"he who does not believe the Son shall not see life". Life as we know it now is not the best God has for us. The sorrow and suffering as a result of the sin and evil in the world make that very plain. And then this life is very short. Call it life if ... Read more

"Surely the day is coming". It is the Day of Judgment when punishment will be meted out to the evildoer. This is God's word and it stands in spite of any opinion to the contrary. Unbelief either in God or in His word does not alter the truth. Unbelief only deprives a person of God's ... Read more

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak". Becoming strong in the faith carries with it the responsibility to help weaker brethren. You don't ask a man why he has fallen: you lift him to his feet again. And if you can catch him before he falls and prop him ... Read more

"the speck … the log". Jesus' complaint addressed to His hearers was that they magnified the speck until it was larger than a log and ignored the log to the extent they considered it no more than a speck. This practice has not died out. The speck or blemish in our brother's character so aggravates ... Read more

"They zealously affect you, but not well". Zeal should not be mistaken for truth. Many are keen to lead us astray, usually for their own ends. Some are so enslaved that they seek nothing other than gain for their master, the Devil. You do not need to look far to find those whose keenness has ... Read more

"But what did you go out to see? ". Folk will look at what interests them. The crowd on this hill were there to see or hear any new thing that was going. The inhabitants of Gadara went out to see what was done to the demoniac who lived in the tombs. The mass visitors ... Read more

"only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life". No better analogy of the Great Judgment Day than that the books will be opened. In our age of information technology it should be no surprise to realise that God keeps a record of all that has taken place. The gospel message has been ... Read more

"Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out". This request voiced by the foolish maidens ranks among those not granted. "Go and buy it for yourselves" was the quick reply, but regrettably it was too late. "Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my ... Read more

"my tongue is the pen of a ready writer". So is everyone's who has tasted of the good things of the Lord. When the blessing of God is yours you ought to be able to talk freely about it. The tongue that speaks fearlessly in the Lord's Name has sometimes lost its owner a lot ... Read more

"Man shall not live by bread alone". These words are Jesus' reply to the Devil's temptation. Firstly, they tell us quite clearly that any life that exists for physical and fleshly satisfaction alone is incomplete and inadequate. In fact, it is little more than existence if it has no spiritual dimension above the satisfying of ... Read more

"How can you believe? ". By removing the obstacles to faith. A reminder of some of them may help: Doubt - a deadly exercise dependent upon looking for the weaknesses instead of jumping on the passing opportunity. Reason - a misguided notion that the mental process is more valid than the counsel of God. Unwillingness ... Read more

"What must I do to be saved? ". First, you need to admit you are lost. The Philippian jailer's question arising out of his unusual circumstances shows that he recognised his need. Second, you need to know that the Lord Jesus Christ can save you and is ready to do so. His atoning death on ... Read more

"Pharoah was wroth with his servants". Some men's wrath boils up quickly and disappears just as fast. It is what happens between the two that gives cause for concern. In the case of Pharoah, his exiled butler had his job back while his exiled baker went to the gallows. To some extent we all suffer ... Read more

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? ". There'll be too many of us to punish - there won't you know. What percentage were drowned in the Flood or perished in the Red Sea? God is a God of love and He'll be merciful to us - He won't you know. His ... Read more

"Will a man make gods for himself". Over and again he will! And when they are worn out he will replace them. The following is a short list of the gods man will fabricate. You may wish to add to it : self another person pleasure secret sin money attaining fame anything occupying the throne ... Read more

"one pearl of great price". Outstanding! Nothing like it before! Worth selling all to get possession of it - and many are ready to do this! Such is the description that Jesus gave of admission to the kingdom of heaven. It is priceless and worth disposing of all else in order to get it. When ... Read more

"From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised". So it is! Throughout the day, as disciples of Jesus commit their work to Him, they praise Him. Their prayer of gratitude for His faithfulness every night praises Him. Great companies praise Him; individuals praise His Name ... Read more

"I will pray the Father … he will give". Completion is only effected when you receive. Shortly after saying this, Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'. It was a symbolic and prophetic act. Jesus must have come to be attached to His disciples in a special way. He did not ... Read more

"my kindness shall not depart from thee". God will not stop loving His children. If His love reached them when they were away from Him, it is inconceivable that it will desert them when they turn to Him. God will not begin a work He is unable to finish, not disinterestedly turn away to do ... Read more

"one of these little ones". Jesus warns about the seriousness of harming innocent children - the deserved punishment being a millstone round the neck and thrown into the sea. He said that a young child - presumably one who has not yet attained the years of moral responsibility - has the protection of a guardian ... Read more

"strive lawfully". Put simply - don't get disqualified. When the writer was young he belonged to an athletic club and well remembers an occasion when running the last leg of a relay race. He took the baton well down in the order and to his surprise noticed that the runner in front was cutting inside ... Read more

"they may forget, yet will I not forget". We live in a world where anything can happen. Who can tell what a day will bring forth? The strongest may weaken and the straightest bend. Put all your eggs in the safest basket and you run the risk of losing them all in one jolt. It ... Read more

