God's Word For Every Day

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! … it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades” ( Luke 10:13-15 ). What is Christ saying to us as we read His strong words of judgment? He’s calling us to change direction. Stop walking on “the broad road that leads to destruction.” Start walking on “the narrow road that leads to life” ( Matthew 7:13-14 ). Stop walking away from Christ. Start walking with Him.

“Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it” ( Luke 10:23-24 ). There is a progression, in Scripture, beyond the revelation given to Israel through the Old Testament prophets to the great revelation given in the coming of Jesus Christ to the world. He is greater than all the prophets. He is greater than all the kings. He is the Son of God. He is our Saviour. There is no-one else like Him. There were many prophets. There were many kings. There is only one Saviour – Jesus Christ, the Son of God: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” ( Hebrews 1:1-2 ).

John 3:16 ; John 10:10 What does it mean to have eternal life? There are two important dimensions in eternal life. There is life after death and there is life before death. There are a great many people who never give any thought to an after-life. The question, “Is there life after death?” rarely crosses their mind. they are content to live from day to day, taking each day as it comes. These people are, however, interested in another question: Is there life before death? When they hear of Jesus Christ, they ask, “Can He change my life here and now? Can He make a difference in my life right now? The Gospel answer to that question is an emphatic “Yes”. Jesus Christ does not only give us heaven. He give us new life here and now. The two sides of the life which Christ gives to us must be emphasized. There is life before death. Jesus calls this: “abundant life” ( John 10:10 ). There is life after death. Here, Jesus speaks of “everlasting life” ( John 3:16 , Authorized Version)...

Proverbs 10:23-11:11 “With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour” (Proverbs 11:9). Lord, this is straight talking – from Your holy Word. We need to hear this kind of thing. It keeps us on the right track. It keeps us from going off the rails. When, Lord, we’re tempted to speak words that will hurt other people, help us remember Your Word to us: “The tongue is a fire… With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men … this ought not to be so” (James 3:6-10). Help us, Lord, to keep quiet – or end up saying, I wish I had never said that – It’s better to ‘put a zip on it’ than to ‘put our foot in it’. When we have nothing good to say, help us to say nothing at all.

The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper - What place do they have within the total context of the Christian life? What part do they play within the total purpose of God for our lives? The sacraments are signposts. They point us to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour. When you see a signpost marked, "Edinburgh", you are pointed in the direction of Edinburgh. The sign says, "This is the way to Edinburgh." When you see a sign that says, "Come alive with Pepsi", your attention is directed to Pepsi-Cola. The sacraments point us to Jesus. The sacraments direct our attention to Jesus. The signpost says, "This is the way to Edinburgh." The sacraments point to Jesus. They say, "He is the Way to heaven." The Pepsi-Cola advert says, "Come alive with Pepsi." The sacraments invite us to "Come alive with Jesus." When you see the sign for Edinburgh, you are not already in Edinburgh. It is possible to see t...

Genesis 10:1-32 Lord, Your love makes us feel very special. There are plenty of times when we’re down in the dumps – and we need some encouragement from You. When we feel like this, help us to remember that Your love makes us very special: “I’m special because God loves me.” How do we know that You love us? – You gave Your Son, Jesus, to be our Saviour. What are we to say when we think of Jesus – crucified for us? “Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord, for loving me so much.” We look at ourselves – and we know that we’re nothing special. We look at Jesus. We think of His love for us – and something happens. We begin to feel that we are very special – to You! “Help me feel Your love right now, to know deep in my heart that I’m Your special friend” (Graham Kendrick).

1 Corinthians 10:1-33 ‘Participation in the blood of Christ… participation in the body of Christ’ (16): There is nothing more important than this. We are not to be spectators, standing on the side lines, watching what’s going on without ever getting involved. We are to be participants, getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ, growing in our love for Him, strengthening our faith in Him, bringing more glory to Him. We eat bread. We drink wine. We remember Jesus Christ, ‘the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us’. We do not only remember this great event from the past. We participate in Christ here and now. He has brought us out of our old life - ‘I have been crucified with Christ’ - and into His new life - ‘It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’ ( Galatians 2:20 ). Participate ‘in Christ’ - not only in ‘the Church’!

