God's Word For Every Day

Genesis 17:1-27 Lord, everything seems so hopeless  - when we take our eyes off You! Help us to keep our eyes on You. Fill us with fresh hope. Sometimes, we can be optimists. Often, we’re pessimists. You’re always “the God of hope” ( Romans 15:13 ). You’re always saying to us, “There is hope” ( Jeremiah 31:17 ). Lord, real hope comes from You. It’s more than human optimism. It’s Your gift to us. It’s Your “gift of eternal life” ( Romans 6:23 ). Lord, real hope comes from You. It’s more than just “hoping for the best.” It’s being lifted up by You, Lord – the God who raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2::24). Thank You, Lord, for the hope that You give to us when we stand upon Your great promises: “I will pour out My Spirit … and everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” ( Acts 2:18 , 21 ). You lift us out of our hopelessness. You give us strength to face the future with confidence – the strength which comes from knowing that You are the God of ...

“Take the staff, and you (Moses) and your brother Aaron, gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and   their livestock can drink” (Numbers 20:8). Speak  to the rock – this is what the Lord told Moses to do. What did Moses do? – he “ struck  the rock twice with his staff” (Numbers 20:11). What happened when Moses struck the rock? Two things happened. First, there was blessing for God’s people – “Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank” (Numbers 20:11). Second, there was a rebuke for Moses and Aaron – “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”” (Numbers 20:12). Moses didn’t do ...

Nahum 1:1-2:9 ‘Fulfil your vows’ (1:15). God is calling us to be faithful to Him. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be faithful in reading His Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is to be real. Our faith is to make a difference. It’s to change the way we live. It’s not to be a case of ‘faith without works’. That kind of ‘faith’ is ‘dead’ ( James 2:17 ). Our whole life is to be a life of faith. It is to be a life of ‘love’. We are to live ‘for the glory of God’ ( Romans 14:23 ; 1 Corinthians 16:14 ; 10:31 ). ‘Fill Thou our life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise... Not for the lip of praise alone, nor even the praising heart we ask, but for a life made up of praise in every part’ ( Church Hymnary , 457). Nahum 2:10-3:19 To those who refuse to live in obedience to Him, God speaks His Word of judgment: ‘I am against you’ (2:13; 3:5). Those who refuse to listen to God’s Word of ...

“Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant… For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” ( Mark 10:43 , 45 ). Do you want to be the Lord’s servant? Remember that He is your Saviour. Do you want to serve the Lord? – You must be saved by Him before you can even begin to serve Him. When we think of Jesus as God’s servant and say, “I will serve God the way Jesus served Him”, we have missed the point of Jesus’ words: “the Son of Man” came ”to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus’ service is defined by the giving of His life as a ransom for many. We can never give our life as a ransom for many. Only Jesus can do that for us. Where does our life of service begin? – It begins at the Cross of Christ. It begins when we say, “I cannot serve You. I can only be saved by You.” That’s where the life of service begins. It begins with being saved by the Lord....

“And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away” ( Genesis 21:25 , King James Version). As I read this verse, I found myself thinking about God’s Word and God’s Spirit. Through God’s written Word, the Holy Spirit speaks to us His Word of “reproof” and “correction” ( 2 Timothy 3:16 ). In His ministry of reproof, He says to us, “This is not the way you are to go.” In His ministry of correction, He says to us, “This is the way you are to go.” Leading us out of the wrong way and into the right way – this is the Spirit’s ministry of reproof and correction. Jesus speaks of this ministry of the Spirit – He leads us out of “sin” and into “righteousness” ( John 16:8 ). The Holy Spirit calls us to look at ourselves honestly. He shows us that we “have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters” ( Jeremiah 2:13 ). Jesus calls us to “come to Him and drink.” He says to us that, when we believe in Him, “rivers of liv...

1 Corinthians 15:1-45 Here, we learn of Christ’s resurrection: the fact - ‘Christ has been raised from the dead’ - and the meaning - ‘the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep’ (20). * We look back to His resurrection. We ‘remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead’ ( 2 Timothy 2:8 ). * We look forward to our own resurrection. We will be ‘raised’ - ‘imperishable… in glory… in power… a spiritual body’ (42-44). Looking back to His resurrection and looking forward to our own resurrection, we are to live, here and now, in ‘the power of His resurrection’ ( Philippians 3:10 ). * We believe the fact of the resurrection. * We live in the power of the resurrection. * We rejoice in the hope of the resurrection. With ‘resurrection’ faith in the ‘resurrection’ God, let us live the ‘resurrection’ life as a ‘resurrection’ people!