"the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man". Where can greater love be found than in God so loving the world that He gave His Only Son? The object of that loving kindness was rebellious and unlovely. Even now most of those on whom this love was expended are disinterested in what God ... Read more
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"and great will be your children's peace". This chapter in the prophecy of Isaiah describes the future glory of Zion, the city of God. Those journeying there should not be afraid - they will not suffer shame. They should not fear disgrace and will not be humiliated. It is the Holy One of Israel who ... Read more |
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"children of the promise". This is what we have become through faith in Jesus Christ. God promised Abraham that "through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed." In and through the work of Christ, the blessing is now available to all. In Christ we have become children of God and now ... Read more |
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"narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life". A man must humble himself if he would enter the gate. Once sin is confessed and forgiven and Jesus is in His rightful place as Lord, there can be no sitting back at ease. All hell may be loosed to get the ... Read more |
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"Blessed is every one who fears the Lord". "Everyone blessed" is a sweeping statement, but it is true. Whoever places the God of the whole earth in His rightful place must know blessing. To expect enduring blessing without Him is folly. Exalt Him: Extol His mighty Name in your heart, experience Him in your life ... Read more |
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"he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord". Hezekiah's example is a good one to follow. He was a godly king and used to praying to the Lord and when Sennacherib, King of Assyria sent a threatening and frightening letter to say he was about to attack, ... Read more |
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"those who are … unstable twist". The Apostle Peter refers to things in Paul's Epistles which are hard to understand. These references were not made in any derogatory manner but as a warning to those who twist Scriptures for their own use. The danger is that when we find something we do not like in ... Read more |
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"Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens". Other translations say "Sit still" - the most difficult thing to do when you're excited and wanting to get things moving. But it was sound advice that Naomi gave to her daughter-in-law. It was almost too good to be true that the nobleman Boaz would take ... Read more |
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"Even the dogs eat the crumbs". Here was a lady who accepted her position but was not afraid to ask. Jesus' ministry was primarily amongst the Jews, so Gentiles, like this woman, were 'outsiders'. By emphasising this fact, Jesus not only gives the woman an opportunity to express her faith but also gives Himself, the ... Read more |
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"The midwives … let the boys live". The Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, feared God and recognised that the command of Pharaoh to kill all baby boys born to the Israelites was evil. They did not do as the king commanded, but found a way round the dilemma. They encouraged the Hebrew mothers to have ... Read more |
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"now he commands all men everywhere to repent". We are so lethargic that God needs do more than provide a way of escape, He must command us to take it! This he does and commands all men everywhere to repent; to turn from their evil ways and look to the Lord. We must behave responsibly ... Read more |
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"do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live". If this injunction was needed for the Israelite in the Old Testament, it is certainly needed by the follower of Jesus today. Jesus described His followers as fools and slow of heart more than ... Read more |
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"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters". God's family on earth will differ on many interpretations because none has all the answers and some things must wait till glory before their purpose is plain. Everyone in the family is adopted by the grace of God. All are blood-bought by that sacrifice of the ... Read more |
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"speak the word only". The centurion must have recognised the authority that resided in Jesus and consequently he knew the power that was in His word. Jesus spoke with authority - "even the demons obey Him" was the sentiment expressed on one occasion. When He halted the funeral procession as it left Nain no wonder ... Read more |
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"we will keep looking to you, O Lord our God". In the Old Testament we read that "they looked unto Him and their faces were enlightened". In the New Testament we are exhorted to live looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Peter made the mistake of looking away from the Lord ... Read more |
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"Everyone living in Jerusalem knows". The blessings of the gospel spilled outside the doors where the disciples were meeting. And when the man was healed at the Temple gate - everybody in Jerusalem knew about it. The world at large wants good news. When the Lord is at work among His people, the message is ... Read more |
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"He knows your trudging through this great wilderness". Forty years wandering in the desert might aptly be described as trudging. In many ways our world is like a great wilderness and the path we sometimes need to take may call for trudging. There are times when all of us wonder if we've missed the way: ... Read more |
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"in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord". This is not an outward form or observance or conforming to a pattern laid down for you. It is not erecting an altar in a corner or a part of your life. It is setting up a throne room in the very centre of your being and ... Read more |