What's it all about - this Christianity? is it a form of religion or a code of ethics? The words, 'religion' and 'ethics' are well wide of the mark when it comes to describing what it means to be a Christian. The word, 'life' is the word used by Jesus: "I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" ( John 10:10 ). Jesus did not say, "I have come that they might have religion (or ethics)." Jesus came to give us life - the life of God. When we have received this life from Him, we come to understand that being a Christian is about a personal relationship with God. It's not just a matter of following a certain code of religious or moral behaviour. This personal relationship with God is entirely bound up with Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there is no life. There is only the emptiness of life without God, in this world and in the world to come. With Jesus Christ, there is life - a life given b...

“Many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more… ” ( Mark 10:48 ). There were many people who tried to silence blind Bartimaeus. Here was the voice of prayer – and they were saying, “Shut up’! Thank God – he didn’t shut up. He shouted out. They more they said, “Shut up”, the more he shouted out. Because our praise is loud, that doesn’t mean that it’s real – but what kind of worship if we can hardly burst a paper bag! Let’s lift up our voices to the Lord. Why? Because we want to be loud? – No! There’s something much more important than how loud we’re singing. It’s this – how much we are lifiting up our hearts to the Lord. We read the story of blind Bartimaeus, and we ask the question: Who was really blind – Bartimaeus or the people who were trying to shut him up? They could see Bartimaeus, but they couldn’t see that he was doing the one thing that really mattered. He was calling upon the Lord. They were busy criticizing him. He kept on calling on the Lord....

We have noted Christ's Word of forgiveness - "Friend, your sins are forgiven" (Luke 5:20) - and His call to repentance - "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). Now, we turn our attention to another great theme of Christ's Gospel - conversion. This is emphasized in Luke 5:37-38: "no one pours new wine into old wineskins ... new wine must be poured into new wineskins." The contrast between the old and the new - This is what Jesus is speaking about here. Our old life is our life without Christ. Our new life is our life with Christ. Our old life is life in ourselves, life in our sin. Our new life is life in Christ, life in our Saviour.

Genesis 5:1-17 From the story of Cain - taking God for granted (the opposite of grace), approaching God proudly (the opposite of faith), rebelling against God (the opposite of obedience) - , we come to a list of names and numbers. In this first part of the chapter, there is nothing of any note. Perhaps, this is the significant feature of this long list of names. There is nothing considered to be worthy of special note, except the length of their lives. What a sad reflection on the value of a life when all that can be said is this: He lived, and he died! What we must remember is this: the quantity of our years is less important than the quality of our living. How long we live is less important than how well we live. We have been ‘created...in the likeness of God’(1), yet so often we miss out on this spiritual dimension. We have been ‘blessed’ by God (2) - ‘Count your blessings’. Genesis 5:18-32 In this second part of the list, two names get a special mention - E...

“‘ Alas, sword of the Lord , ho w long till you rest? Return to your sheath;   cease and be still.’  But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?” (Jeremiah 47:6-7). It is all very well to complain about desolation and judgment in the land - but it is God who brings these things, and only He can turn our captivity around. Think how little men, even Christian men, heed God's dealings, then you will see how impossible it is for His sword to be quiet. It has more work to do yet, before blessing comes."  (Rev James Philip, Notes on Jeremiah 47:1-7, Gardenstown Church, Saturday 1st September 1956)

"Jeremiah's horizon stretches to the heathen nations - here it is Egypt, and the outlook is dark, as it is for every God-forgetting nation. But in verses 27-28, there are promises full of comfort to God's people - 27 “Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. 28  Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the Lord . “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.” Are you under a cloud today? Then this is your word from God. Grasp it with both hands and rejoice!" (Rev James Philip, Notes on Jeremiah 46:1-27, Gardenstown Church, Friday 31st August 1956)

