God's Word For Every Day

Faith “Fulfil your vows” (Nahum 1:15). We’re going to think together about our Church membership vows. These vows can be summarized in five words: Faith, Worship, Devotions, Giving, Witness. The first vow is the foundation upon which the others are built. The other four vows are the practical implications of the first vow: our confession of faith. The first vow emphasizes that there is a faith to be believed, a faith to be confessed: “I believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and I confess Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord.” We are called to have faith. The Bible calls us to have a personal faith. It is not only the faith of the Church. It is to be my faith. It is to be your faith. Each one of us is to say, “I believe.” What does it mean to have faith? It means believing something. there is something to be believed. Faith also means trust. When you and I say, “I believe in one God,” we are saying, “I am trusting God, putting my trust in Him.” The qu...

We ask the question, "How are we to worship God?" We must also ask the question, "How are we to witness for Him?" Worship and witness belong together.  * Worship which does not lead to witness is incomplete. True worship does not end the moment you step outside of the church building. True worship shapes the way we live in the world. We are to worship God as those who are learning to live for Jesus Christ. When our service of worship, in the church comes to an end, our service of witness, in the world, begins.  * There can be no real witness without worship. How can we expect to witness for the Lord if we're not worshipping him? Where will the strength come from, if we do not wait upon the Lord in prayer, if we do not bow before him in worship? The relationship between worship and witness may be summed up in the words of Isaiah 40:31 - "T hose who wait on the Lord  will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and...

We gather at the Lord's Table. We celebrate the Lord's Supper. We remember Jesus Christ, the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. As we drink the wine, we recall the words of Jesus; "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). The forgiveness of sins - This is our great theme. It is described for us by the apostle Paul. " In him (Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace" (Ephesians 1:7). "in whom (Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son) we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). The forgiveness of sins - The sin is ours. The forgiveness comes from God. When we consider this great blessing, the forgiveness of sins, there are two things that become very clear to us:      (i) God is so generous towards us.    (ii) We are so undeserving ...

Awesome – the word’s become a bit overworked. We use it to describe a blog post that someone liked. What does it mean to say, ‘They thought it was awesome”? It means that the word, ‘awesome’, has been devalued. When, however, we say, “Our God is an awesome God”, we’re using the word, ‘awesome’, correctly. “Our God is an awesome God.” May these words ring in our minds. May they fill our hearts with worship. May they inspire us to live for the glory of God.

The visitor gave the invitation, "We're from the local church, We'd like to invite you to join us at our church services. The reply was unhesitating - "I can worship without going to church." The visitor, continuing to extend the invitation, said, "We'd like to strengthen your worship by giving you the opportunity to share in fellowship with other worshippers." The conversation continued, "I can be a good Christian without going to church." Determined not to be put off, the visitor replied, "Isn't that a bit like saying, I can be a good footballer without playing in a football team?" A wee boy can kick a football against a wall for hours. He can play "keepie-up" all day long. But, until he joins a team, he's not really playing the game of football. football is a team game. We need one another. If we're to grow in faith, worship and Christian living, we need the encouragement which comes from sharing in ...

Worship is more than just a song. We sing the words, “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.” Are we just singing a song? No! It’s so much more than that. We’re speaking to God. We’re telling him that we intend to live for him. Real worship is always more than an emotional experience. It’s the opening of our whole life to the Lord. It’s saying to God, “I’m yours. I belong to you. You have saved me. I will serve you.”

On reading the book of Leviticus, we are struck by the strangeness of it all. It all seems so different from anything we have ever known. Are we, then, to conclude that we have nothing in common with those who worshipped the God of Israel in these far-off Old Testament times? Are we to abandon the Old Testament, especially the most difficult parts, as a waste of time? Many people have done exactly that. They hardly ever read the Bible. When they do read the Bible, they restrict themselves to a few favourite passages. The treasures of art, architecture, music and literature are not discovered by the casual observer. It is precisely the same with the treasures of God’s Word. We must not settle for the passing glance. If we are to find treasure, we must dig for it. We must dig deep. When we dig deep in the book of Leviticus, we will discover spiritual principles for today’s Church. There are things, in Leviticus, which are very different from life in the Christian Church today. Neverthel...

In Psalm 4, there is a great message of the Gospel. By ourselves, we are sinners, turning God’s glory to shame, loving delusions and seeking false gods (Psalm 4:2). By grace, God has done something about this - ‘the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself’ (Psalm 4:3). When we pray, ‘Answer me’ (Psalm 4:1), we have this confidence: ‘the Lord will hear when I call to Him’ (Psalm 4:3). The Lord hears the sinner’s prayer, ‘Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer’ (Psalm 4:1). Jesus Christ is God’s Answer to this prayer. Christ brings relief (salvation). This salvation arises from the mercy of God. In Christ, we have a ‘joy’ and ‘peace’ which the world can neither give nor take away (Psalm 4:7-8). When the seeking sinner comes with question, ‘Who can show us any good?’ (Psalm 4:6), the Gospel Answer is always the same - Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Psalm 5 is a morning prayer: ‘morning by morning’, we are to come before the Lord ‘in expectation’ of...