God's Word For Every Day

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...

If I were to go around the congregation and ask you, "Why have you come to this church service?", I'm sure I would get quite a variety of different answers. Some of you, if you were being perfectly honest, might have to say, "I came because I've got into a routine of coming to church on a Sunday." If this is what you're thinking, that's very sad. How can you expect to get anything out of the service, if you have only come to church because it's part of your weekly routine? Others may say, "I feel that I must come because it's my duty." There's a sense in which this is true, yet, if that's all that brings you to church, you're missing a great deal. Such an attitude is surely a far cry from the attitude of the Psalmist: "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" ( Psalm 122:1 ), Others may say, "I've come to church to hear the minister speak." Yes. You will ...

John 7:37-38  (1) We begin with the context of Jesus' great invitation -    (a) the Feast of Tabernacles;    (b) the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. (a) The Feast of Tabernacles   (i) Its historical significance It reminded the people of Israel that they had been wanderers in the desert, dependent on the grace and mercy of God to provide for them in their need.   (ii) Its agricultural significance It was a Harvest Thanksgiving. A priest took a golden pitcher, which held about two pints. He filled it with water from the Pool of Siloam. He carried it through the Water Gate, to the altar of the Temple, where it was poured out as an offering to God. This was a vivid thanksgiving for God's good gift of rain. It was an enacted prayer for rain. It was a memorial of the water which sprang from the rock, while God's people were travelling through the wilderness. It was in this context that Jesus spoke His tremendous words co...

Let's begin with who Jesus is, and then move on to what He does for us. (1) "The Word was God ... The Word became flesh" ( John 1:1 ,  14 ). This is what the Bible teaches us about who Jesus was - He was God - and who He became - He became man. The Bible doesn't say that (a) Jesus was man, but not God; (b) Jesus was God, but not man; (c) Jesus was neither God nor man. Jesus is truly God and truly man. He's fully God and fully man. The Bible doesn't say that the man, Jesus, was elevated to the status of God in the eyes of His followers who believed in Him. The Gospel begins with "the Word was God", and then goes on to say, "The Word became flesh." (2) "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father" ( John 14:9 ). Many say, "How can a man be God?" That is a wrong question to ask! What we should ask is this: "Can God become a man?" When we ask this question in the light of the Bible's teaching ...

Much modern preaching tends, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, to say to men and women, "Peace, peace" where there is, in fact, "no peace." The Gospel, on the other hand, to use the words of the prophet Joel, places "multitudes in the valley of decision." The Gospel places you and me crossroads between faith and unbelief. It is a crossroads at which you must make a decision - either to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour, or to trust in your own selves, your religion, your good works. Which will it be - Christ or or man-centred religion? When Jesus Christ preached the Word of God, His preaching had one of two effects on His hearers - either they believed and were saved, or they were antagonised, and they objected to Him, threatening Him, taunting Him and persecuting Him. When the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, simply and honestly, it is never comfortable to listen to. The Gospel never leaves people the way they were. Either, it thrills them, or it ...

God is calling us to walk in the light with Him. * He’s calling us to walk with Him in the light of His love . Go back to Genesis 1:3 – “Let there be light, and there was light.” Go back beyond the created light. Go back to the eternal God – “In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1). What do we find when we go back to the eternal God. We find love, eternal love:  “He has loved us with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). This is light of God’s love. * He’s calling us to walk with Him in the light of His Word . What is it that brings us out of darkness and into light? It’s the light of God’s Word – “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). * He’s calling us to walk with Him in the light of His Son . What a great Saviour we have! Jesus is His Name. He is “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). Let us walk with Jesus – in the light of God’s love, in the light of God’s Word. * He’s calling us to walk with God in the light of His Kin...

God is in control! Jesus was born at Bethlehem - Long before it happened, God had it planned (Luke 2:1-7; Micah 5:2-3). As we approach Christ's Return, God still has His plan. He is still in control. The birth of Christ is not merely an event from the past. It is also a message for the future. We look back so that we can move forward. We are fearful about many things. 'What's the world coming to?', we ask. God turns our question on its head: 'Christ is coming to the world'. From His first coming, we look on to His Second Coming - He 'will come to all the people' (Luke 2:10): 'Every eye will see Him' (Revelation 1:7). His Return invites us to ask another question: 'When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on earth?' (18:8). For you, is it still 'before Christ'? Let the 'new age' begin: Let Christ be 'born this day' (Luke 2:11) - in your heart!

The Rock and the River are still there – even when I can’t see them! We look out towards Dumbarton Rock and the River Clyde. There is, however, a problem! Straight ahead of us, there are some large trees. When the leaves are on the trees, we can’t see anything that’s behind the trees. We can’t see the Rock and the River – but they’re still there! There is another Rock – Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation. There is another River – the Holy Spirit, the River of God ’s blessing. When our faith is weak, we must remember this: Jesus is still the Rock of our salvation. When we don’t feel very blessed, we must remember this: the Holy Spirit is still the River of God ’s blessing. Jesus told a story about two builders. One was wise. He built his house on a rock. The other was foolish. He built his house on sand.   How are we to build our lives on Jesus Christ, the Rock of our salvation? We must hear His Word. We must obey His Word (Matthew 7:24). Hearing and obeying – this is th...

Many are ‘like sheep without a shepherd’. We must not fail them. We must ‘teach them many things’ (Mark 6:34). In all our teaching from the Scriptures, let us point people to Christ (Luke 24:27). He is "the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep." He has come to give us "life in all its fullness" (John 10:10-11).

The Generation Gap – The old and the young cannot or will not understand each other. How do we tackle the problem of the Generation Gap? Do we seek our answer with the adult generation? – By demanding that young people comply with their parents Do we seek our answer with the youth culture? – By demanding that adults embrace the attitude of their children Neither of these alternatives gets to the root of the problem. There is, however, a third alternative. We can take the problem to Jesus. In my own experience, the Generation Gap has never been a great problem. Why? – Because the problem was taken to Jesus. As I entered the years of adolescence and early adulthood, I committed my life to Jesus Christ.On the same night, my father also committed his life to Jesus Christ. I was fifteen. He was forty. It looked like the perfect situation for a generation gap. The generation gap never quite developed. Why? – Because we both found the perfect solution: Jesus. In Jesus Chris...

What is to be our attitude to the Sabbath? The best way to develop a proper attitude, a Christian attitude, to the Sabbath is to look, first of all, at Jesus' attitude to the Sabbath. In a very real sense, the specific question, "What is to be my attitude to the Sabbath?" is included in the broader question, "What is to be my attitude to Jesus?" As we look Jesus' attitude to the Sabbath, with a view to answering the question, "What is to be my attitude to the Sabbath?", we notice two key features. There is Someone greater than the Sabbath - Jesus ( John 5:18 ). this is the dividing line between a disciple and a Pharisee. A disciple comes to the Saviour. A Pharisee, with all his Sabbath-keeping, does not acknowledge his need of the Saviour. Jesus viewed His whole life as holy to God and wholly to God ( John 5:17 ) for service. From these two observations about Jesus, we note five further principles concerning the place of the Sabbath in...