I just know. This is what I think. This is how I feel. These are the kind of things some people say when they speak about having faith.  Often, their idea of faith is very vague - and says more about themselves than it says about God. We read these statements, I just know, this is what I think,  this is how I feel, we see a lot of I  in them, and we wonder, what about God, where is he in all of this? When our faith is real - firmly grounded in the Lord, we do not think so much about ourselves - what we believe and how we feel. We think more about the Lord and what he has done for us. Rather than giving out our own thoughts and feelings, we concern ourselves with something much more important and much more valuable - sharing the Word of the Lord. Our thoughts and feelings come and go. Sometimes, we have positive thoughts and optimistic feelings. At other times, our thoughts are more negative and pessimistic. The Word of the Lord is very different: "the Word ...

Ephesians 2:1-10  What we were without Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3); What God has done for us in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-10) Ephesians 2:8-10 - saved by grace, saved through faith, saved for good works By grace - but not without faith and good works Faith and good works - the fruit of grace Faith and good works - Grace has done this. The grace has come from God. The glory goes to God.

Jeremiah 40:1-16 ‘The Lord your God pronounced this evil against this place; the Lord has brought it about, and has done as He said. Because you sinned against the Lord, and did not obey His voice, this thing has come upon you’ (Jeremiah 40:3). Lord, we hear a great deal today about ‘the feel good factor.’People need to get a good feeling: ‘Give them a pat on the back. Make them feel good about themselves.’There’s not much of a ‘feel good factor’ in Jeremiah’s preaching! The people must have been wondering, ‘Where did they dig him up from? He has nothing good to say about anyone or anything.’ Help us, Lord, to rise above the sarcasm of those who have no time for Your Word. May we ask, ‘Where did Jeremiah’s message really come from?’ - and may we hear Your answer: ‘The Word came to Jeremiah from the Lord’ (Jeremiah 40:1).

In Daniel 8, we have a ‘vision’ concerning ‘the distant future’, ‘the time of the end’ (Daniel 8:26,17). Here, we catch a glimpse of Satan, the very powerful enemy of God’s people. Satan’s power is very frightening - ‘His power shall be great, and he shall cause fearful destruction...’. It was the power of Satan which lay behind the ‘stern-faced king’: ‘He will become very strong, but not by his own power’ (Daniel 8:23-24). Satan’s power will be broken. Satan faces certain defeat - ‘He will be defeated’. How will he be defeated? We will not defeat him - ‘He will not be destroyed by human power’. There is only one Power able to destroy the power of Satan: ‘He shall be broken by the hand of God ’. ‘Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Daniel was a faithful follower of the Lord. He refused to follow a worldly way of living (Daniel 1:8). He loved the Lord. He refused to follow a way of life which would harm his walk with God. He is a great example for those who take seriously the call to live in obedience to God. As we read about Daniel’s single-minded devotion to the Lord, we are challenged to live in obedience to God’s holy Word rather than following the ways of the sinful world which is always threatening to pull us away from the Lord. In Daniel 2, we read about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation. God is speaking to Nebuchadnezzar. God is speaking through Daniel. The heart of the message, given in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation, is summed up in Daniel 2:44 - “At the time of those kings, the God of heaven will establish a Kingdom that will never be destroyed ... It will be established forever.” These are prophetic words. They look far beyond Daniel’s time. They lo...

"There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven… His Kingdom is one that will never be destroyed’ (Daniel 7:13-14). These words point us to Christ’s description of His Second Coming, the Coming of His Kingdom: ‘They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). In Revelation 1:7, we have another echo of Daniel’s ‘vision’: ‘Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him’. ‘Lo! He comes, with clouds descending… Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee, high on Thine eternal throne; Saviour, take the power and glory, claim the Kingdom for Thine own. O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly! Alleluia! Come, Lord, come!’(Church Hymnary, 316).

Proverbs 9:1-18 Lord, You come to us with bread and wine. You come to us in Jesus, our Saviour. You come to us in love. You show us how much You love us. There is no love like Your love for us. It’s the best love. It’s the greatest love. It’s love “so amazing.” It’s love “so divine.” Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful love.

