"they rose up in the twilight". They were four lepers living in no-man's land between the Syrian army and the besieged inhabitants of Samaria. For them daylight was fading in more ways than one. Yet they realised they faced a choice - stay where they were and starve or go to the Syrian camp and ... Read more
"a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume". How do we express our love for the Lord? This woman had a reputation that caused embarrassment to others but not to Jesus. What the disciples considered a waste was valued by Jesus because he knew the depth of love that was behind the ... Read more
"the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus". God the Father has highly exalted His Son, Jesus. It must have been glorious when in that conference of the God-head before the world began, He agreed to go on that great undertaking of salvation. It was glorious at His actual Incarnation when the heavenly ... Read more
"So is everyone who is born of the Spirit". Jesus used the wind to illustrate to Nicodemus the ministry the Holy Spirit would have in his life when he was born again. The wind blows where it will - you cannot predict the course it will take. You can hear the wind, but cannot see ... Read more
"And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit". The Holy Spirit brings joy - it is a fruit of the Spirit. The disciples were filled with the joy of the Spirit because they had obeyed God's voice and faithfully proclaimed His Word. It was not the joy of ease and acceptance ... Read more
"Go your way". We are not told where Bartimaeus went after Jesus had healed him. Whatever he did, it was his own thing - Jesus called it, 'your way'. The Lord did not want Bartimaeus to live the life of someone else. He would mix with people who would marvel at his experience, but he ... Read more
"his sleep went from him". Darius had been tricked into issuing an edict that Daniel could not observe. It marked the end of Daniel's presidency. Darius was made to place his seal on the mouth of the lion's den into which Daniel had been thrown. Not surprising his sleep went from him! Yet God was ... Read more
"the prize for which God has called me". The prize before the eyes of the disciple of Jesus is the high calling of God in Christ. God sent His Son to be the Saviour of the World. He died for our sins. He will justify the ungodly who repent and when justified by faith there ... Read more
"How can these things be? ". We all have things we cannot understand. The surprising thing about Nicodemus was that as a spiritual leader among the people he did not understand the need for a new birth about which Jesus was telling him. We commend him for his honest and enquiring questions and have little ... Read more
"and great grace was upon them all". Grace is favour freely given. The Lord Jesus has never failed to meet the believer's every need for grace and help. This verse in the Book of the Acts describes the goodness of the Lord in covering the believers with grace as the Church was launched forward on ... Read more