In Luke 10 we read about Jesus sending out 72 of His disciples into the harvest field of Israel. He gives them His authority to go in His name, to heal the sick and then to let people know that ‘The Kingdom of God is near you’. (verses 8,9). They come back overjoyed at all […]
Have you ever found it difficult when a fellow Christian, who seems to be in a good place with God, feels able to do things that you don’t feel are right? Or the other way round you are doing/ have done something, or have a view on something, that other Christians feel are wrong, and […]
A few days ago we began exploring Psalm 78, a Psalm which in its 72 verses details God’s peoples’ unfaithfulness, sin and rebellion (unhappy reading), as well as His goodness, mercy and faithfulness (happy reading). I noted that a couple of things (at least) leapt out to me as I read it, things of great […]
Psalm 78 is a long one, but like quite a few psalms it has some important things to say about thanksgiving and our life and walk with the Lord. In my bible the heading says ‘God’s guidance of His people in spite of their unfaithfulness.’ In its 72 verses it does indeed detail God’s peoples’ […]
Recently (Blog No. 302) we reflected that, using a new, clean lens, we could see the ten commandments in the Old Testament as a mighty manifesto, saying a gigantic ‘Yes’ to God’s very best for happy, healthy lives for us. We discovered afresh that saying ‘No’ to things that have negative effects on us is […]
I believe that Psalm 73 is a wonderfully helpful Psalm for our lives today. In some ways it is a contrast to the verses from Psalm 36, on which we reflected yesterday, but in its conclusions it speaks to us further about staying close to the Lord. I expect you have read it before, but […]
Yesterday, quoting Psalm 119:11, we suggested that making sure that God’s words are hidden in our hearts was a good way to guard our minds. A way to prevent us from being tempted and deceived by the devil into reacting and living from the ‘old me’ and not the new creation that I now am. […]
We spoke yesterday about how the Lord always, ALWAYS, disciplines us out of love, and with redemption in His heart. He always disciplines us with the intention of bringing us closer to Himself, and our destiny to become more like Jesus day by day. Sometimes we have a difficulty receiving that love, and accepting ourselves […]
Psalm 50 has some very helpful insights for pilgrims who are hungry to pursue the journey of thanksgiving. God says that, although He doesn’t need sacrifices of bulls and goats because all the world is His and He has all he needs, He doesn’t rebuke them for their sacrifices and burnt offerings that are ever […]
I was inspired by reading a recent blog by Kris Vallotton on “How to become courageous when fear is surrounding you”. He talked about the power of thanksgiving in both battling with our fears and anxieties, strengthening us and giving us courage. You can read it on https://www.krisvallotton.com/how-to-become-courageous-when-fear-is-surrounding-you At the end of his blog he […]