Proverbs 2:16-34 Lord, we love to hear Your promises of love. Sometimes, we need to hear Your words of warning. In Your warnings, we hear the voice of Your love. In Your love, You’re calling us back from a way that will do us great harm. You call us into a better way – the way of Your great salvation. Lord, when we are being pulled away from You, bring us back to Yourself. Speak to us with Your Word of warning, the Word that calls us back so that we can move forward with You and for You. When we don’t want to hear it – That’s when we most need to hear it. Speak to us, O Lord, and help us to listen. “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3).

"For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, a nd those who escape from Mount Zion.  The  zeal of the  Lord  of hosts will do this" (Isaiah 37:32). A remnant - When Isaiah was called by God to the prophetic  ministry, he was given a warning. He was told that only a small minority of his hearers would respond positively to his message. If Isaiah was expecting the majority of his hearers to welcome his preaching, he would have been discouraged by the poor response that he received from so many people -  The land is utterly desolate ... a nd the forsaken places   are   many in the midst of the land" (Isaiah 6:11-12) .  Isaiah needed to receive encouragement from the Lord. This is the encouragement he was given - " But yet a tenth   will be   in it ...  As a terebinth tree or as an oak, w hose stump   remains   when it is cut down.  So   the holy seed   shall be   its stump" (Isaiah 6:13). If we read...

Proverbs 8:1-36 We seek, Lord, for the way of wisdom – and we find that it is also the way of happiness (Proverbs 8:32-34). The world seeks happiness in wealth. Your Word teaches us that wisdom is better than “silver, gold and jewels” (Proverbs 8:10-11). How are we to find wisdom? We find wisdom when we find Jesus. He is our Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is also our Joy. When this world is getting us down, He says to us, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Daniel 4:19-5:16; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 135:13-21 Worldly men “praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Daniel 5:4). They worship things – material possessions. The Lord calls His people to higher things. He tells us that “the idols of the nations are silver and gold” (Psalm 135:15). They are not to be worshipped. We are to “praise the Lord” (Psalm 135:19-21). we are to give the glory to “our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). We are to praise the Lord – “Your Name, O Lord, endures for ever, Your renown, O Lord, through all generations” (Psalm 135:13). From my One Year Bible

The Word of God, spoken by Jeremiah, still needs to be heard today – “O land, land, land! Listen to the Word of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 22:29). God has much to say to this land and every land. Are we listening to His Word? or Have we closed our ears? Jeremiah speaks of our Saviour, Jesus Christ – “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will grow a righteous Branch for David” (Jeremiah 23:5). Like Jeremiah, we must direct attention to the Saviour. Speaking God’s Word, Jeremiah said, “I am a God who is near. I am also a God who is far away” (Jeremiah 23:23). We must maintain these two emphases in our preaching. God is greater than we can imagine, yet He has come near to us in Christ.

Daniel 1:1-2:23; 1 Peter 5:1-14; Psalm 134:1-3 Daniel’s praise, offered to God, in Daniel 2:20-23, highlights for us the direction from which blessing comes. It comes from above. What we do not have is given to us by God – “He gives” (Daniel 2:21), “You have given me” (Daniel 2:23). Daniel’s praise is echoed in Peter’s praise: “To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:11). Again, in Psalm 134, the connection between praise and blessing is underlined: “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord … May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth bless you from Zion” (Psalm 134:3). From my One Year Bible

Numbers 23:1-30 Our words are to be an echo of God’s Word. We are to speak only what God says (8,12). Before we can speak for God, He must speak to us. ‘God’s Word is truth’(John 17:17). God does not lie. He does not change His mind. What He says, He does. He fulfils His purpose (19). How does God carry forward His purpose of blessing? We receive His blessing. We share His blessing with others. We can only bring blessing to others when we ourselves seek blessing from the Lord. His blessing comes to us. His blessing reaches out through us. We speak His Word, yet - through our words - He speaks (20). This is the work of the Holy Spirit. ‘God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit’(Ephesians 6:17). The Spirit uses the Word to convict us of our sin and lead us to our Saviour (Hebrews 4:12-16).