"Give, and it shall be given unto you". These words are part of Jesus' 'Sermon on the Plain' - a lengthy discourse recorded for us by Luke in his Gospel. Like the Sermon on the Mount it contains injunctions that are difficult to put into practice, such as loving your enemies, turning the other cheek ... Read more

"if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners". Justification by faith does not allow the believer to continue in sin. If it did, Christ would become the administrator of sin. Christ paid the penalty for my sin and by believing I receive the gift of eternal life offered ... Read more

"Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever". This was God's promise to David in relation to the accession of his son, Solomon, to the throne. It was, however, a promise with conditions attached that Solomon could not or would not keep, to be constant in keeping God's commandments. The law of the Lord conveyed ... Read more

"It is the Spirit who gives life". Without the Holy Spirit, the church is like a club, the Bible is antiquity and the Christian life the mere adoption of high ideals. The Holy Spirit makes the church the Body of Christ, the Bible the Word of God and the Christian life a life in the ... Read more

"Neither did". The rot set in on the premise that if enough fall, failure is not so bad after all. Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali all joined the "neither did" failure club. They didn't drive the enemy out of the territory God had given them. It's an insidious evil, this comparing ourselves one with the ... Read more

"all my fears". Many will think they could compete with the Psalmist in the list of their fears. But it is not how many, but how terrifying your fears are. It is not really important how well-founded your fears are: fear causes pain and pain is unpleasant and can in extreme instances become unbearable. The ... Read more

"Each day has enough trouble of its own". Without our adding to it, that is. Some unnecessary troubles include everybody else’s problems, troubles that threaten to break tomorrow, dreamt-up troubles, illusions, misunderstandings. God will give you strength to solve today's problems, overcome today's difficulties, resist today's temptations and triumph over today's evil. Jesus' teaching was: ... Read more

"bind this line of scarlet thread in the window". It's a line that ran through the Old Testament from the time that animals were slain to provide covers of skin for Adam, down to the daily sacrifices offered in the Temple in Jerusalem. It broke out into a fountain at the Cross of Calvary when ... Read more

"see a man who told me all things that I ever did". Something of an exaggeration? It is unlikely that Jesus told the woman at the wellside all she had done but He obviously told her enough to make her think He could tell her it all, and she was right. The same holds for ... Read more

"Moses took the bones of Joseph with him". Moses' life, like any one of our lives, was making history. He demonstrated his belief in the prophetic last words of Joseph years before. The bones of Joseph represented the hope of Israel. Could the bones of a premier who died years before live again? The hope ... Read more

"If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it". Do you experience this? It is more than a being concerned for the plight of others – more than being moved when seeing pictures of those in famine stricken areas, or being sorry and saddened when children suffer needlessly. The Apostle is comparing the body ... Read more

"One thing is needful". A clean home? I've worked unceasingly since dawn this morning. A meal worthy of the occasion? I've done nothing but plan and prepare ever since I knew you were coming. A bit of help from someone? Well that would be appreciated, but I've let you know what I think about my ... Read more

"Her children arise and call her blessed". We must be grateful for this epilogue in the Book of Proverbs that gives us the characteristics of a godly wife. It is worth reading in full. Here are some important points: Skilful with her hands, she gets up while yet dark to prepare the day's food. She ... Read more

p>"floodgates of heaven". See God’s abundance, so different from the Israelites. They had become tight-fisted, concerned that they should have enough for themselves rather than giving to the Lord. As a result, even what they had was destroyed and their hearts were now far from God. Putting ourselves first pushes God away and will always ... Read more

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Many today will have formidable obstacles to overcome, problems to solve and awkward situations to face. The key to success is walking through the day with the Lord - seeking His face, listening for His voice and obeying His word. Then it is that His ... Read more

"God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean". Tradition had led Peter to believe that some were common or unclean. He was the product of his upbringing. Like us all, he had ideas ingrained which would have hindered if not prevented the growth and spread of the gospel. It ... Read more

"as they went, they were cleansed". The ten lepers called out to Jesus for mercy. He answered them and told them what they must do. It did not demand reason but obedience. Lepers went to the priest when they were healed for him to verify this. And these lepers recognised that in Jesus' command to ... Read more

"the daughters of Zelophehad". Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, had five daughters and no sons. As the law of Moses stood at that time there was no provision for daughters benefiting from their father's will. Their brothers were expected to look after them. So these five ladies found themselves disinherited on ... Read more

"bread here in the wilderness". This world is in many ways a wilderness. And when something good begins to grow in the wild terrain of life it is often cut down before it reaches what we call maturity. But Jesus said, 'I am the bread of life' and a true appreciation of the barrenness of ... Read more

"The heart of the righteous weighs its answers". Why? Because a hasty answer can cause much mischief. Words spoken cannot be retracted. We say we withdraw a statement made but we can't: in fact, we contradict it and the listener must decide which he will believe - the original statement or its contradiction. Answers need ... Read more