mammon. There are no double-agents in Christ's kingdom! Satan is responsible for our fallen nature and he makes sure that he controls it. Those who serve sin are sin's servants. The Devil declared war on God and ... Read more

"All the nations will be gathered before him". The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus will be in stark contrast with the First. At the Incarnation God presented His Son to mankind: at His Second Appearing all nations will be made to appear before Him. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem only a handful in ... Read more

"in the end he is nothing but a fool". Jeremiah describes the person who gets money dishonestly as a bird that hatches eggs it did not lay and adds that in the prime of life he will lose his riches. You may have a lot, but if all you have can be taken from you, ... Read more

"receive the kingdom of God as a little child". A child's acceptance is characterised by - Unquestioning trust Unabashed delight at receiving Readiness to accept more Continued expectancy The anticipation of constant attention - and no child is deterred by either the size or apparent impossibility of what is asked. Too many of us try ... Read more

"the King's Highway". This is the name of the road through the land of the Edomites that Moses and the Israelites agreed to keep to if permission was given for them to pass. Any freedom-loving country values its rights of way and government should seek to make them secure. In all of life there is ... Read more

"I was afraid". Some people say anything. The man in this parable with one talent was one of them. Of what was he afraid? He was lazy - pleasure loving too - for he felt able to please himself once the talent was safely buried. He was short-sighted. He did not consider the consequence he ... Read more

"woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel". The Apostle Paul felt the need to preach the gospel because he had heard it, received it and experienced its blessings. The same holds for all who know the truth of the gospel. Preaching is proclaiming and Paul preached to individuals and to groups. Our ... Read more

"whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple". A turning point came in the 21st chapter. Up to that time the Apostle had more or less been free to plan and make his own itinerary. In this chapter he was mobbed by his fellow countrymen in Jerusalem and rescued by the Roman militia ... Read more

"He was a burning and a shining light". John was what all who hear God's voice should be. He shone in the darkness that was around in his day. He was more anxious to convey the truth than to please his hearers. Note these distinctive features about his ministry. 1 He ever exalted Jesus, preparing ... Read more

"supposing to add affliction to my bonds". The Apostle Paul was referring to those who sought to ridicule his faith and who made evil insinuations about the followers of the Lord. Their intentions back-fired for, as Paul says later, 'every way … Christ is preached'. Today there are those around who take delight in stirring ... Read more

"He has done all things well". The miraculous healing of a deaf mute was the latest in a line of miracles Jesus performed. He healed and blessed people wherever He went. When He tried to escape the crowd He could not be hidden. All were talking about Him and listening intently to His parables and ... Read more

"saved". We need to be saved because we are lost - spiritually dead in transgressions and sins. Adam's disobedience brought sin into our world. The second Adam, Jesus, brought salvation and this is offered freely for all who will believe. It is saved from destruction or perishing. It relates to the present - John wrote ... Read more

"I am like a green olive tree". It is not so much that the olive trees in the house of God were green in colour as that they were flourishing and well watered, adding to the glory of God in His temple. So today in the wilderness and deserts of this life there are those ... Read more

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God". This is not about earthly comfort or discomfort. In that respect the poor suffer while the rich enjoy relative ease. It is not about possessions and something to fall back on when need arises. The materially poor have a hand to mouth ... Read more

"eternal encouragement". When interest wanes or monotony sets in it is encouragement we need. Encouragement is an essential ingredient of life and service. Here Paul reminds us that Jesus who loved us and died to redeem us gives us eternal encouragement. Fix your mind upon Him and you will not be discouraged for long. See ... Read more

" 'Even now,' declares the Lord". However far you may have gone from the Lord, 'even now' you can start coming back. Despite the persistent sin of His people and their continual desire for other gods, the Lord called them back to Himself and gave them another opportunity to be under His blessing. If things ... Read more