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"he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem". Jesus' task was greater than anyone living had ever performed or ever could perform. The path that lay before Him was one of suffering. He who was holy, harmless and undefiled was to bear the sin of the world and be sacrificed as the Lamb of ... Read more |
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"But you were unwilling to go up". It was a contest between God's word and the Israelites' reasoning. They listened to the gloomy report of the majority of the spies. Their minds operated on an earthly level and did not take into account that the God who had brought them so mightily out of Egypt's ... Read more |
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"Faithful are the wounds of a friend". Sometimes it is necessary to wound in order to heal: this is notably so in the case of surgery when the surgeon makes an incision to remove diseased tissue. It is also true in the things of the Spirit. Our waywardness and refusal to listen and obey the ... Read more |
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"this is the promise … even eternal life". It is the greatest promise of all - it grasps a prize beyond the grave and places it in the heart of those who make Jesus Lord. Because it is God's promise, it conveys real hope to the hearts of those who believe it. All who do, ... Read more |
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"Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe". There need be no feeling of failure if, when you witness to someone of your faith in Jesus, they do not believe. The Apostle Paul preached and proclaimed Christ to all who visited him in Rome for the last two years of his ... Read more |
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"seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness". Too many have things in the wrong order: what they consider to be of prime importance is in fact of least value to them. The important piece to get in place in life's jigsaw is the quest for God's Kingdom. Make Jesus King and all else ... Read more |
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"because you have wholly followed the Lord my God". Caleb comes to us as a quiet, steady and godly leader. He did not seek notoriety and neither did he hesitate to speak positively about entry into the Promised Land when all but one of the other spies spoke against it. Throughout the forty years wandering ... Read more |
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"the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark". A godly home in which John Mark was brought up to love the Lord and desire to serve Him. It was the centre for meaningful church activity and the natural choice for an all-night prayer meeting among the believers when Peter was imprisoned and under sentence ... Read more |
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"Teach us to number our days aright". We do need to value and properly use each day the Lord gives us. Today added to yesterday prepares us for tomorrow. Few things are completed in a day, just as some things we need to leave for others to complete. A night's sleep is for refreshment not ... Read more |
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"By faith Moses … refused". The offer Moses refused included all the ease and comfort that Pharaoh's court could offer. It was made on the pretext that Pharaoh's daughter had taken a liking to him since finding him in the bulrushes. But the offer was an enticement away from his real identity and from God's ... Read more |
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"When she heard about Jesus". What had she heard? Report from many of the leaders in the synagogue would be critical but from the crowds that heard Him it would be wonderfully thrilling. Not having seen Him herself, the word of others was enough. She recognised that this was the Person who could do for ... Read more |
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"my salvation shall be for ever". God's salvation stands as a lighthouse in the stormy seas of life. We work and plan as though we are in this scene of time for ever. We make as little mention as we can of the reality of death and destruction. We fail to see that the bricks ... Read more |
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"a left-handed man". Years ago people who were left-handed were made to use their right hand for writing and other everyday tasks. Thankfully God had no such prejudice and used Ehud's left-handedness to act unexpectedly and bring an end to the oppression of Israel under king Eglon. It's surprising what God can use for His ... Read more |
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"I have written briefly". Then it's unlikely your letter will bore the reader. Your letter will deal with the things that matter. Because brief, it will most likely be read. What you say will not be so long and complicated that the reader either doesn't know where to start or forgets half you've written. Lots ... Read more |
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"Is there anything of which one can say, 'Look! This is something new' ". It may be new to you, but in one way or another it's likely to have been around for many years. Old ideas appear in a new guise. Our new machines run on old track and are subject to the laws ... Read more |
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"Go, stand and speak … all the words of this life". So commissioned the angel who opened the prison to release Peter. That night in prison did Peter good. It was the common prison and he saw prison conditions at their worst. His arrest was made at the request of the high priest and other ... Read more |
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"And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given you". This promise of Jesus was given after Jesus had related the parable of the 'Friend at midnight'. Strength of friendship may not get a person out of bed to help, but continual asking will secure the desired aid. So we should know that ... Read more |