"Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too" .An unusual order the officers of the Children of Israel were told to give, but sensible when you think about it. Dead weights slow down progress and the afraid and fainthearted can have a bad influence in the battle of the Lord. ... Read more

"he … found Elisha … ploughing" .God calls His servants from industry, not from idleness! If you are doing nothing with your life except waiting for God to call you, it is likely He never will. Ploughing is a good illustration of what we should be doing in the field of life where God has ... Read more

"Will you not revive us again, That your people may rejoice in you? " .Here are two cardinal truths. First, that revival comes from the Lord. It comes down: we do not stir it up. It revives dying embers (or members) and is a breath from heaven and it makes all the difference. It is ... Read more

"Sarah your wife shall bear you a son" .When Abraham suggested to God that Ishmael would be the son through whom God would fulfil His promises, the Lord repeated that Sarah would bear him a son. When there appears to be delay in the fulfilment of a promise, we are not out of place to ... Read more

"a highway for our God" .In the apparent desert wastes of this world, the Lord is preparing a highway for His return. Unseen by human eye, the Holy Spirit oversees the preparation that is going ahead. The Kingdom is already established in the heart of every believer where Jesus reigns as Lord. Jesus said He ... Read more

"I am innocent" .This is what Pontius Pilate hoped would be the accepted verdict. By an overwhelming majority the world has pronounced him guilty. He had said earlier 'What shall I do with Jesus?' While he was free to take advice, that did not absolve him from responsibility. Pilate allowed the crowd to sway his ... Read more

"So you will be my people, and I will be your God" .The Old Testament prophets show us the difficulty God was having with His people. As we read in this chapter, their wound (received when turning away from the Lord) was incurable and their injury beyond healing. Guilt was great and their sins many ... Read more

"enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul" .We should not forget the house of Judas. If Judas had not lived in Straight Street, Saul could not have been found there though Ananias knocked on every door. No great acclaim for what Judas did - he just offered to put up travellers and ... Read more

"Would God my lord were with the prophet" .How grateful all could be that the servant girl gave expression to her thoughts! It often takes a servant to say what others only dare think. Furthermore, how good that this girl was concerned for her master! Maybe his service gave her a sense of belonging and ... Read more

"Are you also still without understanding? " .With these words Jesus reproved His disciples for being dull. He knew what they were capable of and that they had not attained their potential. It is to be feared that we often fall into the same category. Peter on behalf of the disciples asked Jesus to explain ... Read more

"the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame" .The Apostle Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And all who trust in the Lord will find they have no need to be ashamed. It is the devil who seeks to make us timid and to keep our ... Read more

"he did not know that his life was in danger" .Much of this chapter in the Book of Proverbs is taken up with an inexperienced and foolish young man who became ensnared with a prostitute. We read how she tempted him with her charms and he gave in to her smooth talk. Next, we see ... Read more

"a voice from heaven" .This is not heard very often! Neither are signs in the sky seen for that matter. Once or twice in the life of Christ and occasionally in the Acts of the Apostles and sometimes since an audible voice has been heard. Yet for the most part we need to be in ... Read more

"seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal" .When you feel you stand alone or when you conclude the whole world lies in wickedness, to realise that there are those in every place who have not bowed the knee to Baal is a great encouragement. The blessing of this truth may ... Read more

"he had seen an angel in his house" .Cornelius was a centurion in the Roman militia and outside the pale of those to whom angels might appear. If it had not been that Peter had a vision, he would have written off Cornelius' experience. But Peter had a vision as he fell into a trance ... Read more

"Do not labour for the food which perishes" .You have to work - the curse upon man in the Garden of Eden was that in toil he would eat from the fruit of the ground. And the Apostle Paul wrote that if a man would not work, he should not eat. Here Jesus is telling ... Read more

"visit the fatherless and widows" .Practical Christian living must pay special attention to orphans and widows. In fact, James says that the truth of one's faith is characterised by it. There is an old saying "a ha'porth (half penny) of help is worth more than a cart load of pity" and the Apostle tells us ... Read more

"all the money that a man purposes in his heart to bring" .True gifts are free-will offerings. They are those that a man purposes in his heart to give and is not coerced or pressured into doing so in any way. These are the gifts the Lord loves to receive. In many instances we give ... Read more

"I will make known your faithfulness to all generations" .How did the Psalmist propose making God's faithfulness known to all generations? Certainly, God's faithfulness does extend to all generations. No one will arise to find His faithfulness exhausted. Whoever puts their trust in the Lord will never be confounded. Each one of us should proclaim ... Read more

"Let your light so shine" .Are you shining your light in the right place? Many will recall having to hold the torch for someone to see and do a job. And some of us will recall being told to shine the light in the right place. Waving it around or shining it up into the ... Read more

"Better … a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city" .Living with a violent temper is like dwelling at the foot of a volcano. At any time there may be an eruption. A man may oversee an army yet himself be enslaved by that evil called temper. Steering your own life ... Read more

"whatever you ask in my name" .A personal bank account enables bills to be paid, cash withdrawn and other monetary transactions made in the easiest possible way. All this is done in the name of the bank and operation of the account must be within prescribed limits. This can be likened to the account God ... Read more

"test yourselves" .Modern medical practice relies on this more than ever. You have a medication or are provided with a piece of equipment to test yourself - be it blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol and so on. Testing yourself usually means that before someone else points it out to you or your condition deteriorates you can ... Read more

"I have all I need here among my own people" .This was the Shunammite woman's reply to Elisha when he suggested that in return for her kindness and effort, her name might be put forward for promotion to the palace. Yet while the woman was saying she had all she needed, her heart yearned for ... Read more

"the one who wants to teach you for your own good" .The Lord who saves us wants to teach us for our own good. Some lessons in life seem unnecessary: many are difficult and we would escape the course if we could. All who have placed their lives in the hand of the Lord, having ... Read more

"joy in heaven over one sinner who repents" .The one thing that sets heaven rejoicing is when a sinner turns from his sin and seeks God's forgiveness. This sets heaven aglow with joy. The angelic choir performed a joyful anthem announcing the Incarnation. How they marvelled that their King should come to save us! Salvation ... Read more

"they wondered what the outcome would be" .Not just the high priest and captain of the temple but all who oppose the gospel have cause to wonder. The infidel who sought to burn every Bible, the persecutor who put the followers of Jesus on the stake and the atheist who would close all churches, all ... Read more

"the noise was heard afar off" .Praises of God are joyful and deserve to be loud too so that others may hear. The crowd in the sports stadium can be heard outside, why not the people of God when enough of them meet together to make that joyous sound? The noise referred to in Ezra ... Read more

"They feared the Lord, and served their own gods" .A priest was sent into their midst to teach them how they should fear the Lord: but this was done alongside the existing idolatry in the land. Earlier we read how, when professing to follow the Lord, the children of Israel secretly did those things against ... Read more